All of these efforts to rouse the nation from its intellectual lethargy encountered such obstacles as have already been mentioned in dealing with other phases of Spanish life in this period. Principal among them was the ignorance of the people. Great as were the endeavors of the reformers, they were unable to make the masses respond as quickly as could have been wished, while even on the bourgeois and upper classes the effect of the reforms was slight. Many interests directly opposed the new ideas, finding danger in them for the institutions which they represented. This was particularly true of the clergy as regards innovations in the intellectual life of the country. The state itself, prime mover in so many of the reforms, drew back when anything was suggested which seemed to impinge upon the royal prerogative. In the reign of Charles IV a distinct note of reaction began to make itself felt, coming to its full fruition at a later time under the autocratic Ferdinand VII.
Spanish contributions to experimental science.
One of the principal characteristics of the intellectual movement of the eighteenth century was the reawakened interest in the experimental sciences, representing a return to the Spanish traditions of the sixteenth century. If Spain furnished fewer great names and achievements at this time than formerly, nevertheless she made a notable recovery from the low position she held at the close of the seventeenth century, and in some respects, especially in natural science, produced men able to rank with their contemporaries in other lands. In keeping with the practical bent of Spanish character Spaniards were more famous for their applications of scientific discoveries than for their contributions to pure science. Just as in the previous era, the Americas furnished a prominent field for scientific investigations. In the realm of botany, perhaps more than in anything else, Spaniards distinguished themselves. A list of the greatest names of the period would include Mutis, Mociño, Sessé, Ruiz, Pavón, and Molina, whose works dealt with the flora of Bogotá, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, especially in their practical applications in medicine and otherwise. To their names should be added those of Cavanilles and Sarmiento, whose writings had to do with the flora of Valencia and Galicia. Under Philip V a botanical garden was projected, and it was founded at Madrid in the reign of Ferdinand VI. Other cities soon followed this example. Zoology and mineralogy were less prominently studied, and in the latter field Spain began to make more use of foreign specialists than in the Golden Age. A considerable impulse to the natural sciences was given by the founding, by Charles III, of the important museum at Madrid, in which existing collections were brought together and to which various specimens from the Americas were added. Another factor was the sending out of scientific expeditions, mostly in or to the Americas, in which respect, according to the testimony of Humboldt, Spain expended more than any other European government. Meritorious work in physics and chemistry was also done by Spaniards,—for example, the discoveries of Ruiz de Luzuriaga and Salvá in the realm of magnetic fluids and electricity, the discovery of tungsten by the Elhuyar brothers, and the demonstration by Antonio de Ulloa of the existence of platinum,—even though foreigners were to carry these findings still further. Medicine advanced out of the stagnation which had characterized it in the later seventeenth century, although it continued to be in a backward state in the Americas.
Mathematics and geography.
The scientific movement of the eighteenth century reached the field of mathematics and kindred branches, producing much valuable work, though usually in the field of their practical applications. In the case of mathematics the decline had even reached the point of the negation of that science as a field for study. The Jesuits reintroduced it in their colleges, but it remained for the ministers of Charles III to restore it to its earlier strong footing by creating professorships of mathematics in the universities and in the schools of higher learning devoted to special fields. Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, better known for their expedition to South America and their authorship of the Noticias secretas, or Secret notices (not published until 1826), about conditions there, were among those who distinguished themselves in this subject. Geographical productivity was not so great as in the preceding era, since colonial conquests were less far-reaching than before, but for the single reign of Charles III there was almost as much in the way of geographical accounts and maps as at any time in the past. The names of Pérez, Heceta, Bodega, Ayala, Arteaga, López de Haro, Elisa, and Fidalgo are only a few of the many who commanded expeditions in the new world designed in part for the acquisition of geographical information, though with political motives involved as well. In 1797 the Depósito Hidrográfico was founded in Madrid to serve as a centre for the preparation and storing of maps. This institution published many notable maps of the various parts of Spain’s colonies.
Philosophy.
Jurisprudence.
Economics and politics.
Philosophical studies were influenced by the current ideas of the age. At the outset educational institutions maintained what they termed the traditional doctrine, which was in fact no more than the dry bones of the past, serving only as a hindrance to the entry of anything new, even in the field which the philosophers pretended to represent. Men ambitious of knowledge resorted to the theories which then enjoyed high repute in countries considered as leaders in the world of thought, and even churchmen, who were usually among the more conservative elements, were influenced by such of the philosophic systems as seemed least dangerous to orthodox beliefs,—such as a certain sensationalism and experimentation in philosophy,—and they were even affected by an infiltration of encyclopedic ideas. This roused orthodox thinkers to an active reaction which produced many writings of a polemic character, although there may hardly be said to have been a veritable philosophic renaissance. It is interesting to note, however, that even those who combated the new ideas showed by their works that their own views were modified by them. Only one name stands out from the rest as worthy to be ranked with the great thinkers of other lands, that of the logician Andrés Piquer. In jurisprudence this was a particularly flourishing period, for juridical studies were more in keeping with the thought and propaganda in Europe at that time. The writings of Spaniards were directed to propagating or resisting the new juridical ideas, to the jurisdictional struggle between state and church, to the questions arising concerning the government of Spain and the reforms needed, and to the preparation of manuals for the teaching of law which the introduction of fresh materials required. The same activity was displayed in the fields of economics and politics, as has already been pointed out. The greatest names in these branches were those of ministers of state like Campillo, Ward, Ensenada, Campomanes, Floridablanca, and Jovellanos, who distinguished themselves by their writings as well as by their acts in office. In the field of economics Spanish thinkers, while strongly influenced by the current physiocratic ideas, were not so completely given over to them as the economists of other countries; they inclined toward giving an equal consideration to industrial development, thus foreshadowing the ideas which were soon to become supreme.
Advanced state of historical studies.