Europe’s Old Regime and Enlightenment: Society, Politics, and Economy
The Old Regime
The Old Regime defines the political, social, economic, and demographic features of Europe and its colonies between the 16th and late 18th centuries. In the 19th century, these traits were replaced by capitalist society. This term was used after the French Revolution to define the previous society, considered unfair and decadent.
Politics
The government of Ancien Regime states settled on absolutist regimes, mostly justified ideologically under the formula of “Divine Right monarchy,” meaning the monarch’s power was given by God and accountable only to Him. Authors such as Hobbes and Bossuet defended absolute monarchy. However, absolutism faced resistance from supporters of feudal privileges inherited from the medieval era, reserved for the nobility and clergy. Throughout the 18th century, monarchs tried to end the limitation of power through “enlightened despotism.”
Few European states escaped absolute monarchy. Notable exceptions were the United Provinces (Netherlands), the Republic of Venice, and England (English Parliamentarism). In Britain, absolutism had little impact. Throughout the 18th century, Parliament became increasingly important, controlling the king’s actions and limiting power, especially regarding taxes.
Economy
Three-quarters of the workforce was concentrated in the primary sector; most of the population lived and worked in agriculture. Industry was primarily craft-based, with guilds persisting. Maritime trade dominated long distances due to insufficient communication networks between European countries. The ownership structure was manorial, built on large estates owned by nobles who received substantial income from landless peasants. Traditional agriculture prevailed, with few technological innovations; fallow land and farming tools remained unchanged for centuries. Productivity was very low, and most people lived at the subsistence level.
Society
Society was structured into estates, each corresponding to a social stratum. This structure was rigid; social mobility was almost non-existent. Each member belonged to an estate, which granted or denied privileges, such as tax exemptions or exclusive benefits. Access to privileged classes (except the clergy) was by birth or special monarchical grant.
The rigid estate society faced a crisis due to changes in the 18th century (French Revolution), paving the way for capitalist society. The nobility and clergy were the privileged classes, while the unprivileged estates comprised peasants, artisans, and a limited but growing and increasingly influential bourgeoisie.
Demographic trends of the Old Regime included:
- Little vegetative growth due to high birth rates offset by high mortality rates, especially among children.
- An unstable balance between population and resources. Mortality was closely linked to the dependence on an agricultural economy. Periodic subsistence crises occurred, triggered by poor harvests, leading to famines and widespread epidemics among the impoverished population.
In the 18th century, some changes occurred in the demographic model. In parts of Europe (England, France, the Netherlands), increased food surplus and better nutrition decreased famines and epidemics, reducing mortality. Progress in medicine and health also contributed to this decline. Population growth intensified the demand for food and manufacturing, increasing labor availability in both agriculture and industry, factors in the agricultural and industrial revolutions.
The Century of Light and Reason: The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a philosophical, literary, and scientific movement developed in Europe and its colonies during the 18th century. It represented a significant cultural modernization and an attempt to transform the outdated structures of the Old Regime, generally without questioning the monarchy.
Principles of the Enlightenment:
- Reason is the only way to find truth. Along with progress, it is the path to happiness. It guides against superstition, religious fanaticism, and ignorance. Voltaire was a harsh critic of religious intolerance and bigotry.
- Progress, achievable through science and technology, enables humanity’s advancement in an evolutionary and undefined manner.
- Nature is the source of all genuine, real, and authentic things. However, society perverts and corrupts man, who is good in nature. Jean Jacques Rousseau was the main figure in the social aspect of the Enlightenment.
- Happiness is a right and an end in itself for every person. Politics is regarded as the “art of making people happy.”
These principles would be reflected politically in the system of government known as Enlightened Despotism, applying rationality and the advantages of free thought to the common people.
Enlightenment Thinking
The Enlightenment’s background can be found in 17th-century England and Holland, evidenced by Newton’s scientific work and the English Revolution of 1688. The latter introduced parliamentarism, influencing Voltaire and Montesquieu. John Locke, in his “Two Treatises of Government,” advocated the separation of powers through parliamentary government, guaranteeing individual freedoms and replacing absolute monarchy.
Influenced by the English parliamentary system, French thinkers developed illustrated political theory, including: Montesquieu, who theorized about the division of powers; Voltaire, who investigated freedom of thought and called for deism to replace revealed religions; and Rousseau, who emphasized the study of nature and social relations, considering that sovereignty resides in the people, as detailed in his most important work, The Social Contract.
Economic thought saw the rise of two new trends: physiocracy and liberalism, conflicting with the prevailing mercantilism.
Mercantilism
Mercantilism posited that a nation’s wealth lay in the possession of precious metals (gold and silver). Its aim was to enrich the monarch through economic means, establishing a set of guidelines.
Physiocracy
Physiocrats argued that a state’s wealth was found in nature, specifically agriculture. Other activities (industry and trade) were considered unproductive.
Liberalism
Liberals believed that state wealth lay not in accumulating precious metals (mercantilism) or solely in agriculture (physiocracy), but in freedom. The state should not intervene in economic activity but allow total freedom of initiative and private enterprise. Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations, was its main theorist.
Spain and Bourbon Reformism
After Charles II died without heirs in 1700, France and the German Empire vied for the Spanish throne. France was represented by Philip of Anjou of the House of Bourbon, and the Habsburgs by Archduke Charles. France faced a coalition of powers aiming to prevent French hegemony in Europe. Austria, the Netherlands, and England, supported by the Aragonese crown, opposed Castile and France in the War of the Spanish Succession until 1714. After the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain renounced its possessions in Flanders and Italy in exchange for recognizing Philip V as king. Spain also ceded territories to England, including Gibraltar and Minorca.
The support the Crown of Aragon had given to the losing side was used by the monarch to suppress their charters and institutions through the Nueva Planta decrees. This led to Castilianization throughout the territory, political centralization, and the loss of independence for the territories that composed it.