- What is a reform?
- Bourbon reforms
- Protestant Reformation
- Reform and Counter-Reformation
- Agrarian reform
- Education reform
- Political reforms
We explain what a reform is and what the Bourbon, Protestant, agrarian, educational and political reforms are. Also, the counter-reform.
What is a reform?
If we look at its most elementary meaning, reform means reshaping, that is, subjecting something to gradual or moderate changes that are to its benefit or its improvement, or its adaptation to new contextual conditions. This type of changes progressives of others much more violent and sudden, for which the term is reserved revolution.
Reforms have been common in the history in the different areas of interest of the humanity. They are usually the result of long periods of social tension or political struggle, since they involve changes and rethinking that normally have followers and detractors in the society.
Those who support the cause of some kind of reform are called reformists, while those who actually carry out the reform are called reformers.
Bourbon reforms
The Bourbon Reforms in New Spain (simply called Bourbon Reforms) were a set of changes in the politics administration of the Spanish colonies in America, which in the 18th century carried out the absolutist monarchy of the House of Bourbon.
The purpose of these reforms was to renew the administrative structure of the colonies, giving the crown more power and more direct control over the wealth generated in America, with the hope of reviving the Spanish Empire in crisis, after years of war with England and corruption, waste and demographic crisis.
Its objective was to alleviate the riches of America the Spanish decline, modernize the empire and restore its place among the powers of the time, implementing administrative centralism and economic liberalization between the metropolis and the colonies. This involved measures such as:
- Two new viceroyalties were created, thus reducing the size of the Viceroyalty of Peru: the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada in 1717 and the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata in 1776.
- The positions of mayor and magistrate were eliminated, considering them a source of administrative corruption. Instead, a quartermaster system was implemented.
- Restrictions were lowered and taxes to the Commerce, and the population non-indigenous to make it tax-active.
- A standing army was created in the cities most important in Hispanic America.
- The education to reduce the power of the Catholic Church and the exemptions enjoyed by the clergy were reduced. In addition, the Jesuits were expelled in 1767 and their order was dissolved, to counteract the enormous influence they had within Spain.
- State monopolies were created on the generation of tobacco, liquor and gunpowder, and new commercial companies were created to exploit certain natural resources. The mining tax was also reduced.
- Numerous institutions of teaching basic, technical and superior, in order to obtain qualified labor.
The Bourbon reforms meant a significant reduction in the powers of the Creole elite, and sowed much unrest among them, which led to some brief rebellions that were quickly put down. Its effect on the Spanish Empire was never verified, since at the beginning of the 19th century the American independence processes began, probably encouraged by these same reforms.
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation (known simply as the Reformation), was a religious movement started by the Augustinian theologian and friar Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Germany in the 16th century. He sought to reform Catholicism to return to the practices of early Christianity.
Such a proposal was contrary to the jurisdiction of the Pope over all Christian territories. It was used in different regions from Europe to start various national and divergent churches, gathered today under the name of Protestantism.
Among the claims of Luther and the other Protestants to the functioning of the Catholic Church were the sale of indulgences, which they understood as a sale of the sacred Gospel instead of its free preaching, and the infallibility of the Pope, which gave him enormous political power. in the territories of Christendom. Instead, they proposed that the civil powers have full authority over the Catholic Church.
Luther was excommunicated and branded a heretic by the Pope, but the consequences of the Reformation could not be stopped. A deep schism was created in the Catholic Church, allowing the birth of Protestantism and, at the same time, serving as justification for the Catholic Counter-Reformation that came later.
Reform and Counter-Reformation
Given that the Protestant Reformation sought to change the operating structures of the Catholic Church and return Christianity to its original practices, to a version more attached to the holy scriptures, the Counter-Reformation was the diametrically opposite movement, emerged as an ultra-Catholic reaction in Spain and Italy, which sought to strengthen the Catholic tradition, then considered under attack.
The Counter-Reformation served as a containment dam so that reformist ideas did not spread beyond northern Europe. It was transmitted to the American colonies, by the hand of fanatical emissaries and inquisitors, as well as works of art that insisted on the reasons and Catholic fervor as the main theme.
Agrarian reform
With the name of Reforma agrarian the different processes of modernization and transformation of the rural sector of the countries are commonly called. Its fundamental purpose is to redistribute land tenure, promote the use of technologies agriculture and thus promote productivity of agriculture, to combat large estates and guarantee a more solid national food base.
Agrarian reforms were very common in the middle of the 20th century, especially in the nations Latin American, whose economies depended on agricultural production and the sale of raw Materials.
Various mechanisms could be put in place to reform agriculture, such as the expropriation of land or the distribution with compensation to the former landowners. They were mostly driven from the Condition and defended by various urban and rural leftist movements.
Education reform
Educational reform is called a modification of the educational system of a nation, with a view to its modernization, updating or improvement. It can be at the level of the school curriculum (that is, of the knowledge taught and their systematicity), the methods chosen to teach them or the school structure itself according to which the teaching.
Educational reforms are usually proposed by the political actors of a nation, always in accordance with what is established in this regard in the legislation. It usually takes place through a complex process of diagnosis, proposal, review and approval, in which different educational entities have a voice and vote, and the obligation to intervene.
Political reforms
In a similar way to the previous case, a political reform is a change in the rules of the game of the political exercise of a country, which does not affect or contradict its fundamental and elemental features. In fact, they usually take place following what is established in the Magna Carta or in accordance with the agreements of the legislation, that is, in an institutional, gradual and consensual manner.
In this it differs from a Revolution, which sweeps away everything and establishes an entirely new order. A political reform, on the other hand, does not interrupt or disturb the established social and political order, but rather aims to correct, update or repeal political elements that are not working or are not considered adequate.