Transformation of Europe: From Agrarian Roots to Enlightenment
An Agrarian and Manorial Economy
The economy of the Ancien Regime was mainly rural. Land was entailed, which meant it could not be bought or sold, and it was concentrated in the hands of the nobility and the Church. The lords received manorial rents and taxes paid by the peasants and had the power to issue orders and impart justice. Peasants also had to pay 10% of their harvest to the Church. Agriculture used traditional methods, and productivity was low. Most people practiced subsistence farming, which produced just enough food for the population to live. Although agriculture was the predominant activity, the bourgeoisie developed artisan and manufacturing activities.
Society Based on Privileges
Society was divided into three estates: clergy, nobility, and ordinary people. This was a stratified society, a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Factors for Change
Economic growth and the aspirations of the third estate, particularly the bourgeoisie, were the main forces for change. The bourgeoisie aspired to participate in government. They criticized the privileges of the nobles and clergy and argued that social recognition should be based on individual merit. The peasants opposed the manorial system and the heavy taxes they had to pay. Enlightenment thinkers began to challenge the ideological foundations of the Ancien Regime and proposed a new social and political model for society.
Population Growth
There was considerable population growth because of greater agricultural production, general economic growth, and fewer major epidemics, which resulted in a lower death rate and an increase in the birth rate.
The Development of Agriculture and Manufacturing
To produce more craft products and escape the guilds’ strict control over the manufacture and sale of items, new systems emerged:
- The Domestic System: Peasants were provided with the necessary raw materials and tools to make products in their workshops.
- Factories: These were either controlled by the government and had many workers to make specific products.
An Increase in Capital and the Prospering Bourgeoisie
The development of new forms of production and the expansion of trade caused manorial rents to lose economic importance. The production of goods, trade, and capital became more important. Triangular trade was a multilateral system of trading in which a country pays for its imports from one country with its exports to another.
The Parliamentary Monarchy in England
- 1649: King Charles I was executed.
- 1660: The new king, Charles II, accepted the control of Parliament.
- 1679: Habeas Corpus was established.
- 1689: James II and his Catholic faith caused a second revolution.
The Independence of the US
The American colonists were unhappy with Britain for not allowing them to send representatives to Parliament and for imposing commercial monopolies and taxes. The British decision to grant a monopoly on the sale of tea to a British company caused a rebellion in Boston known as the Boston Tea Party. King George III sent an army to stop the rebellion. To strengthen their position against Britain, delegates from the 13 colonies drafted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The Enlightenment Thinkers
They believed reason was the only way to understand and explain the world. It was a direct criticism of medieval tradition and religious theocentrism.
Enlightened Despotism
Enlightened despots promoted the rationalization of administration, education reforms, and the modernization of the economy. They developed agriculture and industry, facilitated free trade, and promoted manufacturing and trading companies.
A New Dynasty Rules Spain
Philip V’s supporters won the War of the Spanish Succession, and he was recognized as king of Spain. France and Spain were ruled by one family in an international alliance called the Family Compact. This alliance guided Spanish foreign policy.
Territorial Uniformity
The Nueva Planta decrees were enacted. They abolished the privileges and institutions of the territories of the Crown of Aragon and imposed the Castilian administrative system. The territory was divided into provinces governed by a captain general with military and administrative power. Audiencias were created to administer justice, corregidores governed the municipalities, and intendentes collected taxes.
Administrative Reorganization
The councils, which had acted in an advisory function and as the supreme court, were abolished. The Cortes disappeared, except in Castile, and legislative work was done through institutions controlled by the monarch.