Abstract

DE BERNARDO ARES, José Manuel. Tres años estelares de política colonial borbónica (1701-1703). Cuad. hist. Esp. [online]. 2006, vol.80, pp.171-196. ISSN 0325-1195.

The new colonial policies of the Spanish monarchy are analyzed during a vital period of three years (1701-1703), which coincides with the political leadership of Cardinal Portocarrero and the enforcement of the alliance between Portugal and the Two Bourbon Crowns. The policies are characterized by French territorial expansion in the province of Pensacola, the organization of the black slave trade and the attempts to create new trading companies, led by France and open to the legal trading of other countries. These processes, analyzed in the short span of three years, are included in the broader setting of the two consecutive Wars of Succession (English and Spanish) to show the historical significance of the rise (France) and fall (Spain) of empires. Furthermore, they are influenced by, and, in turn, they themselves have an influence on, some reduced power elites, who make the decisions, redirecting those short, medium and long term processes towards new political horizons. In those three years, the sociological triangle responsible for these major decisions was constituted by the two Secretaries of State of Louis XIV (Torcy and Pontchartrain), the Ambassadors of France in Spain (Harcourt, Blécourt, Marcin and d'Estrées) and in Portugal (Rouillé) and the advisor on colonial affairs and president of the French Guinea Company (Ducasse).

Keywords : Atlantic history; New colonial policies; Resources in the Indies; Spanish-American black slave trade; Power elites; Wars of Succession; Rise and fall of empires.

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