benefit of their neighbours. 292 Into the Colonies generally, vast improvements were introduced, many oppressions were removed, the tyranny of officials was checked, and the burdens of the people were lightened.293 Finally, in 1778, the principles of free trade having been successfully tried in the American Islands, were now extended to the American Continent; the ports of Peru and of New Spain were thrown open; and by this means an immense impetus was given to the prosperity of those magnificent colonies, which nature intended to be rich, but which the meddling folly of man had forced to be poor.294

All this reacted upon the mother country with such rapidity, that scarcely was the old system of monopoly broken up, when the trade of Spain began to advance, and continued to improve, until the exports and imports had reached a height that even the authors of the reform could hardly have expected; it being said, that the export of foreign commodities was tripled, that the export of home-produce was multiplied fivefold, and the returns from America ninefold.295

Portobelo, Cartagena, islas de Barlovento y provincias de la Plata; y aquellos ligeros buques volvian á la Habana, de donde zarpaba mensualmente y en dia fijo otro paquebot para la Coruña." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. i. p. 452. That part of the plan, however, which aimed at making Coruña a rival of Cadiz, appears to have been unsuccessful. See a letter from Coruña, written in 1774, in Dalrymple's Travels through Spain, London, 1777, 4to, p. 99.

292 See the edicts in Campomanes, Apendice, vol. ii. pp. 37-47, Madrid, 1775. They are both dated October 16th, 1765. 66

293 It was said, with reason, by Alaman, que el gobierno de América llegó al colmo de su perfeccion en tiempo de Carlos III." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. p. 141. And Humboldt observes (Essai Politique sur le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne, Paris, 1811, 4to, vol. i. p. 102), "C'est le roi Charles III surtout qui, par des mesures aussi sages qu'énergiques, est devenu le bienfaiteur des indigènes; il a annulé les Encomiendas; il a défendu les Repartimientos, par lesquels les corregidors se constituoient arbitrairement les créanciers, et par conséquent les maîtres du travail des natifs, en les pourvoyant, à des prix exagérés, de chevaux, de mulets et de vêtemens (ropa).'

294 Cabarrus, Elogio de Carlos III., Madrid, 1789, p. xlii., and Canga's note in Martinez de la Mata, Dos Discursos, Madrid, 1794, p. 31. But these writers were not sufficiently familiar with political economy, really to appreciate this measure.

295 66

Early in the reign of Charles, steps had been taken towards the adoption of more liberal principles in the commerce with America; but, in the year 1778, a complete and radical change was introduced. The estab

Many of the taxes, which bore heavily on the lower ranks, were repealed, and the industrious classes, being relieved of their principal burdens, it was hoped that their condition would speedily improve.296 And to benefit them still more, such alterations were effected in the administration of the law, as might enable them to receive justice from the public tribunals, when they had occasion to complain of their superiors. Hitherto, a poor man had not the least chance of succeeding against a rich one; but in the reign of Charles III., government introduced various regulations, by which labourers and mechanics could obtain redress, if their masters defrauded them of their wages, or broke the contracts made with them.297

Not only the labouring classes, but also the literary and scientific classes, were encouraged and protected. One source of danger, to which they had long been exposed, was considerably lessened by the steps which Charles took to curtail the power of the Inquisition. The king was, moreover, always ready to reward them; he was a man of cultivated tastes, and he delighted in being thought the patron of learning.298 Soon after his accession, he issued an order, exempting from military service all printers, and all persons immediately connected with printing, such as casters of type, and the like.2099 He,

lishment of a free trade rapidly produced the most beneficial consequences. The export of foreign goods was tripled, of home-produce quintupled; and the returns from America augmented in the astonishing proportion of nine to one. The produce of the customs increased with equal rapidity." Clarke's Examination of the Internal State of Spain, London, 1818, p. 72.

296 Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. pp. 197, 317, 318.

297 See Florida Blanca's statement in Core's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. p. 331; "to facilitate to artisans and journeymen the scanty payment of their labours, in spite of the privileges and interest of the powerful." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. pp. 317, 318, and elsewhere.

298

299 Desde mi feliz advenimiento al trono' (dijo el Rey en la ordenanza de reemplazos) ha merecido mi Real proteccion el arte de la imprenta, y, para que pueda arraigarse sólidamente en estos reinos, vengo en declarar la exencion del sorteo y servicio militar, no solo á los impresores, sino tambien á los fundidores que se empleen de continuo en este ejercicio, y á los abridores de punzones y matrices."" Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iii. p. 213.

also, as far as he was able, infused new life into the old universities, and did all that was possible towards restoring their discipline and reputation.300 He founded schools, endowed colleges, rewarded professors, and granted pensions. In these matters, his munificence seemed inexhaustible, and is of itself sufficient to account for the veneration with which literary Spaniards regard his memory. They have reason to regret that, instead of living now, they had not lived when he was king. In his reign, it was supposed that their interests must be identical with the interests of knowledge; and these last were rated so highly, that, in 1771, it was laid down as a settled principle of government, that of all the branches of public policy, the care of education is the most important.301

But this is not all. It is no exaggeration to say, that in the reign of Charles III. the face of Spain underwent greater changes than it had done during the hundred and fifty years which had elapsed since the final expulsion of the Mohammedans. At his accession, in 1759, the wise and pacific policy of his predecessor, Ferdinand VI., had enabled that prince not only to pay many of the debts owed by the crown, but also to accumulate and leave behind him a considerable treasure.302 Of this, Charles availed himself, to begin those works of public splendour, which, more than any other part of his admi

300 On the steps taken to reform the universities between 1768 and 1774, see Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iii. pp. 185-210. Compare vol. iv. pp. 296-299.

301 La educacion de la juventud por los maestros de primeras letras es uno y aun el más principal ramo de la policía y buen gobierno del Estado." Real Provision de 11 de julio de 1771, printed in Rio, vol. iii. p. 182.

302 M. Lafuente, who has justly praised the love of peace displayed by Ferdinand VI. (Historia de España, vol. i. p. 202, vol. xix. pp. 286, 378), adds (vol. xix. p. 384), "De modo que con razon se admira, y es el testimonio mas honroso de la buena administracion económica de este reinado, que al morir este buen monarca dejára, no diremos nosotros repletas y apuntaladas las arcas públicas, como hiperbólicamente suele decirse, pero sí con el considerable sobrante de trescientos millones de reales, despues de cubiertas todas las atenciones del Estado: fenómeno que puede decirse se veia por primera vez en España, y resultado satisfactorio, que aun supuesta una buena administracion, solo pudo obtenerse a favor de su prudente política de neutralidad y de paz."

nistration, was sure to strike the senses, and to give popularity to his reign. And when, by the increase of wealth, rather than by the imposition of fresh burdens, still larger resources were placed at his command, he devoted a considerable part of them to completing his designs. He so beautified Madrid, that forty years after his death, it was stated, that, as it then stood, all its magnificence was owing to him. The public buildings and the public gardens, the beautiful walks round the capital, its noble gates, its institutions, and the very roads leading from it to the adjacent country, are all the work of Charles III., and are among the most conspicuous trophies which attest his genius and the sumptuousness of his taste.303

In other parts of the country, roads were laid down, and canals were dug, with the view of increasing trade, by opening up communications through tracts previously impassable. At the accession of Charles III., the whole of the Sierra Morena was unoccupied, except by wild beasts and banditti, who took refuge there.304 No peaceful traveller would venture into such a place; and commerce was thus excluded from what nature had marked as

303 66

'But it is to Charles III. that Madrid owes all its present magnificence. Under his care, the royal palace was finished, the noble gates of Alcalá and San Vincente were raised; the custom-house, the post-office, the museum, and royal printing-office, were constructed; the academy of the three noble arts improved; the cabinet of natural history, the botanic garden, the national bank of San Carlos, and many gratuitous schools established; while convenient roads leading from the city, and delightful walks planted within and without it, and adorned by statues and fountains, combine to announce the solicitude of this paternal king.". Spain by an American, London, 1831, vol. i. p. 206; see also p. 297.

304 The following passage describes its state so late as the year 1766: "Por temor 6 por connivencia de los venteros, dentro de sus casas concertaban frecuentemente los ladrones sus robos, y los ejecutaban á mansalva, ocultándose en guaridas de que ahuyentaban á las fieras. Acaso á muy largas distancias se descubrian entre contados caseríos algunos pastores como los que allí hizo encontrar el ilustre manco de Lepanto al ingenioso hidalgo de la Mancha. Parte de la Sierra estuvo poblada en tiempo de moros; actualmente ya no habia más que espesos matorrales hasta en torno de la ermita de Santa Elena, donde resonaron cánticos de gracias al Cielo por el magnífico triunfo de las Navas." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iii. p. 9. On the condition of the Sierra Morena a hundred years before this, see Boisel, Journal du Voyage d'Espagne, Paris, 1669, 4to, pp. 62, 296, where it is termed "le lieu le plus desert, et où il n'y a que quelques ventas sans villages."

one of the greatest highways in Spain, standing as it does between the basins of the Guadiana and Guadalquivir, and in the direct course between the ports on the Mediterranean and those on the Atlantic. The active government of Charles III. determined to remedy this evil; but the Spanish people not having the energy to do what was required, six thousand Dutch and Flemish were, in 1767, invited to settle in the Sierra Morena. On their arrival, lands were allotted to them, roads were cut through the whole of the district, villages were built; and that which had just been an impervious desert, was suddenly turned into a smiling and fruitful territory.305

306

Nearly all over Spain, the roads were repaired; a fund having been, so early as 1760, specially set apart for that purpose. Many new works were begun; and such improvements were introduced, while, at the same time, such vigilance was employed to prevent peculation on the part of officials, that in a very few years the cost of making public highways was reduced to less than half of what it used to be.307 Of the undertakings which were brought to a successful issue, the most important were, a road now first constructed from Malaga to Antequera,308 and another from Aquilas to Lorca.309 In this way, means of intercourse were supplied between the Mediterranean and the interior of Andalusia and of Murcia. While these communications were established in the south and south

305 Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iii. pp. 9-11, 35. By 1771, sin auxilio de la Real hacienda pudieron mantenerse al fin los colonos." p. 42. See also vol. iv. pp. 114, 115. On the subsequent history of this settlement, see Inglis' Spain, vol. ii. pp. 29-31, London, 1831.

306En 1760 se destinó por primera vez un fondo especial para la construccion de caminos." Tapia, Civilizacion Española, vol. iv. p. 123.

307 Indeed, M. Rio says, that the expense was reduced by two-thirds, and, in some parts, by three-fourths. "Antes se regulaba en un millon de reales la construccion de cada legua; ahora solo ascendia á la tercera ó cuarta parte de esta suma." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. p. 117.

308 A note in Bowles, Historia Natural de España, Madrid, 1789, 4to, p. 158, terms this "un camino alineado y sólido." In Cook's Spain, London, 1834, vol. i. p. 209, it is called "a magnificent road."

309 Para dar salida á los frutos, que regaban los pantanos de Lorca, ejecutóse una bien trazada via al puerto de las Aguilas." Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. pp. 115, 116.