The Bourbon Century

Latin American History
May 3, 1991

The last Hapsburg to rule in Spain was Charles II.  By the time of his reign, the government had long been thoroughly corrupt and apparently unconcerned with the condition of the economy and government of the country.

The trade with the Indies was nearly completely in the hands of foreigners.  The revenue from the Indies, what little there was, barely made it to the bank before creditors collected.  The Army had lost any distinction it had as a result of the many lost wars it had experienced since the sinking of the Armada in 1588.  In short, the country was going to hell in a hand basket.

The Hapsburgs had been having a wonderful time bankrupting Spain; there is no reason to suppose Charles was any different.  He could not have helped knowing the state of his country but he apparently made no effort to correct the situation until his death.  Even if he had tried, it is doubtful if it would have mattered by this time.  Charles' health was bad and resulted in his being consistently at the point of death and constantly making crowned heads nervous by it.

Intrigue is not a modern concept and countless nations have been handed back and forth by conspiracies.  France and England had arranged to have an Austrian Archduke take over the Spanish throne at Charles' death and to divvy up the possessions.  While Charles may have been contrary about dying, he was obviously a prudent man with a concern about his country. He must have realized under Hapsburg rule Spain would only continue to decline.  He left a will naming seventeen year old Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis 14th, as his heir. Philip of Anjou became Philip V of Spain.  Perhaps this was Charles' way of doing penance for his sins or of repairing the damage done to Spain by his own family.

Whatever his reason, it immediately plunged Spain into the War of the Spanish Succession.  France paid most of the cost of this war and it was devastating for her but it was a new life for Spain.  Even though she lost some of her possessions as a result of the war, it was to Spain's benefit.  Fewer possessions take less money to run and less military energy to defend.

In the beginning some objected to the country being run by the French king and his French advisers.  After all, this was the same Spain which had known centuries of foreign domination, the older members of government would not easily welcome its return.  However, once they realized these were the same kind of men who had helped France prosper they accepted the leadership.  Spain supported their new King and were overwhelmingly loyal to him.

Although, all major post were held by Frenchmen to start with, gradually well-born, military men took over; in turn, the noble class died out.  Under Bourbon rule Spain blossomed.  With the French came enlightenment ideas which would affect all areas of Spanish society in both Spain and New Spain.  Government, diplomacy, economic affairs and cultured life returned.

Reforms began with Philip and his ministers and continued until the last Bourbon ruler, Charles III in 1746.  Charles III is considered to be perhaps the finest King Spain ever had and it is under his rule that the most extensive and beneficial reforms occur. The idea of the French rulers was to centralize government and bring the monarch's power to the local level; by the end of Charles III's reign this was accomplished and both Spain and New Spain had, for a time, experienced prosperity.

The creation of the Ministry of the Marines and the Indies in 1714 nearly eliminated the Council of the Indies.  All policy making decisions were delegated to the Ministry of the Marines and the Indies, as were matters concerning finance, commerce, trade, war, and most matters concerning the colonies.  The Council continued but it dealt mostly with court matters.

The House of Trade was moved to Cadiz in 1717, a seaport town, and its functions limited.  An effort was made by Philip V to bring back the flota but it didn't work. In the beginning trading monopolies were created along the same lines of the Dutch East India but only one survived very long and was profitable.

It was under Charles III and on the advice of an economist, Jose Campillo, that private registers or individual sailings were authorized.  With the introduction of free trade, Spanish trade increased to the point of nearly eliminating all foreign traders.  The result was so good duties were reduced and in some cases eliminated.  Trade between colonies was allowed as well.  These changes caused a decrease in smuggling and a drop in prices of manufactured goods in the colonies, and raw goods in Spain.

The opening of trade helped Spain but only slightly affected the Indies, since all trade was carried out with the soul purpose of filling Spain's purse.  Latin America was still being stripped of its resources for the benefit of Spain.  The increase of trade created a growth in the merchant class in Spain and Latin America, but these were usually members of the privileged class. It was a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.  In no way nor at any time do the Indian, mestizo, and mulatto benefit from the trade increase.

Another major reform was the division of viceroyalties into smaller units called intendencies.  This was a French idea which had been used in Spain by Philip V and was now brought to Latin America by Charles III.

The ruler of these intendencies was called the intendent and was nearly always a Peninsular Spaniard.  His powers included operation of the government, administering justice, promotion of economy - trade, agriculture, industry - oversee the church, provide military defense, collect taxes and see to the welfare of the people.  Below him were sub-delegates to help him deal with this enormous job.  It is obvious from the list of duties that smaller units would of course be easier to deal with in every way.  The lines of authority were clearer and more efficient and less corrupt government was possible.

The church was not an institution France admired and in France it was kept under tight rein.  In spite of the Bourbon kings of Spain being devout, they felt the church was too rich, too powerful, and too large.  Over a period of time the King had lost the most of his right to nominate clergymen to Rome.  After the King recovered this right, he then proceeded to reduce the size of the clergy.  By 1717, Philip V would allow no new convents in New Spain and by 1734 no one could enter religious orders for ten years.  The clergy could no longer assist in the making of wills.  This circumvented the church's ability to accumulate wealth by getting those making wills to leave their property to the church as a means of atonement.  In 1753 Charles III issued a concordate allowing the Crown to tax church property and in 1767 he expelled the Jesuits from Latin America.

The Bourbon reforms in Spain were evident but not until the reign of Charles III was there real evidence of these reforms in Latin America.  It is difficult to tell how effective they were because they existed for only a short time.  Government did improve to some extent, trade improved, and wealth increased for some, including the crown.  By restricting the church, reducing the clergy, and decreasing its wealth the crown reduced its power.  However, its influence remained, especially in Latin America where it became an instrument of revolution.

However, inequalities existed and the reforms did not address these.  The enlightenment prized so highly by the French and so eagerly accepted by the Spanish Americans was the catalyst for the resulting revolutions. Before the reforms could take a firm hold the people changed. The division between Peninsulares and Creoles widened allowing the creation of revolutionary thought to express itself.  The unfair treatment of Indians, mestizos and mulattos would provide the revolutionaries with an army.

The transplanting of institutions and ideas which were to give Spain greater control gave Latin America the structure, the means, and the determination to break away.  In essence, the Bourbon century was successful in one area it never intended to be. 

Sources

Fagg, John.  Latin American History.  The Macmillian Company:      London:  1969, 213-372.

Gibson, Charles.  Spain in America.  Harper Torch Books:  New     York:  1967, 160-216.

Graham, Richard.  Independence in Latin America.  Alfred A.     Knoph:  New York:  1972, 3-131.  

Herring, Hubert.  A History of Latin America: From the Beginning     to the Present.  Knoph:  New York:  1968, 237-286.

The Castilian Character

Fatalism, heroic ideals, indifference and contempt for others' thoughts and ideas, and religious devotion to the point of fanaticism would be the simplest way to define the Castilian character.  However, character does not form in and of itself but is a result of the combination of one's environment and the events that occur in one's life.  The Castilian character formed in just this way.

The Iberian Peninsula is an area surrounded by water and mountains, effectively isolating the people from the ideas and customs of the rest of the world.  Inland, the varied topography served to isolate the Iberians from each other as well, creating localism but making it difficult to unite groups in a common cause.

The land itself, most of which is poor soil, with few ports, and a harsh climate made wanderers of the people.  Whether searching for fresh pasture land or the hope of a better life in a far-away land, these people developed a character which is self-sufficient, hardy, determined, and adventurous.  All of these characteristics would contribute to create the conquistadors and set them on the journey to the New World.

As an American it is hard to visualize over 2000 years of rule by at least seven conquering hordes; for the Iberian Peninsula, it was a way of life.  Perhaps as hundreds of years would go by the Iberians began to relax and feel this time would be the last.  It wasn't.  An endless supply of conquerors seemed to stream across the borders of the Peninsula for centuries.  Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthiginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, and Moslems came; each leaving their mark on the land and its people.    

The Romans, with their focus on cities and law, effected a great change on the people.  They brought the Christian religion and with it rigid orthodoxy and religious zeal.  The Roman changed even the language of the Iberian Peninsula;  Spanish is a corruption of Latin.  In order to break the ties of people to places, the Romans would move them from one place to another.  Thus, the country was unified by law, language, and forced colonization.  These concepts would show up centuries later in the Spanish conquest and colonization of New Spain and would gradually forge a new country.

With the Moslems came new habits and customs, such as the siesta.  Schools, the arts, and classical learning were introduced.  The use of marble, tiles, bright colors and designs in architecture changed the face of the country when introduced in conjunction with mosques, palaces, and fountains. It would take centuries but this architecture was transplanted to the new world with only slight and gradual modification.

All people grow tired of being conquered and the Spanish were no different but to have a re-conquest there must be an army.  It is possible the poor could envision a better life under the rule of their own people; however, the motives of the nobility, Church, and King to regain their wealth must always lie under the surface.  The discovery of what was thought to be the body of St. James gave the Christian remnants the motivation they needed.  God was with them and with the battle cry of Santiago, the re-conquest began in earnest.  With each successive victory their numbers would grow until the Moslem invaders were pushed back across the sea.

The Church was a unifying factor in the re-conquest but the iron hand of Castile and Aragon in the latter part added nationalism to religious zeal.  The Inquisition served to mop up any remaining dissenters.   Centuries of Moslem rule was over.  The Jews with their religion and wealth were gone.  Spain had purged its nation and church and set herself on a course for economic ruin.  

After 500 years of war with the Moslems, there is certainly good reason for the Spaniard to have acquired a religious devotion and a love for military lifestyle.  His belief in his own courage, strength, and virility was reinforced.  No longer would he allow other nations to make the rules for him.  Never would he grub in the dirt or barter in the market place.  As a soldier, for God and King, he would live and die as he chose, conquering the heretic.

Soldiers, government officials, merchants, clerics and settlers sailed to New Spain.  They set out to christianize the pagan peoples they met there, as well as take their land.  To the Indian the armored conquistador must have appeared as a god who was half man, half beast.  He saw a god with light skin, a body which reflected the sun, and an ability to run like the wind.  These gods carried rods which thundered, smoked, and killed.  By various methods the Indian would learn that these weren't gods but mortals. It would be too late. The Indians' own fatalism would do them in; their myths foretold destruction and it came.

As for the Spanish view of the Indian, it varied from person to person and time to time.  Columbus thought they were gentle people who would be eager to be Christianized and serve the monarchy.  They eventually were all these things, but the Spanish reputation was acquired in getting them to that point.      The island Indians were considered little more than animals.  While Indians on the mainland were slightly more civilized, the demand for a labor force ensured that the colonist would remain blind to the humanity of the Indians.  Only with the arrival of clerics concerned with the plight of these people did they acknowledge the fact that these were human beings, deserving humane treatment.  Even with this knowledge the Indian was most often mistreated.

The discovery of the New World brought new vistas to Spaniards.  Novels which told of knights, maidens, exotic lands, strange people, and hidden wealth were popular and enticed the adventurous conquistadors to explore and conquer.  They were after all valiant men; they had vanquished their enemies. Whatever fate awaited them in this new land was unimportant compared to the possible wealth and glory.  Some came to seek gold, some glory.  They all came to conquer and claim the land for their own, no matter what the risk.  It could be said they were being true to their Roman heritage.  The motto for the conquistadors could have been written by Caesar: I came, I saw, I conquered.  They did. 
  

Sources

Davies, Nigel  The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico.  Penguin Books:  London, England:  1983, 247-253.

Fagg, John.  Latin American History.  The Macmillian Company:  London:  1969,
    35-210.

Gibson, Charles.  Spain in America.  Harper Torch Books:  New York:  1967, 1-159.

Haring, C.H.  The Spanish Empire in America.  Oxford University Press:  New York: 1947, 3-41.

Herring, Hubert.  A History of Latin America: From the Beginning to the Present.  Knoph:  New York:  1968, 64-203.