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From Gallaecia to the Euro-Region
Castle of Bragança (Bragança)
The decline of the Austrians and
the arrival of the Bourbons
The death without heirs of the last Austrian king, Carlos II, turned the Iberian
Peninsula into a dispute scenery between the big international powers. It
was the so-called Succession War. One of the most interesting episodes took
place precisely in front of the Galician coasts. It was known as the battle of
Rande, in the entrance to the ría of Vigo, where the Hispanic-French fleet sought
for refuge, chased by the English.
Once the war was finished, the victory
of Felipe V opened a new dynasty, the
Bourbons, which extended to Spain
many of the reforming ideas of the
French court. Their reign, one of the
longest ones in history, marked the
fist half of the 18th century in Spain. It
was a period of reforms and changes,
where they fought to make way into
new worlds, and when the country was
already aware that it did no longer
posses the main role that it had in the
past. The relations with Portugal, which
is also living a reforming and liberalizer
process, become normalized. The
success of these reforms was very
variable, as it was its chronological
scope. The death of Felipe V and the
ascension to the throne of his son,
Fernando VI, marked a new period for
the country’s politics.
The Bourbons in Spain and the
Bragança dynasty in Portugal made the
18th century a moment of change
and continuing growth. In the second
half of the century the reforming policy
was revitalized in Spain by the hand
of Carlos III, the mayor of Madrid,
and in Portugal with the government
of Marquis of Pombal, minister of José
I. But soon, detractors who wished
that the situation came back started to
appear, taking advantage of the death
of Carlos III in Spain and of José I in
Portugal to stop the reforms that had
been started. This is why the situation
that Napoleon found was one with
two countries in a divided society,
governed by two monarchs, Carlos
IV and João VI, who lacked a clear
and defined policy like the one of
their predecessors.
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