The Spanish Monarchy and the Creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717-1739): The Politics of Early Bourbon Reform in Spain and Spanish America

Francisco A. Eissa-Barroso’s The Spanish Monarchy and the Creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717-1739) argues that the pace and character of the most salient Bourbon reform introduced in Spanish America in the early eighteenth century were determined by relations between New Granadan elites and authorities in Spain, reflected changes in European geopolitical configurations, and echoed the aims behind innovation in the Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, the book stresses the hierarchical and asymmetrical nature of interactions across the empire and the importance of changes affecting the central administration of the monarchy. Voices from across the Spanish world reached Madrid but were often manipulated to the benefit of competing factions at court.