Carlos III's Economic Reforms: Spain's Revival

Economic Reforms of Carlos III

Development

The reign of Charles III was characterized by attempts to solve economic and social issues that had been largely unaddressed by previous governments. Spanish enlightened thinking focused on a basic concern: the decline of Spain had an economic root. It was believed that revitalizing economic activity could give new vitality to the country. Some of the basics of his thought were:

• The need to develop in Spain the cultivation of the "useful sciences" (mathematics, modern physics, chemistry, mineralogy, etc.) considered as a basis for technical renovation that would support economic revival. This required a complete renovation of the country's education system from primary and vocational education to university studies.
• Critical analysis of the economic and social structure of the country to find solutions.
• Many illustrated a clear interest manifested by the new political theories that made their way to Europe.
• In all his public events boast the Spanish enlightened ideas of accepting only compatible with Christianity. But privately it is assumed that more than one rejected the core ideas of Christian thought.

During the eighteenth century, there was continued population growth. In some areas, such as Valencia and Catalonia, the population increase was spectacular and was accompanied by agricultural expansion in which new lands were exploited. There was, however, a relevant market that could absorb a large amount of industrial goods. With the exception of Catalonia, which exported cotton textiles to India, no Spanish region had an important industry.

Agriculture

During the eighteenth century, agriculture was the basis of the Spanish economy. There was scarcely any modernization or increased production, except when more land was put under cultivation. Much of the arable land was in the hands of the nobility and the church and was called "dead hand" because they could not sell or distribute large landowners and also maintained certain rights of the feudal manor on the lands of the peasants.

The situation was not easy for farmers and landowners due to the taxes and duties they had to pay, but the worst was that of tenants and laborers. Explanations of this situation raised the need for land reform, which would oppose the nobility and clergy. During the reign of Charles III, the promotion of agriculture was a priority, because it was intended to boost the entire economy. For this reason, the need to undertake an agrarian reform in Spain was discussed. This was put forth in "The Treaty of Royalty Payback" (1765) by Campomanes, and after the reign of Charles III, "Report on the Agrarian Law" (1794-1795) by Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.

These plans indicated a threefold objective:

1. Increase agricultural production and achieve a seamless market institutions (surgery prices, tolls ...) that would increase benefits for farmers.
2. Promote social stability, creating an area of rural landowners who work to increase profits. This rich sector would also support the Government.
3. Raise government revenue from agriculture by establishing a tax on agricultural income, i.e., a tax on purchases and sales. It was expected that since in most landowners would increase the number of taxpayers.

To achieve these objectives, several measures were proposed, although not all were put into practice:

The change in ownership structure. This measure was suggested, but not addressed. The picture showed that land-related and entailed estates or in the hands of the Church should be bought and sold. However, no decision was adopted, and land ownership remained unchanged. Deals only did the land belonged to the municipalities and were not cultivated. However, these properties being acquired by local elites, because farmers lacked capital that could not exploit them.

Free grain trade until 1765, the state controlled the prices of these products through fees. The market liberalization led to sharp price increases, which were at the root of the riots of 1766. Since this measure was not accompanied by changes in ownership, the campesinos did not benefit, and only the owners did: the nobility and the clergy in 1804 was suppressed free pricing.