The Spanish Atlantic World in the Eighteenth Century

War and the Bourbon Reforms, 1713-1796

Bibliographic Data

ID2792446
AuthorsAinara Vázquez Varela (University of California, Davis, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume95
Issue3
Pages528-529
Publication date2015-08-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHispanic American Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2168 • E-ISSN: 1527-1900
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00182168-3088800
OpenAlexW2206006309
LanguageEN
Citations received9

Two forces shape the narrative of eminent historians Allan Kuethe and Kenneth Andrien in this insightful and well-researched analysis of the Spanish American world during the eighteenth century: war and reform. One of the main arguments of this study is that between the years 1713 and 1796, a clearly “symbiotic relationship” existed between the phenomena of war and reform that allowed the Bourbon dynasty to transform Spain from a composite monarchy into a more centralized state (p. 1). Using a chronological approach and different case studies, the authors develop an account of how the Spanish crown struggled to reform its empire. The different political conflicts in which Spain was engaged during the eighteenth century fundamentally helped to shape the reformist policies that the Bourbon kings and their ministers tried to put into effect in America. This reformist agenda responded not only to a desire for reorganizing and improving the colonial trade system and the revenue collection from their American possessions but also to the need for competing with Spain's rivals in Europe and across the Atlantic.One of the most significant contributions of this study is its emphasis on the scope, aims, and accomplishments of the first two Bourbon kings. Although typically the first phases of the Bourbon reforms have not received the same amount of interest as those implemented after the accession of Charles III to the throne, lately, substantial studies dedicated to this earlier period have been produced. In this line of work, Kuethe and Andrien clearly demonstrate that the often-repeated idea that the reforms undertaken by Philip V and Ferdinand VI were inadequate, unplanned, and ineffective needs to be completely revised. Relying on untapped primary sources found in French diplomatic correspondence, the authors have managed to provide a new analysis of the achievements and significance of the early Bourbon reform policies. In addition to that, they have also challenged the widespread notion that the Caroline reforms of the century's end constituted a “second conquest” of America, as their vision explains how at the core of these reforms were deep political conflicts within Spain and the Indies (p. 25).The Atlantic perspective that the authors place at the center of their analysis is also worth highlighting. Focusing on a wider Atlantic context to explain the process that shaped the century-long course of reform of Spanish America, the authors offer a more nuanced description of how events in Spain and the Indies were linked and affected each other. The chronological division of the book provides a well-organized structure emphasizing the phases of the reforms and serves to highlight how the different initiatives launched by the Bourbon monarchs and their ministers, as well as the different political struggles that Spain had to face within its empire and against foreign forces in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic world, were at the bottom of the crown's policies for the different territories of Spanish America. Although the book heavily focuses on the process of reforming the transatlantic trade — and rightly so, because it was one of the main interests of not only Spain but also the other European powers — and the discontent triggered by it among the powerful consulados of Seville and Cádiz, it also provides helpful insight into the social dynamics of the American elites and the royal officials sent to the Indies to implement the crown's reformist agenda.It could be argued that a more detailed explanation of the inner workings and prevalent dynamics of the colonial institutions would have helped to round out the picture of the reform process. The authors mention on several occasions how the general state of corruption inside audiencias and other colonial institutions was part of the problem that the reformers in Madrid wanted fixed, but they do not explain what was meant by this, or how we should interpret such claims, in sufficient detail.Kuethe and Andrien have managed to produce an original and essential text for all those interested in an in-depth analysis of the Spanish American world during the eighteenth century. Scholars and students who want to better understand the complex evolution of Spanish America from the late Hapsburg era to the better-known age of reform under Charles III will benefit enormously from reading this study

Ancient history · Archaeology · Atlantic World · Economic history · First world war · Political science · World War II · Historical Studies in Latin America · Historical Studies on Spain · History

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