Understanding the Old Regime: Society, Economy, and Enlightenment
The Old Regime: Society, Economy, and Enlightenment
1. The Old Regime
The Old Regime refers to the social, economic, and political structures that characterized European monarchies before the French Revolution.
It was characterized by:
- Maintaining a stratified society of feudal origin.
- An economic system based primarily on agriculture.
- An absolute monarchy, where power was concentrated in the hands of the king.
- Limited social mobility for ordinary people, with exceptions for ascension into the nobility.
Primary Sector Activities: Grazing, Farming, and Fishing
Primary Sector Activities
Extensive Grazing
Extensive grazing is practiced in both developed and underdeveloped countries and has these features:
- It occurs on large farms.
- Requires little investment in manpower, but productivity is low.
- Characteristically involves cattle and sheep.
- Developed in central and western United States, Argentina, Brazil, southern Russia, and Australia.
Factory Farming
Factory farming takes place in developed countries and has these features:
- Requires large investment in plant.
- Animal
Spain’s Agricultural Landscape: Population, Land Use, and Farm Structure
Agricultural and Rural Population Trends
The farming population is decreasing due to the mechanization of agricultural work. Since the last decades of the 20th century, many cities are losing population to rural municipalities because of an urban exodus that increases the population living in the countryside. This creates a distinction between the rural population, those living in a rural area while working in the manufacturing or service industries, and the agricultural population, those who work
Read MoreTextile Industry: Consolidation and Limitations
Consolidation and Limitations of the Textile Industry
The textile industry faced two limitations: shortage of coal mining Catalan and the difficulties of transport to supply coal from Asturias. This stimulated the proliferation of industrial estate situated on the banks of the rivers to take advantage of hydroelectricity. The weakness of the Spanish market (peasant classes), is a great demand too tied to agricultural production. The textile industry became a sector that the government constantly
Read MoreMedieval Europe: Urban Growth & Royal Power
Technical Innovations and Population Growth
Technical Innovations: New techniques of cultivation emerged, such as the three-year rotation, allowing only a third of the land to remain fallow. New agricultural tools included the Norman or moldboard plow, the horse collar, horseshoes, windmills, and watermills.
Population Growth:
- Cause: Increased agricultural production led to better nutrition and, consequently, population growth.
- Result: A search for new farmland.
Medieval Towns and the Rise of the Bourgeoisie
Medieval
Global Climate Zones: Equatorial, Tropical, Desert, and Temperate
Global Climate Zones
Hot Climates:
Equatorial Climate
- Location: Areas around the Equator (Amazon Basin, Congo Basin in Africa).
- Climate Characteristics:
- Temperatures: Consistently high (approximately 25°C) year-round.
- Precipitation: Very abundant (approximately 2000mm).
- Vegetation: Lush and abundant, known as “jungle” in Asia.
- Rivers and Water: Abundant and regular flow due to high rainfall (e.g., the Amazon).
- Population and Lifestyles: Home to indigenous populations engaged in rudimentary agriculture.