ALLAN J. KUETHE y KENNETH J. ANDRIEN, The Spanish Atlantic World in the Eighteenth Century. War and the Bourbon Reforms, 1713-1796, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2014.
This chapter discusses the historical context under which the Franciscan colleges developed and evolved in a time when secular forces had halted mendicant expansion in Spain and its empire, with emphasis on their internal organization and how they fit within the broader hierarchical structure of the Franciscan Order. It first provides an overview of the Franciscan plan to convert the Spanish Atlantic world before explaining how the colleges are governed and how the apostolic brotherhood is regulated. It then examines how the eighteenth-century colleges emerged as a new missionary vanguard to lead the Franciscan evangelism in Spain and Spanish America. Their strong commitment to conversion (internal and external) and soteriological responsibility, combined with certain innovations brought to the Franciscans, enabled the propaganda fide institution to grow in rapid fashion. The chapter also highlights the conflict with provincias and rivalries both internal and external to the propaganda fide communities.
Allan, J. Kuethe, Kenneth J. Andrien, The Spanish Atlantic World in the Eighteenth Century, War and the Bourbon Reforms 1713-1796