Originally published in 1940, this book presents a study of the influence of commerce on Anglo-Spanish diplomacy from 1667 to 1750, with the main focus being on the first half of the eighteenth century. The text compares, using archive documents, both Spanish and British versions of events, taking a more rigorous and specific approach than that seen in many previous works on the subject. A bibliography, graphs and detailed notes are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in European history, Anglo-Spanish relations and economics.

This book covers the evolution of royal policy in Spanish America as eighteenth-century Spain modernized its empire and transformed itself into a power of the first order. Tracing the interplay between war and reform, the analysis confronts the diverse realities of the Spanish Atlantic world, which stretched from the northern Mexican borderlands to Argentina and Chile. Unlike earlier studies on eighteenth-century Spain, this work incorporates the early Bourbon experience into the narrative and integrates the impressive reemergence of the Royal Armada into a fuller picture of administrative, commercial, fiscal, ecclesiastical, and military change.