Spain

Abstract

The Spanish monarchy had reached a low point under its last Habsburg rulers in the late seventeenth century. Some slow improvement was taking place under the Bourbons, who rose to the Spanish throne in 1700. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the enlightened absolute monarch Charles III (1759–88), assisted by Ministers Conde de Aranda, Pedro de Campomanes, and Joseph de Floridablanca, launched an extensive reform policy aimed at strengthening the State and reviving the economy.¹ The government stimulated commercial and industrial growth but accomplished little in the agricultural sector. Charles III expanded trade with the Spanish colonies in South America by abolishing the monopoly held over colonial trade by the port of Cadiz and opening it to all the major ports. Internal free trade was also established. Following mercantilist principles, the government created state manufacturers of luxury goods, including wool, tapestries, and silk, and granted them monopolies and financial assistance. High tariffs protected Spanish industries from foreign competition. Charles also sought to subordinate the Church to the monarchy, gaining more control over the Inquisition and, in 1767, expelling the Jesuits from Spain.