18 th century

SOCIETYECONOMYMAIN EVENTS AND POLITICSSPAINART AND CULTURE

Althoug during the Modern Era, European society was still based on a feudal system, many changes happened in the 18th century, changes which were reflected in the composition of society too. Nevertheless, society was still divided into privileged and non-privileged estates.

It was forbidden to pass from the non-privileged estates to the privileged ones

The kingThe NobilityThe clergy

BourgeoisiePeasantry

THE PRIVILEGED ESTATES THE NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATES

The privileges were: Not working Not paying taxes Inheriting and owning

title and land Receiving rent Occupying important

govermmental positions Special laws

They worked They payed taxes They could´t arrive to

the govermment They were judged by

the nobility

Their original function was to defend society in times of war.

They didn´t have to work

They were landowners There were high and

low nobility The peasents payed

taxes in the nobles lands

The high clergy were nobles- archbishops,, bishops, cardinals) and they were rich

The «regular clergy» consisted of abbots and abbesses who were in chrge of monasteries and convents and had big properties

The lower clergy depended for their salaries on the landowners

They were all educated and literate They also collected church taxes

The bourgeoisise consisted of merchants, bankers,( the richests ones),investors, functionaries, lawyers…The high bourgeoisie often obtained more power than the nobility but they could´t obtain privileges, so they became noblse by marrying into noble families or buying titles to the king.

It was the most numerous group in society. There was high peasantry-land owners- tenants and land workers.

During the 18th century because of the plagues, bad harvests, droughts and famine and the increase of taxes, the minor landowners sere obligued to sell their lands to nobles and bourgeoisie

In pairs , try to answer the following questions:

1- Write down some of the nobles´privileges

2- What was the difference between the high and the low clergy?

3- How could a person pass through a non-privilege estate to a privilege one?

Peasants Bourgeoisie Privileges Estate Clergy Merchants Landowners Lawyer

The economy was based on agriculture but it was very important the development of industry and the commerce between Europe and America.

In industry it was important the Domestic System but the Industrial Revolution and transoceanic trade began to take effect.

England and Netherlands were the most powerful countries in commerce.

Agricultural development : Enclosures system New technologies and new techniques Many peasents were forced to leave

their lands and moved to towns. But food production was increased and

new crops were cultivated for industrial needs.

In modern era feudal kings became more authoritarian, like Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon

Their sucessors were absotut monarchs.

Absotutism means the absolute power of the kings

In France, Louis XIV was the most absolute monarch that Europe had seen. The success of his monarchy was based on:

- He ruled the country personally - He had many ministers but he taked all the decisions. He

controled everybody and everything. He stopped the meetings of the Estates General (like the Cortes) The nobles received money and titles but they had to obey him

and be grateful to him. He moved his court to Versailles (20000 people) He formed a personality cult around his image He created a professional royal army, loyal to him He expelled all religious dissidents: calvinists (hugonotes) He said ´I ´m the State»

Look at the portarit of Louis XIV by Rigaud and then, think of three adjectives that describe how the kings looks.

Three symbols are used in the painting. Find them, according to the following descriptions and try to name them.:

- It is the symbol of a royal power It was worn at the investiture of French kings,and

represanted contiuity or Royal lineage It was the royal symbol of control, of dominance, of the

king as master What did Louis mean with the famous sentence «I am the

State»

The first absolute king in Spain was Philip V, Louis XIV´s grandson, the 1st Bourbon in Spain, who ascended the throne after the War of Succession (France against Austria, Netherlands and EnglandThe war ended in 1714 with the Treat of Utrech)

In England since the Middle Ages the power was shared between Parliament and kings but when James I became king, he brought absolutist ideas, and his son Charles I,king in 1625 , limited parliamentary power.

Charles I, by Van Eycck

The English Paliament at that time was dominated by the Protestant bourgeoisie, led by Oliver Cromell.

In order to avoid irregular detentions, the Parliament ask for the Bill of Rights.

The king executed the parliamentaries opposed to him. The confrontation became a Civil War, 1642-48.

The parliamentarians won.

The monarchy was abolished and Charles I was executed. England became a Republic

The Republic was led by Cromwell as Lord protector . He was a dictator.

After Cromwell´s death, the Estuardo and the absolutism returned to England.(restoration)

But the parliament wrote the Habeas Corpus Act, a law which gave an arrested person the right of trial- 1679

The new king James II tried again to reduce parlamentary power.

The Parliament rose up against him: The Glorious Revolution

The parliament invited Wiliam of Orange to be the new king but he had to accept:

The Parliamentary monarchy, written in the Bill of Rights of 1689, wich limited his power

In that year John Locke wrote his book «Two Treates of government»

The Enlightened Despots were kings of the 18th century who justified their authority saying they were servants of the state, based on the Enlightement ideas: the had absolut power but they care about the well-being of their subjects. «Everything for the people but nothing by the people» (Joseph I of AustriaI)

Carlos III

THE KINGS STIMULATED: REFORM OF ADMINISTRATION

Health : medicin research, hospitals

Education Science Economic activity

Territorial organisation : in Spain he created provinces

Creation of provincial governors

Creation of Royal Advisory Commitee: nobleand enlightened ministers

What does it mean emperor Joseph with this sentence?:

The people are not capable of using power

A king must help his people but without their participation

Enlighttened Despotism is democratic Ordinary people must participate in

government.

The 18th century was also called the century of the Light and of Reason, because they wanted to emphasise reason as the main factor in life, reason based on scientific methods. This idea caused doubts about religion because the religion could not explain everything.

Some of the Enlightenment thinkers were Adam Smith, John Locke,J.J. Rosseau, Voltaire, Diderot, d¨Alambert and Montesquieu

John Locke- 1623-1704 A key thinker of the early

Enlightenment. He believed that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. People established a civil society to resolve conflicts in a civil way with help from government. Locke also advocated governmental separation of powers. He wrote «Two treatises of Government»

A. Smith (1723-1790) The father of modern economics and capitalism. He wrote «The wealth of nations»

«By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it»

Diderot achieved fame for editing his Encyclopedia, which took up over twenty years of his life. Hetried to pick up all the human knowledge at his time

1689-1755. He wrote «The spirit of the laws» 1748,

Separation of administrative powers, legislative, executive and judicial . They must be depend upon each other so that the influence of any power would not be able to exceed that of the other two

1712-1778- He wrote The Social Contract which had a big influence during the French Revolution.. Rousseau believed that people were born equal. He argued that sovereingnty should be in hands of the people

1694-1778 He wrote «Candide» Probably the most

important thinker of the Enlightenment. He accused aristocracy to be parasitic and the church to be an oppresive force. He attacked intolerance and religious persecutions

The Rococo was the art style that reflected the way of life of the nobility. It lasted the first half of the 18th century.

Caracteristichs: - exuberant - use of curves - Over-elabotation

2nd half of 18th century

It´s the art that represented the ideals of the Enlithgteners and the bourgeoisie.

They imitated the art of ancient Greece and Rome.