British incursions and Enlightenment investigations revealed a deep need to reform the Spanish state and the administration of its colonies. While seeking to rationalize and improve administrative affairs, while at the same time raising revenue, the Bourbon Reforms brought with them unintended consequences as well. Typically implemented by recently arrived peninsular Spaniards, the native-born Spanish population resented their preferment to positions of authority. The Reforms, and those who implemented them, also de-stabilized relations of power and authority that had evolved in the Colonies over the course of more than a century. |
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[10 & 11] Military and Colonial Reform
EL Rey.=Virrey, Gobernador y Capitan General de las Provincias de N.E… [Mexico, 1799]. Ordenanzas para salitreros, y reglamento de la fabrica del salitre [Mexico, 20 September 1766]. |
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The siege of Havana and fall of Manila during the Anglo-Spanish War illustrated the necessity of reforming the Spanish military and colonial defenses. A new militia system was established in the colonies, drawn from the local population but led by Spanish officers, sergeants, and corporals. Fortifications were improved and the fabrication of the raw materials of war, such as saltpeter, was improved. | ||
[12] Bourbon Reforms |
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[13] Centralization |
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[14] The Need for Revenue |