Kenneth J. Andrien

The overseas enterprises of Spain expanded dramatically following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The Spanish had already conquered the Canary Islands, which served as a base for the later conquest of lands in the Americas (known as the Indies) that served as the foundation of the Spanish Atlantic world. After 1492 Spanish colonists fanned out from a few Caribbean outposts to Mexico, as armies overthrew the Aztec Empire and annexed the Maya domains in southern Mexico and Central America. In just over a decade the Spaniards brought down the Inca Empire, giving the Castilians control over the vast human and mineral resources in South America. Over the course of the sixteenth century, the Castilian invaders, followed by crown bureaucrats and Catholic clergymen, consolidated control over the central regions of Mexico and Peru. Spain eventually claimed control over the vast region from the current southwest of the United States to the southern tip of South America, creating a massive domain that brought unimaginable wealth to the Kingdoms of Spain. This wide-ranging study examines the evolution of the Spanish Atlantic World from its inception with the voyages of Christopher Columbus through the period of conquest and expansion in the sixteenth century, the era of consolidation in the seventeenth century, to the reform and renovation of the eighteenth century, culminating in its slow-motion collapse by 1825. Drawing on traditions from the long Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims, the first conquistadors and settlers attempted to establish a stratified patriarchal society, based on Roman Catholic values and firmly tied to metropolitan Spain and the wider Atlantic world. As Spain became mired in a series of disastrous wars with European rivals and the colonial economy expanded, diversified, and became more self-sufficient in the seventeenth century, colonial elites gained greater political and social power. Under the new French Bourbon dynasty after 1700, crown ministers framed Enlightenment-inspired policies to reform the Spanish Atlantic world, creating a more centralized state apparatus with the ability to raise taxes, curtail contraband commerce, and establish a military capable of defending the interests of the crown against its European foes. These Bourbon Reforms enjoyed successes, despite provoking opposition among conservative groups in Spain and unrest and revolts in the Indies. Finally, Spain became embroiled in the wars of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, which led a French invasion of Iberia, political tumult in Spain and the Indies, and the collapse of the Spanish Atlantic World and independence for the Americas. Drawing on his extensive research and the most recent literature, eminent historian Kenneth J. Andrien lucidly narrates the three hundred years during which the Spanish Indies evolved from kingdoms of the crown to dependent colonies to independent nations, leading to the fracturing of the Spanish Atlantic world.

The overseas enterprises of Spain expanded dramatically following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The Spanish had already conquered the Canary Islands, which served as a base for the later conquest of lands in the Americas (known as the Indies) that served as the foundation of the Spanish Atlantic world. After 1492 Spanish colonists fanned out from a few Caribbean outposts to Mexico, as armies overthrew the Aztec Empire and annexed the Maya domains in southern Mexico and Central America. In just over a decade the Spaniards brought down the Inca Empire, giving the Castilians control over the vast human and mineral resources in South America. Over the course of the sixteenth century, the Castilian invaders, followed by crown bureaucrats and Catholic clergymen, consolidated control over the central regions of Mexico and Peru. Spain eventually claimed control over the vast region from the current southwest of the United States to the southern tip of South America, creating a massive domain that brought unimaginable wealth to the Kingdoms of Spain. This wide-ranging study examines the evolution of the Spanish Atlantic World from its inception with the voyages of Christopher Columbus through the period of conquest and expansion in the sixteenth century, the era of consolidation in the seventeenth century, to the reform and renovation of the eighteenth century, culminating in its slow-motion collapse by 1825. Drawing on traditions from the long Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims, the first conquistadors and settlers attempted to establish a stratified patriarchal society, based on Roman Catholic values and firmly tied to metropolitan Spain and the wider Atlantic world. As Spain became mired in a series of disastrous wars with European rivals and the colonial economy expanded, diversified, and became more self-sufficient in the seventeenth century, colonial elites gained greater political and social power. Under the new French Bourbon dynasty after 1700, crown ministers framed Enlightenment-inspired policies to reform the Spanish Atlantic world, creating a more centralized state apparatus with the ability to raise taxes, curtail contraband commerce, and establish a military capable of defending the interests of the crown against its European foes. These Bourbon Reforms enjoyed successes, despite provoking opposition among conservative groups in Spain and unrest and revolts in the Indies. Finally, Spain became embroiled in the wars of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, which led a French invasion of Iberia, political tumult in Spain and the Indies, and the collapse of the Spanish Atlantic World and independence for the Americas. Drawing on his extensive research and the most recent literature, eminent historian Kenneth J. Andrien lucidly narrates the three hundred years during which the Spanish Indies evolved from kingdoms of the crown to dependent colonies to independent nations, leading to the fracturing of the Spanish Atlantic world.

This volume elucidates Bourbon colonial policy with emphasis on Madrid's efforts to reform and modernize its American holdings. Set in an Atlantic world context, the book highlights the interplay between Spain and America as the Spanish empire struggled for survival amid the fierce international competition that dominated the eighteenth century. The authors use extensive research in the repositories of Spain and America, as well as innovative consultation of the French Foreign Affairs archive, to bring into focus the poorly understood reformist efforts of the early Bourbons, which laid the foundation for the better-known agenda of Charles III. As the book unfolds, the narrative puts flesh on the men and women who, for better or worse, influenced colonial governance. It is the story of power, ambition and idealism at the highest levels.

This volume elucidates Bourbon colonial policy with emphasis on Madrid's efforts to reform and modernize its American holdings. Set in an Atlantic world context, the book highlights the interplay between Spain and America as the Spanish empire struggled for survival amid the fierce international competition that dominated the eighteenth century. The authors use extensive research in the repositories of Spain and America, as well as innovative consultation of the French Foreign Affairs archive, to bring into focus the poorly understood reformist efforts of the early Bourbons, which laid the foundation for the better-known agenda of Charles III. As the book unfolds, the narrative puts flesh on the men and women who, for better or worse, influenced colonial governance. It is the story of power, ambition and idealism at the highest levels.

Spanish colonialism exacted a high price from its subjects, promoting economic dependency as the accompaniment of a more vital, diversified economy based on a mix of industry and agriculture. The result was a legacy of underdevelopment, domestic social inequities, and economic subordination to the North Atlantic world. This volume examines how Spanish colonial policies contributed to profound socioeconomic changes, leading to patterns of underdevelopment in the Kingdom of Quito (modern Ecuador) from 1690 to 1830.

This broadly gauged, synthetic study examines how the Spanish invasion of the Inca Empire (called Tawintinsuyu) in 1532 brought dramatic and irreversible transformations in traditional Andean modes of production, technology, politics, religion, culture, and social hierarchies. At the same time, Professor Andrien explains how the indigenous peoples merged these changes with their own political, socio-economic, and religious traditions. In this way European and indigenous life ways became intertwined, producing a new and constantly evolving hybrid colonial order in the Andes. After beginning with a study of Tawintinsuyu on the eve of the Spanish invasion, Andrien then presents the salient topics in Andean colonial history: the emergence of the colonial state; the colonial socio-economic order; indigenous culture and society; Spanish attempts to impose Roman Catholic orthodoxy; and Andean resistance, rebellion, and political consciousness. By drawing on his own research and the contributions from scholars in many disciplines, Kenneth J. Andrien offers a masterful interpretation of Andean colonial history, one of the most dynamic and creative fields in Latin American studies.

Spanish colonialism exacted a high price from its subjects, promoting economic dependency as the accompaniment of a more vital, diversified economy based on a mix of industry and agriculture. The result was a legacy of underdevelopment, domestic social inequities, and economic subordination to the North Atlantic world. This volume examines how Spanish colonial policies contributed to profound socioeconomic changes, leading to patterns of underdevelopment in the Kingdom of Quito (modern Ecuador) from 1690 to 1830.