UCLA

"Loyalty and Disloyalty to the Bourbon Dynasty in Spanish America and the Philippines During the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1715)" examines the transatlantic repercussions of the first truly global war. It seeks to determine why the inhabitants of Spanish colonies supported the accession of a Bourbon to the Spanish throne. By analyzing disloyalty trials and cases of sedition, this study also explores how and why colonial elites challenged imperial rule. Additionally, it shows that commercial alliances formed between Spanish American elites and French slave traders, cloth merchants, and ministers of state helped the Bourbon dynasty consolidate its power and combat its enemies throughout the viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru. It is based on archival research in Mexico, Spain, and France.