THE 18TH CENTURY.

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

1. OLD REGIME AND ENLIGHTENMENT

1.1. WHAT WAS THE OLD REGIME?

The French revolutionaries used the term Ancient Régime, or Old Regime, to designate
the political situation in place prior to the French Revolution. Its characteristics were the
following:

• an absolutist political system which prevailed in most countries,

• an agrarian economy,

• a stratified society dominated by privileged groups,

• and the great influence of religion on people, culture, education and art.

Later on, historians used this term to designate the period between the 15th and the
18th centuries. During this time, the system which had been inherited from the Middle
Ages underwent profound changes, which laid the foundations of the contemporary
world.

1.2. WHAT WAS THE ENLIGHTENMENT?

During the 18th century the following changes were promoted by the Enlightenment, an
intellectual movement that emerged in France, the most outstanding ideas of which
were:

• Confidence in reason or human intelligence: reason is the light which dispels

the darkness created by traditional beliefs, ignorance and superstition. This is
why the 18th century is known as the ‘Age of Reason’ or the ‘Age of
Enlightenment’.

• Faith in human progress: achieved through the advances made in science,

which should lead all people to happiness.

• Criticism of the Old Regime: considered as an obstacle to achieve human

progress and happiness. Thus, Enlightenment intellectuals supported all economic
activities and criticized privileged social groups, condemned religious
intolerance by proposing moral standards based on reason, and promoted the
development of science, education and culture beyond the reach of religious

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 influence.

1.3. THE SPREAD OF ENLIGHTENED THOUGHT

Enlightened ideas spread through Europe and the Americas through three channels: the
salons or gatherings held in private homes; the new communications media, such as
magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and brochures; and the Encyclopaedia, a work
composed of 28 volumes published by Diderot and d’Alembert between 1751 and 1772.

2. POLITICAL CHANGES
2.1. CRITICISM OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHY

Absolute monarchy was prevalent in Europe; it considered that the power of the king
was a divine right that came from God.

● The king held the legislative, executive and judicial powers.

● He also ran the economy and controlled the army.
● He would forego convening the Courts or Parliament, which represented the
three estates: the nobility, the clergy and the people.

Parliamentary political systems arose in states like England where the power of the king
was limited by a Parliament.

Under this political panorama, where absolutism predominated in Europe in the 18th
century some Enlightenment intellectuals criticised absolute monarchy:

• Voltaire proposed limiting the power of the king by means of a Parliament like
the English model;

• Montesquieu defended the separation of legislative, executive and judicial

powers.

• Rousseau stated that sovereignty or power resides in the citizens and those who
rule must be guided by the general will of the people.

2. 2. ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM

Towards the middle of the 18th century, certain ideas of the Enlightenment were
embraced by different European monarchs. Thus emerged what is called enlightened

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despotism, which tried to reconcile absolutism with the progressive ideas of the
Enlightenment

Monarchs continued to hold all the power, but they carried out reforms aimed at
achieving progress and happiness for their subjects. They encouraged education, built
hospitals, protected agriculture, promoted industry and commerce, etc.

3. ECONOMIC CHANGES
3.1. THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICIES

The Old Regime had imposed mercantilism, an economic policy which considered that
the wealth of a country came from accumulating precious metals by means of trade
(E.g. Castilla and America, after its discovery by Christopher Columbus). To achieve this,
the state had to control the economy: forbid the export of precious metals, promote
trade, boost exports and hinder imports, and gain colonies that would buy and sell their
products exclusively with the mother country (metropolis). This idea of commerce
created a great competitiveness between European countries.

In the 18th century, Enlightenment ideas supported the birth of new economic policies
such as physiocracy (fisiocracia) and economic liberalism (liberalismo económico/libre
mercado), which displaced mercantilism.

PHYSIOCRACY

Physiocracy, supported by François Quesnay, believed that the wealth of a nation was
based solely on the land (agriculture and mining), because it provided food and the
necessary items for crafts and trade. He also opposed the control of the economy by
the state and defended economic freedom.

ECONOMIC LIBERALISM

Economic liberalism, advocated by Adam Smith in his work called The Wealth of Nations
(1776), claimed that individual work, which aims to obtain maximum personal benefit, is
the true source of wealth. Therefore, the only way to enrich a nation is by enriching its
individuals, since personal benefit will end up benefiting society as a whole.

3.2. AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

Agricultural techniques were rudimentary. They basically consisted of biennial or

triennial rotation.

In the 18th century, agriculture made significant progress. New crops from America
such as maize and potatoes began to spread, thus diversifying the diet.

In addition to this, most of the land belonged to manors which in turn belonged to the

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nobility and the clergy who collected numerous taxes or manorial rights from their
inhabitants.

The United Provinces and Great Britain, substituted of the fallow land system with crop
rotation increased the yields

3.3. CHANGES IN CRAFTSMANSHIP

In the 18th century, handicraft production grew, especially due to the increase in
population and demand. Population grew thanks to the changes introduced In
agriculture.

New production methods were developed aimed at preventing the control of the guilds.
These new methods consisted of home working and manufacturing.

• Cottage industries developed where work was carried out by the peasants in their
own homes, commissioned by the employer. The employer, in turn, paid them a
salary, provided the raw materials and the tools, and was responsible for marketing
the product.

• Manufacturing was carried out in large specialised workshops where numerous

craftsmen worked for wages for the state or for private individuals
manufacturing luxury items

4. SOCIETY AND EVERYDAY LIFE

4.1. SOCIETY IN THE OLD REGIME

The Old Regime maintained the stratified society which originated in the Middle Ages. It
was characterised by the existence of three estates (tres estamentos o grupos sociales)
or tiers which people by and large belonged to by birth.

- privileged classes. They did not

work; they paid no direct taxes,
had their own laws and received
certain honours

- third estate or unprivileged

worked, paid taxes and enjoyed

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 no privileges.

4.2. SOCIAL CHANGES IN THE 18TH CENTURY

Stratified society began to crumble in the 18th century.

Enlightened intellectuals began criticising the privileged classes and defended a social
division based on merit, personal worth and social usefulness. Thus, they criticised the
nobility for failing to play a useful role in society, since their former military function was
now performed by professional armies. They also criticised the clergy for their large
numbers, and their influence in society and on education.

The bourgeoisie became an increasingly numerous and active group. Enriched because
of their economic activities, they considered themselves as producers of wealth and
complained that they unfairly lacked social recognition and political influence.

The bourgeois movement was particularly important in France where, towards the end
of the century, it triggered a revolutionary process – The French Revolution of 1789 –
which would put an end to the Old Regime.

5. THE 18TH CENTURY IN SPAIN. THE BOURBONS.

5.1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOURBONS

The 18th century in Spain began with a problem in succession and a dynastic change. In
1700, Charles II died without heirs and this put an end to the reign of the House of
Austria. In his will, the king appointed Philip of Anjou as his successor, grandson of King
Louis XIV, who acceded to the throne as Philip V.

The danger of a possible union of Spain and France and the subsequent breakup of
balance on the continent led the major European powers to endorse the Archduke
Charles of Austria. This led to the so-called War of the Spanish Succession.

5.2.The War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1714)

Archduke Charles became the new emperor (1711). If he also acceded to the Spanish
throne, the Empire of Charles I would be restored. Thus, the enemies of the Bourbons
signed the Treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714).

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In these treaties, they accepted Philip V as King of Spain. In exchange, Philip renounced
his rights to the throne of France and ceded the Spanish possessions in Europe
(Netherlands and Italy) to Austria, the island of Sicily to Savoy and the island of
Menorca and Gibraltar, as well as certain commercial advantages in America, to Great
Britain.