The ancien régime and

enlightenment
Enlightenment ideas were spread through the academies, books, newspapers and salons, which
were special meetings organised in people’s homes. Some Enlightenment thinkers such as
D’Alembert and Diderot, created the Encyclopedia, where they gathered all the knowledge of the
time.

The political ideas of Enlightenment

Enlightenment thinkers wanted to avoid the estates system (Ancien Régime) and make all citizens equal
before the law. They didn’t support absolute monarchy and they proposed measures to limit its powers,
such as the separation of powers and popular sovereignty. These were the main political thinkers of the
Enlightenment.

Montesquieu argued for the separation of powers. This meant that the three branches of the government
(legislative, executive and judicial branches) should be separate from one another. This would stop power
being concentrated in one person.

Voltaire favoured a strong monarchy. However, he also thought its power should be limited by parliament.

Rousseau introduced the idea of popular sovereignty. The power resided with the people rather than the
crown.

The economic ideas of Enlightenment

Enlightenment thinkers such as Quesney advocated a new doctrine called physiocracy. It is the belief that
the wealth of a nation derives from its natural resources obtained from agriculture. The reason is that these
resources provided the raw materials needed to produce crafts and trade with them later on. In other
words, they were the basis of the economy.
‘laissez faire, laissez passer’, is a famous phrase said by Quesney.
In the mid-18th century a new economic doctrine called economic liberalism emerged too. It was based on
the ideas of Adam Smith. He was the thinker of economic liberalism and author of the famous book On the
Wealth of nations (La riqueza de las naciones).
The basic principles of economic liberalism were that the state should not intervene in the processes of
production or exchange of goods.
Economic liberalism argued for:

Freedom of production for business owners, they could produce as much as the market demanded.

Free trade: the exchange of goods between countries without any restrictions.

Free competition forced the business owner to improve the quality of his products.
Enlightened Despotism
Enlightened despotism was a new form of government that developed in some European countries in the
18th century. Its objective was to combine absolute monarchy with Enlightenment ideas aimed at
modernising the country and improving people’s well-being.
‘Everything for the people, but without the people’ (‘Todo para el pueblo pero sin el pueblo’) was their main
motto.
Enlightenment despots had the following characteristics:

They maintained their absolute power but tried to work in favour of their people.

They appointed Enlightenment thinkers to important positions.

Organisations such as the ‘Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País’ were created in Spain to improve the
economic situation of Spain.

Examples of enlightenment despots include: Catherine of Russia, Joseph II of Austria, Carlos III of Spain.

Rococo Art
Rococo art was an artistic style popular in Europe in the XVIII century. It was characterised by:

Architecture: interiors were decorated with rough curves and floral elements. In French, these motives
were called rocaille (roca). For example, the Hotel Soubise, in France, was built in this style.

Paintings: pastel colours were used to depict domestic scenes from the nobility. Examples are The Shop,
by Luis Paret and The Swing, by Jean Honoré Fragonard.

Sculpture: images used to represent mythological images to decorate nobles’ houses. For example, Cupid,
by Edmé Bouchardon.