Historical Periods, Sources, and the Ancien Régime

Posted on Jan 11, 2025 in Geography

Periods of History

A. Prehistory (3,500,000 BC – 3,500 BC)

  • 1. Stone Age (3,500,000 BC – 7,000 BC)
    • Paleolithic (3,500,000 BC – 10,000 BC)
    • Neolithic (10,000 BC – 7,500 BC)
  • 2. Metal Ages (7,500 BC – 3,500 BC)
    • Copper Age (3,500 – 2,500 BC)
    • Bronze Age (2,500 – 1,300 BC)
    • Iron Age (1,300 – 500 BC)

B. History (3,500 BC – Present day)

  • 1. Ancient Age (3,500 BC – 476 AD)
  • 2. Middle Ages (476 – 1453/1492)
  • 3. Modern Age (1453/1492 – 1789)
  • 4. Contemporary Age (1789 – Present day)

Historical Sources

Source: something that gives us information about the past.

There are two types of sources:

  • Primary source: a source from the time that we are studying. For example: buildings, tools, weapons, books, ceramic, etc.
  • Secondary source: a source after the time that we are studying. For example: the books of History.

Grouping Dates

  • A Year: un año.
  • A Decade: una década (10).
  • A Century: cien años.
  • A Millennium: mil años.
  • An Era or an Age: un largo periodo de tiempo (Era o Edad).

The Ancien Régime

1. What is the Ancien Régime?

It is the period of time before the French revolution, during the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries.

2. What were its characteristics?

  • Politics: Absolute monarchy.
  • Society: Three estates (nobility, clergy, and the third estate).
  • Economy: Rural economy with workshops and craftsmen in the cities (domestic system, not an industrial system).

3. What happened in the 15th and 16th Centuries?

  • It was a period of crisis and changes in Europe.
  • There were important voyages of discovery (in America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania).
  • New technology and new crops were developed.
  • Cities and towns became more powerful.
  • There were terrible wars, famine, diseases, and economic crises (high inflation due to the arrival of gold and silver from America).
  • The Spanish Empire declined, and France rose as the hegemonic power in Europe.

4. What was the monarchy like?

It was an absolute monarchy. The three powers were in the king’s hands: executive, legislative, and judiciary.

  • Executive: The king ruled the country.
  • Legislative: Parliaments did not make the laws, but the kings or their ministers.
  • Judiciary: The highest Courts of Justice were controlled by the kings.

5. What was the Enlightenment?

It was an ideological movement that emerged in France during the 18th Century. Its main goal was to change the way of thinking of the people and to change society.

The main ideas of the Enlightenment were:

  • Confidence in reason.
  • Faith in human progress.
  • Criticism of the absolute power of the kings and the privileges of nobility and clergy.
  • People had the right to achieve happiness in this world.

6. Who were the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment?

  • Montesquieu: He defended the separation of powers.
  • Voltaire: He defended the Legislative monarchy and rejected superstition and torture.
  • Rousseau: He defended the democracy of the people.

7. What was Enlightened Despotism?

It was when some absolute monarchs wanted to introduce reforms from the ideas of the Enlightenment to improve the life of the people and to develop the economy, but without renouncing their absolute power.