Was there an Enlightenment in Spain?

Was there an Enlightenment in Spain?

In Spain, the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment reached Spain in attenuated form about 1750, and emphasized there reforms that would increase Spain’s prosperity and return it to its former position as a major power. Attention focused on medicine and physics, with some philosophy.

Who were the leading figures of the Enlightenment and what were their main contributions?

Some of the most important writers of the Enlightenment were the Philosophes of France, especially Voltaire and the political philosopher Montesquieu. Other important Philosophes were the compilers of the Encyclopédie, including Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Condorcet.

What happened to Spain in the eighteenth century?

Spain entered a period of reform and renewal, as well as continued decline. The eighteenth century in Spanish historiography is often referred to as Bourbon Spain, but the Spanish Bourbons continued to reign from 1814–1868 (following the restoration of Ferdinand VII), from 1874–1931 and from 1975–present.

Which Enlightenment thinker had the biggest impact on society?

John Locke
John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers, especially concerning the development of political philosophy.

How did the Age of Enlightenment affect the Spanish Empire?

Once they consolidated rule in Spain, the Bourbon monarchs embarked upon a series of reforms to revitalize the Spanish empire, which had significantly declined in power in the late Habsburg era. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment had a strong impact in Spain and a ripple effect in Spanish American Enlightenment in Spain’s overseas empire.

Where did the ideas of the Enlightenment in France come from?

The ideas of the Enlightenment in France came to Spain following the establishment of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain in 1715, with the end of the War of the Spanish Succession.

What was the impact of the Napoleonic Wars on Spain?

The Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian peninsula was enormously destabilizing for Spain and the Spanish overseas empire. The ideas of the Hispanic Enlightenment have been seen as a major contributor to the Spanish American wars of independence, although the situation is more complex.

How did the conservatives try to suppress the Enlightenment?

By the 1770s the conservatives had launched a counterattack and used censorship and the Inquisition to suppress Enlightenment ideas, but the “French Encyclopédie was nonetheless available to readers who wanted it.”