Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Adrian Pearce's lucid analysis does much to enrich our understanding of the 'Bourbon century' of Spanish history. Through close scrutiny of politics and policies under the first Spanish Bourbons and an innovative emphasis on the part played by South American viceroys in initiating colonial reform, Pearce makes a powerful case for revising our preconceptions about the dynamics of reform in Spain's empire."
- Anthony McFarlane, University of Warwick, UK
Synopsis
Integrating the political and governmental histories of Spain and the American colonies, this book focuses on the political and governmental history of the Viceroyalty of Peru during the 'early Bourbon' period and provides a new interpretation of the period's broader significance within Spanish American history.
About the Author
Adrian Pearce is Profesor-Investigador in the Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de Méxo, in Mexico City. He is the author of
British Trade with Spanish America, 1763-1808 (2007).
Table of Contents
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