Ancient Regimen in crisis

4th ESOMAIRA GIL CAMARÓN

Introduction17th century

Wars: religion warsFamine: poor harvestDisease: plaguesEconomic crisis: inflation

Monarchs tried to impose order by increasing their own power ABSOLUTE MONARC

Theory of Absolutism

These rulers wanted to be absolute monarchs, kings or queens who held all of the power within their state’s boundaries. Their goal was to control every aspect of society. Absolute monarchs believe in divine right, the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth. An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his/her subjects

What was the Old Regimen?This is a term used by the French revolutionaries to designate the political situation in place prior to the French revolution (1789)An absolutist political systemAn agrarian economyA stratified societyThe great influence of religion on people, culture, education and artLater on, historians used this terms to designate the period between 15th and 18th centuries

Social Pyramid: The Three StatesMonarch: absolute powerFIRST ESTATE – High clergy. Catholic church:

they paid very few taxes and received tithesSECOND ESTATE – Nobles. They paid very few

taxes. They had powers over their vassals. Manorialism

THIRD ESTATE – Varied group. Peasants: they lived in great povertyUrban workers (artisans)Rich and well-educated people: bourgeoisie

(merchants, lawyers, bankers)

Population Growth

Little population growth during the Old Regimen: the birth rate was high due to the absence of effective birth control systems; mortality rate was high because of poor diet, the backwardness of medicine and lack of hygieneDecline in mortality:

Absence of epidemicsDecline in the numbers of wars

Agriculture / Craftsmanship

AgricultureNew crops New techniques: from biennial rotation to

continuous rotationCraftsmanship

Domestic SystemManufacturing

Triangular Trade1. Guns and cloth were exported from Europe to Africa

2. The guns and cloth were exchanged for slaves, who had been captured by rival tribes

3. The slaves were taken from Africa to America and were exchanged for sugar, coffee, cotton and tobacco. These products were taken back to Europe

Parliamentary monarchy in England

17th century Britain went from being an absolute monarchy to being a constitutional one

Charles I: ruled without consulting the Parliament Civil War Oliver Cromwell (dictator) Restoration

James II: absolutist king the Parliament forced him to abdicate

Mary and William of Orange, new kings: BILL OF RIGHTS, which limited the power of the monarchs

KING PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS (Nobles)HOUSE OF COMMONS (Representatives of towns and

counties)

Independence of the USABritish 13 colonies: 1760s they rebelled against Britain

Britain increased the taxes to pay for wars in Europe Colonies had no members of Parliament so they thought that

the Parliament didn’t represent them

The increase of taxes led to many protests: the British army killed 5 people in Boston during a riot: Boston Massacre

The British decision to grant a monopoly on the sale of tea to a British company caused a rebellion in Boston: Tea Party

Many colonists demanded greater independence and started boycotting goods from Britain British army tried to stop the colonists American Revolutionary War

4 july 1776 colonies declared their independence

1783: Britain recognised the colonies’ independence, and George Washington became its first president (1789)

The United States Constitution

The first written constitution in the world that ensured the separation of powers (executive, legislative and judicial), establishing a republican government headed by an elected president

LEGISLATIVE POWERCongress (senate + house of representatives)

EXECUTIVE POWERPresident (elected for 4 years; applies laws,

controls the army)JUDICIAL POWER

Supreme Court, guarantor of the Constitutios (9 judges appointed for life)

The Enlightenment versus the Old Regimen

17th century: SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION some scientists argued that humans should use reason to develop scientific knowledge

18th century: ENLIGHTENMENT French political thinkers said that humans could use reason to solve political, social and economic problems the Age of Reason

The Enlightenment was a period in the 1700s when European scientists and philosophers began examining the world through reason, or human intellect, rather than religious or spiritual faith. The Enlightenment’s leading intellectuals included Isaac Newton, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau. They were inspired by 17th century thinkers such as Locke, Francis Bacon or Descartes. Their ideas touched many aspects of life including politics, economics, science and religion

Enlightenment New IdeasSOCIAL CHANGES: They opposed stratified

society and defended social mobility

ECONOMIC CHANGES: They opposed Mercantilism and defended

agriculture and productive work as the source of national wealth: Physiocracy (F. Quesnay)

They opposed state regulations and defended free trade: Economic Liberalism (A. Smith)

POLITICAL CHANGESMontesquieu: separation of powers (executive,

legislative, judicial)Rousseau: social contract between the ruler and

the individual (constitution)Voltaire: parliament

The Enlightenment Despotism

Some absolute monarchs introduced reforms based on reason and science:

They invested in agriculture and manufacturing, and introduced new crops

They supported the arts, sciences and educationThey made the tax system fairer by reducing the

privileges of the Church and the noblesThey made the laws the same in the whole countryThey increased religions toleranceHowever, these monarchs rejected Enlightenment

ideas like equally, deism and the separation of powers

Spreading the new ideas of the Enlightenment Scientific and technological progress

They believed that science and technology should work together to help society to progress advances in medicine, transport… Watt invented the steam engine

Spread of knowledge18th century was a time of ideas, knowledge and people.

Universities and scientific academies were created; coffee houses and private literary salons became more widespread

Making the EncyclopediaEnlightenment thinkers believed in improving society

through education. They therefore wrote a book called the Encyclopedia which aimed to gather all the knowledge in the world. It was edited by Diderot and included articles by Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. In total there were 28 volumes with over 3,000 ilustrations and it took more than 20 years to complete the work.

The Bourbon monarchy in SpainThe War of Succession

Charles II died without a heir and it caused the Spanish War of Succession: an internal conflict that became international due to the pretenders to the throne: Philip of Bourbon (Duke of Anjou), supported by

Castile and FranceCharles of Habsburg, supported by some European

powers (Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal, the Austrian Empire)

When Charles inherited the German Empire, lost interest in becoming king of Spain. His allies wanted to prevent the possible union of Spain and Austria Treaty of Utrech (1713) recognised Philip V as king in exchange for territories in Europe and Spain

Philip V

Renounced his rights to the throne of France (his grandfather was Louis XIV) and ceded the Spanish possessions in Europe (Netherlands and Italy) to Austria, the island of Sicily to Savoy and the island of Menorca and Gibraltar, as well as certain commercial advantages in America, to Great Britain

Territorial uniformityPhilip V’s aim was to be the absolute monarch of a

centralised and modern state.Previously, Spanish monarchs had ruled over a number of

separate kingdoms, each with their own parliaments, laws and customs. With the Nueva Planta Decrees, Philip turned these kingdoms into a single country: Spain He abolished special laws (fueros) of the Crown of Aragon

(Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon and Mallorca) He introduced Castilian law in the whole Spain. The Council

of Castile also took decisions about the whole country He made Madrid the capital city of the whole Spain He made Castilian Spanish the official language of Spain He created intendentes, who were powerful civil servants

named by the king, to control the local authorities, collected taxes and introduced economic reforms

Enlightenment in SpainThe agrarian issue in Spain

Spain = large rural society, the most of the land was controlled by the nobility and clergy

Spanish Enlightenment thinkers wanted the economic growth, the reform of society, the improvement of education and the modernisation of culture Sociedades Económicas de Amigos del País

Spanish Enlightenment thinkers proposed reforms to stimulate population growth and improve the standard of living

Enlightenment reformismCharles III ruled as an Enlightened despotic monarch: he

was an absolute monarch but chose some Enlightenment thinkers as advisors to undertook a series or reforms

The absence of an important bourgeoisie, conservatism and the influence of the Catholic Church hindered the expansion of the Enlightenment ideas in Spain

18th century growth An increase in agricultural production: new crops,

irrigation and viticulture Protection of manufacturing stimulated an increase

in production Liberalisation of trade (1778) overseas expansion

from commercial companies and the end of the monopoly on trading with America

No increase in industrial development Enlightenment thinkers insisted on the need for land reforms to liberalise the ownership of the land: JOVELLANOSAbolish mortmain and communal landCultivate communal land and wastelandDissolve the Mesta and fence of the estatesImprove farmers’ lease contractsLimit entailed estates