Bourbon Spain 1700-1808 (A History of Spain)

The history of a crucial century for Spain, when statesmen had to innovate and people to adjust. Under Charles III the power of the state and the impulse to reform reached their peak, and his reign was viewed by posterity as a model of enlightened absolutism. John Lynch takes as his theme the interplay between new policy and changing conditions in Spain and its empire. Population growth increased the pressure on land and depressed rural living standards, at a time when rising grain prices brought landowners great profit. Lynch considers whether reformers had the will or the means to effect the structural changes needed in Spain, abolish privilege, liberalize land policy and redistribute resources. In doing so, he highlights the critical importance of Spain's American empire in the Bourbon program. This book explores the limits of modernization and of the classical dilemma confronting Spanish government: how could it reform the existing system without subverting it?