Knowra Spanish Enlightenment Spanish Enlightenment An eighteenth-century movement in Spain that promoted reason, scientific inquiry, educational reform, and modernization while engaging with Catholic and monarchical institutions.
Bourbon Reforms : Administrative, economic, and military changes introduced by Spain’s Bourbon monarchs, especially during the eighteenth century. The dynasty’s centralizing reforms created political conditions for Enlightenment projects.
Benito Jerónimo Feijoo : A Spanish Benedictine monk and essayist who challenged superstition and promoted critical inquiry in the eighteenth century. His widely read essays made skepticism toward unsupported beliefs central to Spanish public debate.
Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain : A Spanish scientific expedition that studied and documented the plants of New Spain from 1787 to 1803. It shows royal patronage turning scientific inquiry into systematic colonial investigation.
Royal Botanical Expedition to Peru : A Spanish scientific expedition that studied the plants of Peru and Chile from 1777 to 1788. It reveals how scientific reform extended through fieldwork in Spanish America.
Catholic Enlightenment : A form of Enlightenment thought that joined reason and reform to continued commitment to Catholic belief. It captures how many Spanish reformers pursued inquiry without rejecting Catholicism.
War of the Spanish Succession : A European conflict from 1701 to 1714 over the Spanish throne and the balance of power. Its outcome installed the Bourbon dynasty whose rule framed much of Spain’s eighteenth-century reform.
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos : A Spanish statesman and writer whose work addressed education, agriculture, law, and economic reform. He connected Enlightenment criticism to proposals for practical social and institutional change.
Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País : A Basque learned society founded in 1765 to promote education, science, agriculture, and industry. Its regional projects show how civic associations carried reform beyond the royal court.
Royal Botanical Expedition to New Granada : A Spanish botanical expedition led by José Celestino Mutis in New Granada from 1783 to 1816. Its research combined natural history, imperial administration, and local scholarly work.
Regalism : A political doctrine asserting the monarch’s authority over aspects of church governance within his realm. It explains how Spanish reformers sought to strengthen royal control over ecclesiastical institutions.
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