After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, Spain began to lose its monopoly in colonial trade. In the mid-18th century, liberal factions began to appear within the colonial elite; they questioned the legitimacy of Spanish rule in the Americas. Called "Creole patriots", the factions were originally marginalized to the periphery of the empire in places such as Venezuela; consequently, they experienced expanded trade opportunities. They provided the necessary conditions for successful economic development, however, during the late colonial period. The introduction of free trade led to explosive growth throughout the empire; by the end of the century, Spain received ten times more imports. Despite the overall growth of the colonies, Peru's economy stagnated in the period that lasted about 150 years after the Peruvian War of Independence. The regional socioeconomic hierarchy inverted itself because core territories where liberals were absent experienced much lower levels of economic development. Author James Mahoney writes: