Understanding the Old Regime and Enlightenment in Europe
Old Regime: What is it?
The French Revolution revolutionaries used the term ancien Regime, or old regime, to designate the political situation in place prior to the French Revolution.
- Absolutist system
- Agrarian economy
- Stratified society dominated by privileged groups
- Great influence of religion on people, culture, education, and art
15th and the 18th centuries
What was the Enlightenment?
- Confidence in reason: believing that it is the only way to understand the world and achieve progress and happiness
- Faith in human progress: achieved through the advances made in science, which should lead all people to happiness
- Criticism of the old regime: considered as an obstacle to achieve human progress and happiness. Supported all economic activities, criticized privileged social groups, condemned religious
Encyclopaedia: a work composed of 28 volumes published by Diderot and d’a Lemberg between 1751 and 1752. It was a collection of Enlightenment thought which summarized the knowledge of its time and was illustrated with numerous engravings
Criticism of Absolute Monarchy
In the old regime, absolute monarchy was prevalent in Europe; it considered that the power of the king was a divine right that came from God. This is why the king held the legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Parliament political system: where the power of the king was limited by a parliament were scarce; England is the most significant example.
- Most important theorists were French: Voltaire proposed limiting the power of the king by means of a parliament like the English model
- Montesquieu defended the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers
- Rousseau stated that sovereignty or power resides in the citizens and those who rule must be guided by the general will of people
Enlightened Despotism
The most prominent enlightened despots were Louis XV in France, Charles III in Spain, Joseph I in Portugal, Catherine II in Russia, Joseph II in Austria, and Frederick II in Prussia
The New International Relations
During the 18th century, the principle of European balance spread on the continent under the impulse of Great Britain’s
Absolute Monarchy: legislative power belongs only to me without dependence and without division: it is with my authority that the officials of my court proceed not to inform but to register, publish, and enforce the law, are United necessarily to mine and rest only in my hands
The War of the Spanish Succession
Succession (1700-1714)
The struggle had a dual nature: it was an international war, which pitted France and Spain against the German Emperor, Great Britain, the United Provinces, Savoy, and Portugal. And it was also a civil war because it confronted Castile, which favoured Philip of Anjou, against Aragón, which endorsed the Archduke Charles, fearing that the Bourbons would introduce centralist policies as they had done in France.
The Establishment of the Bourbons
The 18th century in Spain began with a problem in succession and a dynastic change. In 1700, Charles II died without heirs and this put an end to the reign of the House of Austria. In his will, the king appointed Philip of Anjou as his successor, grandson of King Louis XIV, who acceded to the throne as Philip V, The French House of Bourbon was thus established in Spain.
- The first Bourbons who reigned in Spain were Philip V (1700-1746), Ferdinand (1746-1759), and Charles III (1759-1788) they introduced enlightened ideas and important reforms
The Political Reforms
Absolute Monarchy: all the power was concentrated in the king. To achieve this, the Bourbons isolated the nobility from powers, intervened in the affairs of the church, and hardly ever convened the Cortes. They ruled with the help of secretaries or ministers, who were in charge of the different government affairs
Political and administrative centralization: nueva planta decrees of 1707, 1715, and 1716. These decrees suppressed the laws and institutions of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, and Mallorca and implanted the Castilian model. Only the Basque Country and Navarra maintained their charters, called fueros
Economic Reforms: economic societies of friends of the country
- In Agriculture: The new American crops like maize and potatoes spread and they use the fertilisers and irrigation were promoted, repopulated in Sierra morena
- Industry: royal factories dedicated to shipbuilding, weapons, and luxury goods such as fabrics, silk, glass, tapestry, and porcelain
- Domestic: trade was boosted because of improved transportation roads were widened and paved, bridges were built and a radial road network linking Madrid to the main peripheral ports were designed