Reform and Resistance: Bourbon and Pombaline Reforms, and Anglo-French Rivalry to 1763

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18th-century changes made by Spain's Bourbon kings (especially Charles III) to tighten control over the colonies — new viceroyalties, intendants, free trade zones, and a stronger colonial army.

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Spain was losing money and power to smugglers and rival empires; the Bourbons wanted more tax revenue, tighter control, and defence against Britain and Portugal.

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New Granada (1717, restored 1739) and Río de la Plata (1776) — created to govern distant regions more directly and cut out corrupt middlemen.

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A royal official (introduced by the Bourbon reforms) sent from Spain to run a province's finances and administration, replacing local creoles who used to hold these jobs.

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Reforms in Brazil under the Marquis of Pombal (Portugal's chief minister, 1750s–1770s) — he expelled the Jesuits, set up state trading monopolies, and centralised control from Lisbon.

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The Jesuits ran their own semi-independent missions and controlled Indigenous labour and land, which blocked Pombal's plan for direct state and settler control of the economy.

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The Comunero Revolt (1781, New Granada) — thousands protested new Bourbon taxes; also Tupac Amaru II's rebellion (1780, Peru) against colonial abuses of Indigenous labour.

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Huge distances and slow communication, corrupt or self-interested officials, the principle 'obedezco pero no cumplo' (I obey but do not comply), and the practical power of local creole elites.

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'I obey but do not comply' — a colonial legal custom where local officials formally accepted a royal order's authority but quietly delayed or ignored enforcing it.

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A clash over land claims in the Ohio River Valley between British colonists and the French, who each had rival alliances with Indigenous nations.

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France gave up nearly all its North American territory: Canada and land east of the Mississippi went to Britain, and Louisiana (west of the Mississippi) went to Spain.

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Both centralised power from Europe and boosted revenue, but Pombal's reform was sharper and faster (crushing the Jesuits directly) while Bourbon reform was broader and slower (restructuring viceroyalties and taxes over decades).