This is a book about the emergence of new political actors in the Spanish Atlantic during the crucial period of 1760–1830. The Bourbon reforms radically changed the face of the Spanish empire during the eighteenth century, yet none of them prevented its collapse. By focusing on Spain and Peru at this moment of profound transformation, Mónica Ricketts provides a rich history of the elites who vied for power in the last days of absolutism in a dying empire. From enlightened reformers to authoritarian viceroys and from mestizo officers to liberal revolutionaries, Who Should Rule? retraces the time-honored dispute between arms and letters and argues for its significance in the birth of the modern world in the Spanish Atlantic.

Chapters 1 and 2 provide useful background about the Bourbon reforms. The first chapter particularly explores the new dynasty's attempts at building a new political elite that would rule more effectively. The...

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