Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-1310192-20121224215413/@comment-32656-20121227030428

Such a policy change would cause the Spanish nobility to give him problems.

But, overall, even a change like this does little to Spain - it's just changing the cover of the book, so to speak. Spain of that time, this change or not, would still be conservative. And between the dynastic connections, and the threat of the French Revolution to monarchies, they aren't going to sit idly by.

Basically, there's not going to be any change until the SA Wars of Revolution. These changes would likely keep the colonies in Spanish control a few decades longer. That's about it.