Gabriel Paquette Chapter Summary

The overarching argument that Gabriel Paquette makes is that the dissolution of the Spanish empire was caused primarily by: proto-nationalism, Spanish misrule, and the Napoleonic occupation of Spain. Paquette breaks down his thesis by first providing background information and then introduces two competing historical perspectives. The first perspective relies on more immediate causes of the dissolution such as Bourbon reforms, new demographic pressures, and Enlightenment ideals that inspired revolution. Paquette refutes these arguments by stating that the Bourbon reforms more likely empowered the local elite and that the Enlightenment was not only liberal but also had a monarchist variant. The second perspective, the more recent scholarship, reflects on the impact on free trade, lack of inclusion of the colonies at the Cortes in Cadiz, and the emerging national identity as major catalysts in the dissolution Spanish America. The author then explores areas that have not yet been studied in reference to the fall of the empire and thoroughly rejects the idea of nation states as being a premeditated outcome. The most convincing argument that Paquette provides is creole patriotism overpowering any sense of
The database allows for detailed research and attempts to cite multiple sources to confirm each voyage. However, the website does not have an intuitive direction towards introductory information on the slave trade. This weakness can deter younger students from further research because the vast amount of information from thousands of sources. The database further develops Paquette’s argument of how the demographics of Spanish America changed over the colonization period; the maps demonstrate the massive amount of Africans that were brought to the continent. This change of demographics exacerbates the class differences and empowers the local elites