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Bourbon reconquest of Spanish America, the long 18th century
Spain: from predator to prey
- War of Spanish Succession,
- 10 European wars: 5 against Britain, 4 against France
Secret Report on the Americas, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa (1748)
Bourbon reforms or reconquest (see chronology)
Resistance, revolt and rebellion, case of Peru
- Jose Santos Atahualpa, 1742-50s, eastern Peru
- Túpac Amaru uprising, central highlands, 1780-83
- Tupac Katari, aymara-based, upper peru, 1781
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Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, Noticias secretas de las Americas (4 vols, 1748)
“the most damaging denigration of Spain's rule in the New World.” (first English trans. 1825)
Thorough diagnosis of colonial ills
- defenses, political administration, commerce, justice, and plight of the Indians
Administration: “In these parts the friendship of a minister is worth more than any royal proclamation.”
Justice: “Whoever pays the most, gets the most justice.”
Indians: “they are genuine slaves”
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Bourbon reconquest of Spanish America, the long 18th century
Spain: from predator to prey
- War of Spanish Succession,
- 10 European wars: 5 against Britain, 4 against France
Secret Report on the Americas, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa (1748)
Bourbon reforms or reconquest (see chronology)
Resistance, revolt and rebellion
- The long shadow of Túpac Amaru (Peru, 1780-83)
- and the great fear of Haiti (1791-)
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Bourbon reforms or reconquest?
Substantial economic growth in 18th century fueled by mining, tropical agriculture (cacao, cochineal, sugar), regional trade, and reforms
Administrative reforms
- New Viceroyalties: Nueva Granada, Rio de la Plata
- Expulsion of Jesuits (1767)
- Colonial militias (1768)
- Formation of Intendancies (1784, 6)
Commercial reforms
- Free trade decrees, 1764, 1778
- Abolition of corregidor (1782), reparto de comercio (1784)
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Registered Silver Production, 1580-1800: Mexico’s 18th c. boom outstripped Peru’s 16th c. (Burkholder and Johnson, p. 139)
Peru, 18th c. recovery, 1720+
Mexico, 18th c. boom, 1720+
Why 18th c boom?
- New strikes, more areas
- Cheaper mercury, reduced taxes
- More investment
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Bourbon reforms or reconquest?
Imperial reconquest
- Appointments based on merit, connections, instead of purchase, 1750s-
- Consolidation of Vales Reales
Reformation of colonial rule, or deformation?
- Viceroy Revillagigedo, 1794: “It should not be forgotten that this is a colony which must depend on its mother country, Spain, and must yield her some benefit because of the protection it receives from her; and thus great skill is needed to cement th
is dependence and to make the interest mutual and reciprocal; for dependence would cease once European manufactures and products were not needed here.”
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Resistance, revolt and rebellion. 3 cases in Peru
Resistance and revolts were not unusual
In 18th century regional-wide rebellions emerged
1. Juan Santos Atahualpa, 1742-1750s, eastern
a descendant of the Inca Atahualpa came to reclaim his ancestral kingdom
1750: “Many of those referred to [Indians, mestizos and destitute whites] anxiously await the invasions of the rebel Atahualpa, and if he (god forbid) marched on Lima with two hundred arrow-wielding Indians, one might fear...a general insurrectio
n of the Indians…”
Spanish fortified eastern frontier to contain rebellion
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Rebellions in Upper Peru, 1742-1783 1. J.S. Atahualpa 2. Túpac Amaru 3. Túpac Katari
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The long shadow of Túpac Amaru (Peru, 1780-83)
2. Tupac Amaru (Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui)
- after failure of appeals to Viceroy and Audiencia for removal of corregidor
- disinherited noble reclaiming rightful sovereignty over Tawantinsuyu
- neo-Inca messianic movement near Cuzco (opposed by Aymara speakers in Bolivia)
- violence alienated creoles; quechua speakers divided
- Captured, drawn, and quartered: May 18, 1781.
3. Túpac Katari (aymara speakers, La Paz and south); captured and quartered Nov. 14, 1781.
3 years of war: 100,000 lives lost. Legacy of fear/hope of native rebellion
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End
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