In 1766, King Charles III implemented a policy banning long capes and broad-brimmed hats, despite the populace’s growing resentment towards rising prices (Brading, 536). Charles hoped the change in wardrobe would modernize the appearance of his people, with a transition to French three-cornered hats (Brading, 499). Instead, the result was a series of massive riots in March, the Esquilache Riots, that forced the King to flee and destroyed property throughout Madrid. By the end, the King was forced to listen to the rioters’ demands, firing several key figures and undoing the fashion reform (Engstrand, 439). Those key figures and the fashion law represented Charles’s attempt to reform the country, which took a big step back with the riots. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos suggests that these reforms caused the riots, as he blames them on the government’s inability, “…to allow [the citizens] to entertain themselves” (Cowans, 256). In this interpretation, the government limited Spanish citizens’ ability to act as they pleased— in this case wear long capes and broad-brimmed hats— causing them to riot to get what they wanted. This interpretation is supported by the fact that citizens smashed many lamp-posts put in Madrid as part of the reforms, and asked in their demands for the fashion reform to be struck down. Therefore, resentment towards reform may have been a major reason for the riots. Yet, this reasoning ignores the presence of high prices. High prices were extremely influential in starting riots in this period, as Seville rioted in 1652 over bread prices and nearby France had its 1789 Revolution kicked off over protests against bread prices (Cowans, 172; Neumann, 163). Furthermore, other Bourbon reforms had been implemented since 1700, and continued past this point. Therefore, while the riots may have been a set-back, they didn’t end the reform movement, or seek to cause it any massive damage later (Cowans, 225).
Goya, Attributed to Francisco. Motin de Esquilache. between circa and circa 1767 date QS:P571,+1766- -00T00:00:00Z/8,P1319,+1766-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1767-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902 1766. Painting. Private collectioninstitution QS:P195,Q768717. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esquilache_riots.jpg. D. A. Brading, The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State. Cambridge [England] ; New York, N.Y., USA: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Iris H. W. Engstrand. "The Enlightenment in Spain: Influences upon New World Policy." The Americas 41, no. 4 (1985): 436-44. doi:10.2307/1007350. Pedro de Zamora Hurtado, “The Situation in Seville (1652)” in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans, (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 172 Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, “On Spectacles and Public Entertainments (1790)” in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans, (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 256 J. Neumann, "Great Historical Events That Were Significantly Affected by the Weather: 2, The Year Leading to the Revolution of 1789 in France." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 58, no. 2 (1977): 163. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26218058. “Laws of the Bourbon Monarchy” in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans, (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 225