18th Century Society & Politics: From Feudalism to Enlightenment
Demographic System
Rural agrarian societies of the old regime were closely tied to the economy. Common features included high birth rates, high mortality rates, and minimal natural growth (just over 2/1000 annually). These populations were vulnerable to plagues, wars, and endemic diseases, which significantly impacted the younger generation. Subsistence crises often resulted from poor harvests.
Traditional Agriculture
Agriculture and livestock farming were the primary economic activities. Traditional biennial or triennial rotations focused on cereal cultivation (wheat and rye) and sheep and goat herding. Agricultural production saw modernization in the 18th century, with authentic advancements originating in the Netherlands between the 16th and 17th centuries and in Britain during the 18th century.
Lordships and Feudal Institutions
18th-century socio-economic relations were typically feudal, with nobles and clergy holding power. Lords held direct dominion over peasant families, exercising territorial control, justice, and governance. Land was often entailed, linked to noble lineage. In Western and Mediterranean Europe, peasants were free, while in Central and Eastern Europe (Austria, Prussia, Poland, and Russia), they faced servitude.
Rural Society
Rural communities, centered around parishes or villages, were subject to obligations imposed by lords, the king, and the church. Many families supplemented their income with artisanal work. Rural society was largely homogenous.
Manufacturing and Rural Industry
Craft guilds monopolized urban manufacturing, protecting product quality but limiting production. Large factories focused on handmade luxury goods and military necessities. Rural manufacturing was driven by merchants seeking to increase and cheapen production, leveraging the affordability of rural labor. This proto-industrial phase laid the groundwork for factory-based industrial development.
Domestic and Foreign Trade
Land trade saw modifications. Maritime commerce flourished, with a wealthy bourgeoisie established in port cities. The most intense growth occurred in colonial trade with the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Spanish and Portuguese empires profited from precious metal exploitation in the Americas. American trade became the first major area of European expansion. The Atlantic trade fueled European economic growth until the Industrial Revolution.
A Stratified Society
Deep political, social, and economic inequalities divided society into the nobility, clergy, and the Third Estate.
Privileges
The nobility and clergy enjoyed legal and political privileges. These closed groups were exclusive, with inherited or royally granted nobility required for entry. Aristocrats, as landowners, continued to exercise feudal privileges.
The Underprivileged: The Third Estate and the Rise of the Bourgeoisie
The Third Estate was diverse, united by their lack of privileges. The urban bourgeoisie sought titles and greater political power, reflecting their growing economic influence. Farmers held a more conservative outlook. This stratified society underwent demographic, economic, and social shifts that led to the crisis of the old regime.
Absolute Monarchy
Absolute monarchy, based on divine right, prevailed in many European states. In some, weaker monarchies shared sovereignty with privileged estates. 18th-century absolute monarchies built powerful armies. Traditional European monarchies had virtually unlimited authority, except for the limited monarchy of Great Britain, which retained a rural and aristocratic character.
Enlightened Absolutism
Enlightened despotism, a reformist political system, aimed to transform the monarch from owner of the kingdom to its first servant.
Enlightenment Movement
The Enlightenment, a scientific and intellectual movement, sought to enlighten society through the dissemination of knowledge. It emphasized reason, freedom of thought (especially in religious and scientific matters), and individual autonomy.
Dissemination of Enlightenment Ideas
The movement aimed to make knowledge and discoveries accessible to the public. It remained a minority movement, finding limited support among the nobility. New ideas of liberty and equality challenged absolute monarchies and the privileged, culminating in the American Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789.
Political Thought
Thinkers advocated freedom of thought and rejected absolute monarchy. John Locke argued for the separation of legislative and executive powers. Montesquieu championed the division of powers. Rousseau, more radical, criticized property and emphasized human equality.
Economic Thought
Economic thought divided into two doctrines: Physiocracy, with Quesnay asserting agriculture as the sole source of wealth, and economic liberalism, championed by Adam Smith, who believed a nation’s true wealth lay in its people’s labor, driven by self-interest.