Efforts to ascertain the influence of enlightenment thought on state action, especially government reform, in the long eighteenth century have long provoked stimulating scholarly quarrels. Generations of historians have grappled with the elusive intersections of enlightenment and absolutism, of political ideas and government policy. In order to complement, expand and rejuvenate the debate which has so far concentrated largely on Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, this volume brings together historians of Southern Europe (broadly defined) and its ultramarine empires. Each chapter has been explicitly commissioned to engage with a common set of historiographical issues in order to reappraise specific aspects of 'enlightened absolutism' and 'enlightened reform' as paradigms for the study of Southern Europe and its Atlantic empires.

In so doing it engages creatively with pressing issues in the current historical literature and suggests new directions for future research. No single historian, working alone, could write a history that did justice to the complex issues involved in studying the connection between enlightenment ideas and policy-making in Spanish America, Brazil, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. For this reason, this well-conceived, balanced volume, drawing on the expertise of a small, carefully-chosen cohort, offers an exciting investigation of this historical debate.

Contents: Introduction: Enlightened reform in Southern Europe and its Atlantic colonies in the long 18th century, Gabriel Paquette; Part I Southern Europe and Its Atlantic Colonies c.1750–1830: an Overview: Enlightenment, reform and monarchy in Italy, John Robertson; 'Enlightened reform' in the Spanish empire: an overview, Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra; Enlightenment and reform in France and the French Atlantic, Emma Rothschild; Enlightened reform in Portugal and Brazil, Francisco Bethencourt. Part II The Rise of Public Political Culture: the Efflorescence of Civil Society and its Connection to State Reform: Rethinking enlightened reform in a French context, John Shovlin; Searching for a 'middle class'? Francesco Mario Pagano and the public for reform in late 18th-century Naples, Melissa Calaresu; The Spanish monarchy and the uses of Jesuit historiography in the 'dispute of the New World', Víctor Peralta Ruiz; Conceiving Central America: a Bourbon public in the Gazeta de Guatemala (1797–1807), Jordana Dym; Montesquieu's Persian Letters and reading practices in the Luso-Brazilian world (1750–1802), Luiz Carlos Villalta. Part III The State as an Incubator of Enlightenment and an Engine of Reform: In the house of reform: the Bourbon court of 18th-century Spain, Charles C. Noel; 'Legal despotism' and enlightened reform in the Îles du Vent: the colonial governments of Chevalier de Mirabeau and Mercier de la Rivière, 1754–1764, Pernille Røge ; The coming of enlightened reform in Bourbon Peru: secularization of the Doctrinas de Indios 1746–1773, Kenneth J. Andrien; The Savoyard state: another enlightened despotism?, Christopher Storrs; Derecho Indiano vs. the Bourbon reforms: the legal philosophy of Francisco Xavier de Gamboa, Christopher Peter Albi. Part IV Political Economy and the Reform of Society and the State: The Sultan's republic: jealousy of trade and oriental despotism in Paolo Mattia Doria, Sophus A. Reinert; Observing the neighbours: fiscal reform and transnational debates in France after the Seven Years' War, Florian Schui; 'The proud epithet of enlightened': Ferdinando Galiani and the Neapolitan debate on colonies, commerce and conquest, Koen Stapelbroek. Part V The Limits of Enlightened Reform: The limits of reform in Spanish America, Manuel Lucena-Giraldo; Pombal's government: between 17th-century valido and enlightened models, Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro; Enlightened reform after independence: Simón Bolívar's Bolivian constitution, Matthew Brown; José da Silva Lisboa and the vicissitudes of enlightened reform in Brazil, 1798–1824, Gabriel Paquette; Index.

About the Editor: Gabriel Paquette is Assistant Professor of History in the Department of History at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Previously, he was a Research Fellow in European and Latin American History at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He is author of Enlightenment, Governance, and Reform in Spain and its Empire, 1759–1808 (2008).

Reviews: 'This lively volume takes a fresh look at efforts to reform and modernize governance in eighteenth-century Europe by focusing on the enlightened reformism of the Southern European monarchies and their colonial empires in the Americas. France and its diminishing New World empire are included for useful comparison. An important book with new perspectives on an old debate.'
Professor John H. Coatsworth, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA.

'This is a major achievement in eighteenth-century history. By tackling Southern Europe and the New World colonies, it brings multiple peripheries into the narrative of reform of anciens régimes, thereby recasting the global dynamics of competition and change.'
Professor Jeremy I. Adelman, History Department, Princeton University, USA.

'This volume is an excellent contribution to the field of Enlightenment and reform policies of Enlightened Absolutist rulers. It covers a very rich diversity of countries and topics that are not usually included in studies on enlightened reform. The editor deserves to be congratulated for assembling articles that demonstrate very convincingly that the Enlightenment's impact went beyond Europe and that the Atlantic colonies constituted an integral part of those phenomena.'
Professor Alexander Grab, University of Maine, USA.

'An original, comprehensive and notably lively introduction which is henceforth the indispensable starting point for all serious students of enlightened reform in Europe's southern states and their overseas possessions.'
Professsor Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow, UK.

‘The volume is timely and speaks to current debates in a variety of fields. It offers more than a summation of new work in Southern Atlantic history and some new perspectives in the history of the Americas though. It has a sharp analytic edge, and uses the reform initiatives of the various states on the Mediterranean and Atlantic littoral as an optic through which to unite a set of seemingly divergent experiences.’ James Livesey, Reviews in History

‘An impressive volume.’ Jeremy Black, International History Review

'There are several reasons why this book is particularly important. As editor, Paquettte had done an amazing job at gathering together many prominent scholars and having each give his or her own take on what enlightened reforms were all about.' Tamar Herzog, Bulletin of Spanish Studies

'This collection of essays will prove essential for scholars of enlightenment reform across many disciplines and specialties.' David F. Slade, Dieciocho

'Studies of the Enlightenment have broadened their scope during the last decade to include the experience of Italy, Spain, Portugal and their colonies, nations that were traditionally assigned to the 'periphery' of the movement's northern European centres. This generous collection of essays, part of the series 'Empires and the Making of the Modern World, 1650-2000', represents a significant contribution to this reconsideration of centres and peripheries of the Enlightenment.' Catherine M. Jaffe, Bulletin of Latin American Research

'… I came away from this set of essays very much hoping that it would form the first of a new series of regular themed and comparative titles…' James Dunkerley, Journal of Latin American Studies

'This is an excellent collection of essays both for the historical problem it raises, which is the nature of the concept of enlightened reform, and the answers it provides. The contributors are all experts in their respective fields, and their articles reveal rigour and an innovative originality in the way they combine to produce a cohesive treatment.' Girolamo Imbruglia, English Historical Review

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Introduction

Index