Taxes were raised on an already overtaxed private sector. In some years, all the merchants" profits were seized in order to pay off debts, which either ruined the merchants or forced them to leave the country. .

             Therefore Olivares came to his ministry at a time when there was an express need for reform. During this time, ideas for reform were mostly forwarded by the arbitristas; literally proposers of reform. However the bulk of their proposals criticised what was directly in front of them. To find the real source of Spain"s problems a more global perspective is required. It was not the corrupt pensions and favours sapping Castile of its life and blood; it was military expenditure. The protection of such large and scattered territories was the heart of Castile"s difficulties.

             From the above one can identify four areas in which reform was desperately required. These areas were: internal corruption; finance; trade and the burden of the empire and military expenditure upon Castile.

             2. What were Olivares" attempts to curb Spain"s problems, and were they realistic?.

             Inevitably, under the influence of the arbitristas, Olivares saw the desperate need for change in order to preserve Spain as a world power. Reform was generally seen as a means to this end, but if reform threatened to upset the balance of power within Spain it would probably be dropped. It was very easy for Olivares to come up with grand-scale plans for reform, but he found it impossible to implement them. Furthermore attempting to implement reformacion, while still trying to win reputacion through war, was impracticable. There were definite limits as to how far one could reform an early modern government, steeped in imperfection that had become a habitual part of life. Many historians have illustrated that Olivares" inability to see this limit, due greatly to his energy and impatience, was the key reason for his failure both as a reformer and a maintainer of Spain"s reputacion.