Reforms of the Borbonic Monarchy: Cadiz Decrees and Modernization

The new Bourbonic Monarchy: The decrees of the new plant. Reforms. (Cádiz)

Government and Administration Reform.
The reorganization of the State (Felipe V, Fernando VI, and Carlos III) established a strong, centralized, and unified absolute monarchy, following the French model.
The Councils are relegated (except for Castilla) by the Secretaries of Dispatch.
The Decrees of New Plant: they suppressed the fueros and institutions of Aragon, being respected Navarrese and Basque.
The Courts were unique, keeping Navarre.
State intervention in the economy. Unique tax in Castilla.
The State created real manufactures.

-Church:
Control of the Church – applied the regalism and obtained the universal patronage.
Regalism: Doctrine that defends the primacy of real power over the religious.
Universal patronage: The right of presentation of the bishops and other changes, except 52 reserved by the pope.

-Administration reforms in America:
Consejo de Indias y la Casa de Contratación lost their functions in favor of Secretarías.
2 new virreinatos: Nueva Granada and Río de Plata; and 4 Capitanías Generales: Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Chile.
Military reform, creating an American army with 4 military garrisons.

-Nation-building, weak liberalism, and political modernization:
The 3rd Constitution after, USA and French.
The liberal Constitution of Cadiz (1812), the most liberal of its kind in Europe.
Designed a centralizing unitary state much unlike other liberal models of territorial organization, as was that of the North American federative experience.
Imitated the hyper-centralist practices and strategies of their French counterparts? Difficult to consolidate both their political reforms and their “national revolution”.
Especially in Navarre, the Basque provinces, and Catalonia there were protests at centralist reform and claims were renewed for the restitution of their ancient fueros or local rights.

-The Cadiz Cortes and the Constitution of 1812:
The resistance formed a central administration in the absence of the king – the Supreme Central and Governmental Council (Junta) of Spain.
Provisional government in Cadiz, port city with a major Spanish naval base, far away from France.
Difficult to go to Cadiz… the first year just the middle of diputats (representatives…).
Lawyers, clerks, military, not women and slaves… a lot of Andalusians-fathers of Constitution. Bourgeois…
The members of the Constitutional Cortes were to be elected representatives (rather than Spanish nobles or members of the clergy) from both Spain proper and Spanish territories in the New World.
One representative for every 50,000 freemen were to be (indirectly) elected from Spain and one from every 100,000 freemen from Spanish territories in the New World.

-“Sovereignty belongs to the nation.”
“The nation is obliged, by wise and just laws, to protect the liberty, property, and all other legitimate rights, of every individual which compose it.” (Not Kings).
Citizenship, NO subdito.
Increased civic equality by reducing aristocratic and monopoly privileges.
More social right…