Many times when we refer to the Enlightenment we only think of the French or the German, however, the Enlightenment phenomenon also reached Spanish territory, and it is worth knowing How was the Enlightenment in Spain. This new current of thought would also end up conditioning the political path of the monarchy during the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Origin of the Enlightenment in Spain
What are the antecedents of the Spanish enlightened groups? We could say that it is the set of officials who supported the reign of Carlos III (the first monarch that tends to the Enlightenment) and that, for historians, it is explained as the pre-enlightenment in Spain.
And who were the pre-enlightened? It is a concept that is handled in the field of History and that was created shortly after the enlightened period, and precisely by a specific individual, Domínguez Ortiz, conceived to refer to both groups and individuals with a series of characteristics of thought. illustrated: anticlerical criticismespecially to the regular clergy and adoption of theology or, at least, Jansenist principles.
The Spanish Enlightenment is considered both the first current of thought and the first social movement that raised the modern concept of “public opinion” in Spain, you must bear in mind that modern society until the eighteenth century did not conceive the existence of a “public opinion”. ”, in other words, an opinion of the people to be taken into account for the actions of the government (as we perceive it today).
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Previously it was considered that government action depended solely and exclusively on royal sovereignty. Although it is true that there were currents or political support, they were not understood with the modern concept of political participation.
Therefore, the concept of public opinion (understood as a political force in the kingdom) was one of the new ideas introduced in the eighteenth century.
All these ideas are going to be consolidated after the riots of 1776 (better known as Esquilache riots) because from that moment the government will consider the need to connect with the enlightened part of society Spanish to line up in favor of the reforms. This will be what will constitute the Enlightenment in Spain as a reforming political agent.
Stages of the Enlightenment in Spain
Once known the precedents of the Enlightenment in Spainnow we will leave you what are the four stages that characterize it
- Novatores: around the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, they are the ones that we mentioned above as pre-illustrated, in addition, initially “novatores” was a pejorative adjective, however, this conception will improve over time .
- Critics and scholars: who are placed, specifically, between 1715 and 1759.
- Reformers: we also made a brief reference to them, since they are the ones that are located, broadly speaking, within the period of the reign of Carlos III. They are called that because they were the ones who took practical action and began to introduce changes, even in the daily life of Castilian.
- Last phase: it is the one that is situated and linked to the time of the French Revolution (1789).
As you can see, instead of being a uniform and equal group, there are several different groups, even with dissonant ideas among them, since the Enlightenment in Spain was a current that respected, in a certain way, its genesis, that multiplicity of thought.
Characteristics of the Enlightenment in Spain
As we indicated above, the first -and perhaps only- characteristic shared by the different stages of the Enlightenment in Spain is precisely that, the differential factor, multiplicity, so we will go through each stage, taking out the characteristics of each one.
Novators
As we have said, they were the ones who “suffered” the most from being enlightened, since they are early intellectuals who were not well received at the time, in a certain way, they were ahead of their time who began to turn from religious topics to scientific ones. /reasonable, thus becoming interested in topics -already classic- of the Enlightenment, generally what we know as natural sciences: physics, chemistry or biology.
A work that perfectly encompasses and reflects this idea is that of Juan de Cabriada (Philosophical-medical-chemical letter) or that of the Catalan Narcis Feliu de la Penya, one of the various innovative Catalan thinkers, a place where the Enlightenment had a special reception -perhaps because of its proximity to France-.
Scientists and scholars
These scholars are right in the time frame preceding Charles III (1715/59), his great contribution was to question the conservative thought that was still dominant at the time, although his two representatives, Feijoo and Gregorio Mayans, although they were Catholic, strongly questioned certain religious practices of the time.
The first, for his part, questioned the Inquisition, especially with regard to Jewish converts, the second, on the other hand, dismantled or accused Catholic “realities” of the time, appealing many times to History, that is, coming to affirm the possible falsity of the coming of the apostle Santiago.
Therefore, as their name indicates, the great characteristic of these illustrated is their criticism of reality in which they are immersed.
reformers
Are who made a number of changes (reforms) at a political level that involved modifications at all levels of the Castilian panorama, the result being the illustrated program of Carlos III -or rather, of his ministers-, a true example of modernization. Such changes led to modifications even in the typical clothing, one of the Causes of the Esquilache riots (Although some historians downplay this event, it is up for debate.)
Undoubtedly the greatest contribution is the attempt to modernize Spain with roads, sewage, new public lighting, etc. Therefore, this current of the Enlightenment in Spain is characterized by seeking modernization both infrastructurally and in the institutions and government of the monarchy (it is at this time that the figures of the ministers are strengthened, which remain until today).
last phase
This current is linked to the French Revolution, so that, on many occasions, they were reformists who wanted to progressively replace the monarchy or, on the other hand, to establish more firmly a Enlightened Despotism.
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