The End of the Eclipse for Enlightened Reformation: The Classics and New Interpretations

Abstract The article revisits classic historiographical discussions about the concepts of Enlightened Despotism and Enlightened Absolutism with the aim of identifying the role played by the related notion of Enlightened Reformism. It draws inspiration from new theoretical and methodological perspectives that challenge the traditional view of Enlightenment as a phenomenon centered on a single diffusion center, as exemplified by Global History, which emphasizes the co-produced nature of the Eighteenth-century Enlightenment. A turning point is considered to be the investigations carried out by historians in the 1970s, such as Franco Venturi, who, by acknowledging a "reforming eighteenth century," expanded the scope of Enlightened Reformism, seen beyond the Enlightenment and Absolutism. Enlightened Reformism is a central theme in Ibero-American historiography, increasingly viewed as an organizing concept for governmental actions in the Atlantic empires between 1750 and 1830. With a broader scope of discussions, research addresses the relationship between Enlightened Reformism and topics such as the management of distant territories, slavery, agricultural development, mineral extraction, scientific voyages, and resistance. Studies also delve deeper into the critique of the vocabulary and theories that underpinned reformist discourses, some of which laid the foundations for the processes of independence in the American colonies in the early 19th century.