By the early 1700s, Spain and Portugal were worried. Their American colonies were rich, but too much of that wealth was slipping away — to smugglers, to rival empires, and to local officials who ran things their own way. Both empires responded with major reform programmes in the 18th century.
Two empires, two reform waves: In Spanish America, this was the Bourbon reforms — named after the new Bourbon royal family that took the Spanish throne in 1700, replacing the Habsburgs. In Brazil, it was the Pombaline reforms, led by Portugal's chief minister, the Marquis of Pombal, from the 1750s to 1770s.
The Bourbon reforms peaked under King Charles III (ruled 1759–1788). His goals were simple: collect more tax, tighten royal control, and defend the empire better against Britain. He achieved this through several changes.
- New viceroyalties — New Granada (based in Bogotá) was made permanent in 1739, and Río de la Plata (based in Buenos Aires) was created in 1776, bringing distant regions under closer, more direct rule
- Intendants — royal officials sent directly from Spain to run each province's finances and administration, replacing local creoles (people of Spanish descent born in the Americas) who had often run things loosely or corruptly
- Free trade (comercio libre), 1778 — more colonial ports were allowed to trade directly with Spain, cutting out the old single-port monopoly system and boosting tax revenue
- A stronger colonial army — recruiting more American-born soldiers to defend the empire without draining Spain's own troops
In Brazil, the Marquis of Pombal pushed through his own sweeping changes. In 1759, he expelled the Jesuits from Brazil and Portugal's other territories. The Jesuits had run huge, semi-independent mission networks that controlled land and Indigenous labour — Pombal saw this as a rival power block standing in the way of state and settler control of the economy.
- State trading monopolies — companies like the Grão-Pará and Maranhão Company (1755) were given exclusive control over trade in specific regions, boosting crown revenue
- Centralising power in Lisbon — provincial governors reported more directly to Pombal, reducing the independence local elites had enjoyed
- Ending some restrictions on Indigenous labour (1755) — freeing Indigenous people from mission control, though in practice this often just shifted them into settler-run labour instead
Compare, don't just describe: Paper 3 essays reward comparison. Both reform waves centralised control and boosted revenue — but Pombal's move against the Jesuits was sudden and targeted, while the Bourbon reforms were broader and rolled out gradually over decades.
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Even with these reforms, royal power in the Americas was never as total as it looked on paper. The distances were enormous — a letter from Madrid to Lima could take six months to arrive and get a reply. This gave colonial officials, and the people they governed, real room to bend the rules.
"I obey but do not comply": Colonial law had a famous custom: "obedezco pero no cumplo" — officials could formally accept that a royal order was legitimate, while quietly delaying or never actually enforcing it. This shows how royal authority was often more symbolic than absolute at ground level.
The reforms themselves, especially the Bourbon reforms, actually triggered fresh resistance — because they raised taxes and removed the local privileges creole elites had long enjoyed.
| Uprising | Date & Location | Main Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Comunero Revolt | 1781, New Granada (modern Colombia) | New Bourbon taxes on tobacco and alcohol, and tighter control by intendants |
| Tupac Amaru II Rebellion | 1780–1782, Peru | Harsh treatment of Indigenous labourers under the mita system and abusive local officials (corregidores) |
| Tupac Katari Rebellion | 1781, Upper Peru (modern Bolivia) | Joined the wider uprising against colonial taxes and forced labour, sieging La Paz |
These revolts were eventually crushed by colonial forces, but they revealed a real weakness: reforms designed to strengthen the empire also generated new grievances that royal power could not fully contain.
Two kinds of limit: Keep these separate in your essay: structural limits (distance, slow communication, weak enforcement) existed from 1500 onward, while the Bourbon/Pombaline reforms created a new kind of resistance — direct protest against tighter control and higher taxes.
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While Spain and Portugal reorganised their empires, Britain and France were locked in a long struggle for control of North America. Both empires depended on alliances with Indigenous nations, since neither had enough settlers or soldiers to control the vast interior alone.
- Huron and Algonquin peoples — long-standing trading and military allies of France, especially in the fur trade around the St Lawrence and Great Lakes
- Iroquois Confederacy — often allied with the British and Dutch, and a major rival power to France's Indigenous partners
- Both empires relied on these alliances for fighters, supplies, and knowledge of the land — Indigenous nations were not passive bystanders but active political players choosing sides for their own interests
Tension came to a head over the Ohio River Valley, claimed by both Britain and France. In 1754, a young British officer named George Washington led a small force that clashed with the French near Fort Duquesne — the spark that lit the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of the wider global Seven Years' War.
Early French advantage
France and its Indigenous allies won early victories, including the capture of British-held Fort Oswego (1756) and Fort William Henry (1757).
British resources turn the tide
Britain's larger population, navy, and funding (under minister William Pitt) allowed it to outlast France, capturing Louisbourg (1758) and Quebec (1759).
French collapse in North America
Montreal fell in 1760, ending French military resistance in Canada.
Treaty of Paris, 1763
France ceded Canada and all land east of the Mississippi to Britain, and Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain — ending France's major presence in North America.
Spark (Ohio Valley) → Struggle (1754–1759) → Surrender (Montreal, 1760) → Settlement (Paris, 1763).
Don't forget the Indigenous cost: The 1763 settlement was made entirely between European powers. Indigenous nations who had fought and allied on both sides — including former French allies — were not consulted, even though the war reshaped their land and alliances completely.