Enlightened Reform in Southern Europe and its Atlantic Colonies, c. 1750-1830

Gabriel Paquette is Assistant Professor of History in the Department of History at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Previously, he was a Research Fellow in European and Latin American History at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He is author of Enlightenment, Governance, and Reform in Spain and its Empire, 1759-1808 (2008).

'This lively volume takes a fresh look at efforts to reform and modernize governance in eighteenth-century Europe by focusing on the enlightened reformism of the Southern European monarchies and their colonial empires in the Americas. France and its diminishing New World empire are included for useful comparison. An important book with new perspectives on an old debate.' Professor John H. Coatsworth, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA. 'This is a major achievement in eighteenth-century history. By tackling Southern Europe and the New World colonies, it brings multiple peripheries into the narrative of reform of anciens régimes, thereby recasting the global dynamics of competition and change.' Professor Jeremy I. Adelman, History Department, Princeton University, USA. 'This volume is an excellent contribution to the field of Enlightenment and reform policies of Enlightened Absolutist rulers. It covers a very rich diversity of countries and topics that are not usually included in studies on enlightened reform. The editor deserves to be congratulated for assembling articles that demonstrate very convincingly that the Enlightenment's impact went beyond Europe and that the Atlantic colonies constituted an integral part of those phenomena.' Professor Alexander Grab, University of Maine, USA.'An original, comprehensive and notably lively introduction which is henceforth the indispensable starting point for all serious students of enlightened reform in Europe's southern states and their overseas possessions.' Professsor Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow, UK.

• Contents: Introduction: Enlightened reform in Southern Europe and its Atlantic colonies in the long 18th century, Gabriel Paquette; Part I Southern Europe and Its Atlantic Colonies c.1750-1830: an Overview: Enlightenment, reform and monarchy in Italy, John Robertson; 'Enlightened reform' in the Spanish empire: an overview, Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra; Enlightenment and reform in France and the French Atlantic, Emma Rothschild; Enlightened reform in Portugal and Brazil, Francisco Bethencourt. Part II The Rise of Public Political Culture: the Efflorescence of Civil Society and its Connection to State Reform: Rethinking enlightened reform in a French context, John Shovlin; Searching for a 'middle class'? Francesco Mario Pagano and the public for reform in late 18th-century Naples, Melissa Calaresu; The Spanish monarchy and the uses of Jesuit historiography in the 'dispute of the New World', Víctor Peralta Ruiz; Conceiving Central America: a Bourbon public in the Gazeta de Guatemala (1797-1807), Jordana Dym; Montesquieu's Persian Letters and reading practices in the Luso-Brazilian world (1750-1802), Luiz Carlos Villalta. Part III The State as an Incubator of Enlightenment and an Engine of Reform: In the house of reform: the Bourbon court of 18th-century Spain, Charles C. Noel; 'Legal despotism' and enlightened reform in the ÃŽles du Vent: the colonial governments of Chevalier de Mirabeau and Mercier de la Rivière, 1754-1764, Pernille Røge ; The coming of enlightened reform in Bourbon Peru: secularization of the Doctrinas de Indios 1746-1773, Kenneth J. Andrien; The Savoyard state: another enlightened despotism?, Christopher Storrs; Derecho Indiano vs. the Bourbon reforms: the legal philosophy of Francisco Xavier de Gamboa, Christopher Peter Albi. Part IV Political Economy and the Reform of Society and the State: The Sultan's republic: jealousy of trade and oriental despotism in Paolo Mattia Doria, Sophus A. Reinert; Observing the neighbours: fiscal reform and