La política en la España ilustrada del siglo XVIIIun nuevo rumbo historiográfico

Abstract

The diversification of the studies on the 18th century allows us to expand on old controversies and find new ways of understanding them. Concepts such as “enlightened abso- lutism” may be appropriate if we speak of the political formula in which “ministerial despot- ism” was sheltered under the king’s power to develop plans that, without his support, could not have been successful. The Enlightenment acted as a desideratum, but it coexisted with the motto “to command is to punish”, which came from the stalest absolutism and continued to demonstrate efficacy. In summary, it was proposed to deepen the debate of the contradictions of a century in excess of “sugar-coating”. In summary, it is proposed here to delve into the dialectic of the contradictions of an excessively “sweetened” century and to refl ect with new arguments on the limitations that the reformist process had in a society based on privilege. The 18th century, “the century of authority”, broadened the limits and allowed some political, economic and social reforms, but always appealing to “order” and “obedience to authority”. The “Domus Regia”, the tension between the Grandees and the ministers of “plebeian” origin -some even poor, such as Soler, Gálvez or Ensenada- and a “political” Church, subjected to regalism, make up the framework of political action for this century.