The Origins of Bourbon Reform in Spanish South America, 1700–1763

Abstract

Scope and content: "This book presents one of the first detailed analyses of the first six decades of Bourbon rule in Spanish America (1700-1763). Based on a wealth of archival sources in Spain and Peru and on a body of historical research that has transformed our understanding of this period in just the past few years, it turns existing interpretations on their heads, staking a claim for the significance of the early Bourbon era within the broad sweep of Spanish colonial history. Above all, it argues that the much better-known late-Bourbon program of reforms for the American colonies, associated primarily with the reign of the 'great reformer-king' Charles III, cannot be understood without reference to the half-century that preceded his accession to the Spanish throne"-- Introduction: The Early Bourbon Period in Spanish South America : an Interpretation -- 1. Imperial Hiatus : War in Spain and Crisis in Peru, 1700 to 1720s -- 2. Bourbon Rule and the Origins of Reform in Spain and the Colonies, 1700-1719 -- 3. The First Cycle of Reform, 1710s to 1736 : Spanish Atlantic Trade -- 4. The First Cycle of Reform, 1710s to 1736 : Government, Treasury, Mining, and the Church -- 5. Reform Abated, 1736-1745 -- 6. Reform Renewed : The Second Cycle, 1745-1763 -- 7. Conclusions.