Editing Age of Enlightenment (section)

===Bourbon Spain and Spanish America===
{{Main|Enlightenment in Spain|Spanish American Enlightenment}}
[[File:Constitucion Cadiz 1812.png|thumb|[[Spanish Constitution of 1812]]]]
When [[Charles II of Spain|Charles II]], the last Spanish Habsburg monarch, died his successor was from the French [[House of Bourbon]], initiating a period of French Enlightenment influence in Spain and the Spanish Empire.<ref>Aldridge, Alfred Owen. ''The Ibero-American Enlightenment.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press 1971.</ref><ref>De Vos, Paula S. "Research, Development, and Empire: State Support of Science in Spain and Spanish America, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries," ''Colonial Latin America Review'' 15, no. 1 (June 2006) 55–79.</ref>

In the 18th Century, the Spanish continued to expand their empire in the Americas with the [[Spanish missions in California]] and established missions deeper inland in South America. Under [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]], the crown began to implement [[Bourbon Reforms|serious structural changes]]. The monarchy curtailed the power of the Catholic Church, and established a standing military in Spanish America. Freer trade was promoted under ''comercio libre'' in which regions could trade with companies sailing from any other Spanish port, rather than the restrictive mercantile system. The crown sent out scientific expeditions to assert Spanish sovereignty over territories it claimed but did not control, but also importantly to discover the economic potential of its far-flung empire. Botanical expeditions sought plants that could be of use to the empire.<ref>Bleichmar, Daniela. ''Visible Empire: Botanical Expeditions & Visual Culture in the Hispanic Enlightenment.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press 2012.</ref> [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] gave Prussian scientist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] free rein to travel in Spanish America, usually closed to foreigners, and more importantly, access to crown officials to aid the success of his scientific expedition.<ref>[[David Brading|Brading, D. A.]] ''The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State, 1492–1867'' Chapter 23, "Scientific Traveller." New York: Cambridge University Press 1991 {{ISBN|978-0-521-39130-6}}</ref>

When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] abdicated and Napoleon placed his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte]] on the throne. To add legitimacy to this move, the [[Bayonne Statute|Bayonne Constitution]] was promulgated, which included representation from Spain's overseas components, but most Spaniards rejected the whole Napoleonic project. [[Peninsular War|A war of national resistance]] erupted. The [[Cortes of Cádiz|Cortes de Cádiz]] (parliament) was convened to rule Spain in the absence of the legitimate monarch, Ferdinand. It created a new governing document, the [[Spanish Constitution of 1812|Constitution of 1812]], which laid out three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial; put limits on the king by creating a [[constitutional monarchy]]; defined citizens as those in the Spanish Empire without African ancestry; established [[universal manhood suffrage]]; and established public education starting with primary school through university as well as freedom of expression. The constitution was in effect from 1812 until 1814, when Napoleon was defeated and Ferdinand was restored to the throne of Spain. Upon his return, Ferdinand repudiated the constitution and reestablished absolutist rule.<ref>Thiessen, Heather. "Spain: Constitution of 1812." ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture,'' vol. 5, p. 165. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.</ref>