Nevertheless, both the clergy and the great majority of the people remained as intolerant as ever. Ignorance played no small part in this feeling; thus French priests expelled from their country at the time of the revolution were suspected of heresy, and the general opinion of the Spanish common people with regard to Frenchmen was that they were all not only heretics or atheists but also cannibals. The ideal of toleration hardly passed beyond the narrow circle of the upper classes, but it was they who decided the policy of the state; indeed, the attitude toward religion in this period perfectly exemplified the workings of the benevolent despotism. The very men who expressed tolerant views and framed legislation to that end were pious in their private life, furnishing numerous proofs thereof, every day. Thus Spaniards still gave a multitude of Christian names to their children, in order to procure for them the protection of many saints; they observed religious ceremonies, such as processions, baptisms, and saints’ days of individuals, as the most important events of social life; they prayed daily, and at the sound of the Angelus all work stopped, even theatrical performances, and every one bowed his head in prayer; phrases with a religious turn were a part of everyday speech; sacred images and chapels were as abundant as formerly; and in a thousand ways, from the king to the lowest peasant, men continued to manifest their devotion to the Catholic faith.
CHAPTER XXXVII
ECONOMIC REFORMS, 1700-1808
Bases of the economic reforms of the era.
Economic reforms in the Americas.
IF a review of the political and ecclesiastical institutions of this period displays the enlightened despotism on its despotic side, a study of the economic reforms effected, or tried, reveals the benevolent or enlightened attitude of the autocratic state endeavoring to improve the lot of the people. In addition to the philanthropic aspect of these attempts, they were influenced, also: by the general current of eighteenth century thought, giving attention to economic problems; by the very evident necessity for reforms in Spain, which country had found itself in a condition of utter misery at the close of the preceding era, with the result that a multitude of pamphlets had been written to explain the decline and suggest remedies; and by the desire to attain other ends, such as that of defence against the aggressions of England, which had to be based in the final analysis on the economic recovery of Spain. Not only in Spain but also in the Americas, and almost more strikingly, this was an age of economic reform, based primarily on Spain’s need of the colonial markets as a factor in her own regeneration. Nevertheless, this was the period when the old monopoly utterly fell, in part because of the entry of foreigners into the colonies or their establishment in Spanish ports to take over the goods coming from the Americas, and in part as a result of a deliberate policy, throwing open the commerce of the new world, if not directly to all nations, at least indirectly through the intervention of the many Spanish cities which came to enjoy the privilege of the overseas trade. The American situation cannot be dealt with here, but it must be held in mind as one of the vital elements in Spain’s economic progress.
The reformers and their achievements.
Statistics of population.
The most genuine representative of the century’s political economists in Spain was Campomanes. Although a follower of the French physiocratic school, which maintained that agriculture was the principal sustain of a nation’s wealth, he did not fail to recognize the importance of manufacturing, and endeavored to foster that industry through the dissemination of works of an educative character, the enactment of protective laws, and the founding of model establishments. Of equal rank with Campomanes, though not as effective in achieving reforms, was Jovellanos, while there was hardly a minister of prominence in the entire period who did not attain to some distinction as an economist. The general effect of the reforms was beneficial, making itself felt in all branches of the production, exchange, and consumption of goods, as well as in an increase in population. Thus the 5,700,000 inhabitants of Spain at the beginning of the era had nearly doubled by 1787, when the total was 10,409,879 (or 10,286,150 by another estimate), and had still further increased to 10,541,221 in 1797. The following table of occupations for these two years is interesting both as showing the economic distribution of the population and as indicating the direction of the reforms.
| 1787 | 1797 | |
| Ecclesiastics | 182,425 | 168,248 |
| Nobles | 480,589 | 402,059 |
| Employees (of the government?) | 41,014 | 31,981 |
| Soldiery | 77,884 | 149,340 |
| Students | 50,994 | 29,812 |
| Farmers and (farm?) laborers | 1,871,768 | 1,677,172 |
| Manufacturers and artisans | 310,739 | 533,769 |
| Servants | 280,092 | 174,095 |
| Merchants | No figures | 25,685 |
The discrepancies between the two columns are in part accounted for by the fact that Spain was at peace in 1787, and at war with England in 1797. In a total of some 3,000,000 workers it is notable that the majority were devoted to agricultural pursuits (including about 100,000 engaged in pastoral labors), showing that the cultivation of the soil was the principal basis of the national life. The vast number of ecclesiastics, nobles, and servants, nearly a third of the total, is eloquent of the social problem which the government had to face. In the course of ten years they had fallen away to less than a fourth of the whole. Statistics as to density of population showed Guipúzcoa, Valencia, Asturias, Navarre, and Vizcaya in the lead, with respectively eighty, forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-three, and forty-two inhabitants to the square kilometer. Andalusia had thirty-nine, Granada and Catalonia thirty-four each, Aragon only twenty-one, while Extremadura with fourteen and La Mancha and Cuenca with thirteen each brought up the rear. In total population Galicia led with 1,345,000. Catalonia had 814,412, Valencia 783,084, Andalusia 754,293, Granada 661,661, and Aragon 623,308. Large urban groups were rare; there were fewer than forty cities with a population of 10,000, and seventeen of them were in Andalusia. The four largest cities were Madrid (156,000), Barcelona (115,000), Seville (96,000), and Valencia (80,000). Economic prosperity did not correspond exactly with these figures, for the factors of climate, soil, irrigation, and nearness to the sea entered into the situation.