Charles III was the third Bourbon king who ruled from 1759 to 1788. Some historians refer to Charles III as “a prodigy among Bourbon misfits”. Charles III’s goals for Spain’s government were to reform the imperial structure, increase administrative efficiency, increase political control over Spain, and increase economic profits. Charles III managed to increase Spain’s economic profits by creating economic reforms. In order to increase political control over Spain, Charles III took several actions such as expelling the Jesuits and forcing them to leave Spain. The Jesuits had an extreme amount of power over the church. The Jesuits before had the support of the royals and kings such as Phillip V and Ferdinand VI. However, when Charles III was in control, everything had changed and the Jesuits no longer had the support from the royals. According to Charles E. Chapman’s A History of Spain, “…Charles had demonstrated his lack of cordiality toward the Jesuit order, and had begun to feel a suspicion… that the Jesuits might prove to be a danger to the state; in view of the actual power which the Jesuits possessed”. Charles III was very suspicious of the Jesuits and believed that they were a danger to Spain since the Jesuits had tons of …show more content…
The economic reforms were beneficial for production and for consumption of goods. This strengthened Spain by encouraging trade and expanding agriculture and mining. According to Jaime E. Rodriguez’s Down from Colonialism, New Spain’s gross national product for agriculture was an average total of 138,627,310 pesos in 1800 which was 62% of New Spain’s economy. New Spain’s gross national product for the industry was an average total of 55,001,311 pesos in 1800 and was 25% of New Spain’s economy. Spain also gained an efficient tax administration. For mining the gross national product was an average total of 27,951,000 pesos and was 13% of New Spain’s economy. The economic reforms also benefited Spain’s population growth. The population of Spain started out at 5,700,000 at the beginning of the era. In 1787, the population had doubled to 10,409,879 and in 1797 the population increased to 10,541,221. As the population grew, more people were becoming manufacturers and artisans in Spain. According to Charles E. Chapman’s A History of Spain, in 1787 there was about 310,739 manufacturers and artisans in Spain and in 1797 the number had increased to 533,769. Silver mining was a large part of New Spain’s economic growth. The mining production doubled in New Spain. From 1780 to 1810, New Spain produced about 24 million pesos of silver each year. There was also an increase in