Collision of two cultures
The Bourbon and Pombaline reforms marked the beginning of a new era of the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies. Both Monarchies lost a lot of their political and economic power and were eventually faced with separation from their colonies. For example, after the death of Charles II, the war of succession in Spain affected the stability of the Crown. The war regarding who was going to be king Charles successor on the throne only ended with the peace treaty of Utrecht. This treaty brought many changes with it. After the Peace of Utrecht, Philip V took the Spanish throne. “The Peace of Utrecht (1712-13) marked the end of Spain’s reign as a major European power, and the Bourbon reforms that followed the war would mark a brief plateau before the beginning of a long economic and political decline that would not end until the late…show more content… The Bourbon and Pombaline reforms, in a sense sought to impose social reforms and a new taxations system that looked to consolidate the economy of the colonies. With these strategies, the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies tried to create laws that would respond to the flourishing economy of the colonies. They realized that the colonies had become the motor of the monarchies economy. By consolidating the colonies’ economy, they were trying to strengthen their own economies. Spain and Portugal were making a collective effort to slow down the deterioration of their economies and counter the global growth of their rivals- the English, Dutch and French. “The Bourbon and Pombal also moved forcefully to curb the power of the church” (Eakin, 153). They took control over the vast resources