UNIT 2

THE 18TH CENTURY & THE ENLIGHTENMENT MOVEMENT

1. The Ancient Regime in crisis
An agrarian and manorial economy
Society based on privileges
A monarchy by divine right
The emerging bourgeoisie

2. Growth of the economy and the population

Population growth
The development of agriculture and manufacturing
The Triangular Trade

3. The Enlightenment movement

Enlightenment thinkers
Spreading the new ideas of the Enlightenment
Enlightened despotism

4. The Bourbon Monarchy in Spain

Enlightened despotism in Spain

5. Art in the 18th century

Rococo style
Neoclassic style

*****
1. The Ancient Regime in crisis
After the decline of medieval feudalism, the Ancient Regime (AR) became the principal
economic, social, and political system in Europe in the 18 th century. The predominant form of
government was absolute monarchy. Society was stratified and based on the privileges of a minority,
while most of the population continued to be rural peasants. Nevertheless, in much of Europe, the 18 th
century was a time of transition because more and more demographic and economic forces were set in
motion against the AR. Enlightenment thinkers began to challenge the ideological foundations of the AR
and propose a new social and political model for society. They wanted to end the dominance of the
privileged classes. The development of manufacturing and commercial activities had generated new
sources of wealth, which benefitted the emerging bourgeoisie that wanted political and social
recognition. In short, the 18th century was an intermediate period between the old declining aristocratic
world and the new emerging bourgeois world.

An agrarian and manorial economy

The economy of the AR was mainly rural. Over 80% of the population worked in agriculture.
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. Manorialism, the new name for old feudalism, remained powerful in the
countryside. The lords received manorial rents and taxes paid by the peasants; in addition, they had the
power to issue orders and administer justice within their farms. Peasants also had to pay 10% (tithe) of
the harvest to the Church. Agriculture used traditional methods with few technical innovations, and
productivity was low. Most people practised subsistence farming, which produced just enough food for
the population to live. The peasant opposed the manorial system and the heavy taxes they had to pay.

1
Exchange was rare, and trade was limited by inadequate transport systems. Although agriculture was
the predominant activity, the bourgeoisie developed artisan and manufacturing activities.

A society based on privileges

Society was divided by traditional law into three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and ordinary
people. This last group, also known as the Third Estate, included peasants, the urban working classes,
and the bourgeoisie. The main feature of this stratified society was inequality before the law. The
nobility and clergy had rights and privileges, controlled the army, and they hardly had to pay taxes. The
rest of society did not enjoy any privileges and had to pay taxes to the state. In the cities, the workers
were increasingly poor because of prices that rose faster than wages.

A monarchy by divine right

The predominant form of government in Europe was absolute monarchy by divine right.
According to this system, the king’s authority came from God, so the monarch exercised power in God’s
name. King Louis XIV of France, known as the Sun King, was the perfect example of an absolute
monarch. He had absolute power: he issued laws, appointed judges and ministers, administered justice,
commanded the army, and directed foreign policy. He was not subject to any control and did not share
his authority with anyone. However, the king’s power was limited by divine law and the fundamental
laws of the kingdom, which he had to accept at his coronation.

The emerging bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie was formed by non-privileged people that enjoyed a comfortable standard of
life, so they aspired to participate in urban governments. They criticised the privileges of the nobles and
clergy and argued that social recognition should be based on individual merit and not the family a
person was born into. This was the beginning of the road to the revolutions that would end the AR. They
began to challenge the old order.

2. Growth of the economy and the population

The 18th century was a period of peace which favoured the development of economic activity.

Population growth

There was a considerable population growth throughout the 18th century. The population of
Europe grew form 100 million to 200 between 1650 and 1800. This was because of greater agricultural
production, general economic growth and fewer major epidemics which resulted in a lower death rate.
The growth in Europe’s population led to an increase in demand for goods and services that, in turn,
stimulated the production of the economy.

The development of agriculture and manufacturing

A number of agricultural improvements led to an increase in agricultural production:

-Extension of cultivated areas: more land was cleared for cultivation.

-Introduction of new crops, such as potatoes and corn.
-Expansion of traditional agricultural techniques like irrigation.

This, along whit new discoveries as the seed drill eventually led to the Agricultural Revolution at
the end of 18th century.

As for the manufactures, to produce more craft products and escape the guilds’ strict control
over the production and sale of items, two new systems were introduced:

-The first was the domestic system; in it, peasants were given raw materials and tools by the
bourgeoises to make products in their own houses.

2
 -The second novelty were the factories, either state-run or privately owned and had many
workers to usually make luxury products.

New products were sold in growing urban markets, and especially through international
colonial trade that developed on maritime routes thanks to improvements in transport and
communication networks. The liberalisation of trade allowed its overseas expansion form commercial
companies. However, there was no solution to the main obstacle to industrial development: weak
demand due to the general poverty of the population, mainly peasants. For this reason, Enlightenment
thinkers insisted on the need for land reforms.

The Triangular Trade

Colonial trade expanded considerably in the 18th century because some colonial products, such
as sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, and cocoa became commonly used in Europe. British, Dutch, French,
Spanish and Portuguese ships exchanged manufactured goods for raw materials form the colonies.
However, the basis of colonial trade was triangular trade, which included the Atlantic slave trade. Slaves
were taken from Africa to the Americas. There, they were sold and forced to work in terrible conditions
on agricultural plantations in the Caribbean, Brazil, and the British colonies in North America. The
financial benefits were extremely high and favoured the proliferation of merchants, bankers, and
moneylenders, as well as the development of banks and commercial companies.

3. The Enlightenment movement

An intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment challenged the authority of the AR and
proposed a new way of organising society. The bourgeoisie adopted these ideas, that brought an end to
absolutism.

Enlightenment thinkers

They believed reason (logical thought) was the only way to understand the world. It was a
direct criticism of medieval tradition and religious theocracy. Most of them were deists and rejected the
superiority for one religion over the rest and condemned religious intolerance. They also defended the
freedom of thought, and they had an optimistic view of nature, thus humans were born to be happy.
They believed in progress and that reason and human will could transform the society.

The philosophes advocated a series of radical changes. They opposed stratified society as,
according to them, no one should inherit privileges from their ancestors. They supported social mobility
and personal merit. They also wanted economic changes. They opposed mercantilism, based on the
accumulation of precious metals, and defended productive work as the source of national wealth
(physiocracy). They disapproved state regulations and were for free trade. As for political changes,
Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers; Rousseau expressed the need for a social contract
between the ruler and the individuals, and he also defended the idea of popular sovereignty expressed
through voting. By his part, Voltaire defended fiscal justice and the freedom of speech.

The main objectives of Spanish Enlightenment thinkers were economic growth, the reform of
society, the improvement of education and the modernisation of culture. Jovellanos criticised the
privileges of the AR, condemned the idle nobility, opposed the prejudices of the Church, and justified
the need for land reform. He was in contact with other enlightenment thinkers such as Floridablanca,
Campomanes, Aranda, Ensenada or Olavide. Spain remained a rural country with low agricultural yields.
It was technically backward and most of the land was controlled by the nobility and clergy. To spread
their new ideas, the enlightened proposed reforms that would lead to better land distribution and an
increase in production, trade, and wealth, which would stimulate population growth and improve the
standard of living. They defended the need for liberalise the ownership of land by the means of
eliminate the perpetual ownership of land. They also wanted to eliminate the Mesta and improve
farmers’ lease contracts. These measures were to be accompanied by education reform, and state
investment in public works.

3
Spreading the new ideas of the Enlightenment

It was a time of great ideas. Enlightenment thinkers and scientists stimulated the spread of
knowledge and permit to exchange and debate ideas. Universities and scientific academies were created
all around Europe. Even wealthy women contributed to the Enlightenment by organising meetings for
intellectuals. Improvements in literacy allowed newspaper and books to flourish and become available
to greater numbers of people. The culture was more popular than ever before.

The great scientific revolution began throughout the 17 th century with individuals such as
Kepler, Descartes, Pascal, Torricelli, Galileo, and Newton, who introduced new advances that in short
time would have their practical application. For example, based on experiments on the force of steam,
Newcomen and Watt invented the steam engine, which triggered the British Industrial Revolution. A
paramount book, The Encyclopaedia, helped spread all that knowledge. Edited by Diderot and
d’Alembert between 1751 and 1772, its aim was to widen the knowledge in a subtle way to avoid royal
censorship. Cultural elites became increasingly interested in science and technology so that they
believed that both helped society to progress and to make the country richer.

Enlightened despotism

European monarchs were influenced by the Enlightenment, and some tried to introduce its
ideas about progress without having to give up their absolute power. Frederik II of Prussia, Maria
Theresa of Austria, Catherine II of Russia, Gustav III of Sweden, and Charles III of Spain were all
enlightened despots. They promoted the rationalisation of administration, education reforms and the
modernisation of the economy. They developed agriculture and industry, facilitated free trade, and
promoted manufacturing and trading companies. The idea of enlightened despotism is summarised in
the phrase: All for the people, nothing by the people, what means act in favour of the people but keep
absolute power intact.

4. The Bourbon Monarchy in Spain

Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg, died in 1700. The appointment of Philip of Bourbon as his
heir resulted in the War of the Spanish succession because the Austrian branch of the Habsburg
reclaimed the Spanish throne as well. Philip V’s supporters won the war therefore a new dynasty was
established in Spain, the Bourbon one. In addition, the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) was a
civil conflict in Spain, because Castile supported Philip, while most territories of the Crown of Aragon
supported Charles of Austria, who had promised to guarantee the Aragonese privileges and institutions.
Before the end of the war, in 1711 Charles inherited the Holy Roman Empire, and lost interest in
becoming king of Spain. Also, his European allies saw the need to prevent the possible union of Spain
and Austria under one monarch. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) which recognised
Philip V as king of Spain in exchange for several territories in Europe. Nevertheless, the war continued in
Catalonia until 1714 and in Mallorca until 1715, when Barcelona and Palma, respectively, were taken.

After the Succession Spanish War, new laws were passed to unify the crowns of Aragon and
Castile. Between 1707 and 1716 the “Decretos de Nueva Planta” (DNP) were enacted. This way, the
privileges, and institutions of the Crown of Aragon (Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, and Mallorca) were
abolished and were replaced by the Castilian system. Philip V appointed State secretaries to assist him in
the tasks of government and, given the legislative work was done through institutions controlled by the
monarch, the Cortes lost its traditional function. As for the foreign policy, France and Spain signed the
Family Compact, that guided Spanish diplomacy during the 18th century.

Enlightened despotism in Spain

The reigns of Philip V and Ferdinand VI were characterised by the centralisation of the state and
the implementation of the French absolutist model. However, Charles III was influenced by enlightened
despotism and tried to modernise the country. He ruled as an absolutist king but chose some
Enlightenment thinkers to be his advisors and he undertook a series of enlightened reforms. But these

4
ideas were hindered by the absence of a large bourgeoisie, conservatism among the intellectuals and
the enormous influence of the Catholic Church.

Some of the major reforms by Charles III were the regulation of the professions; limiting the
privileges of the Mesta; free movement of goods, free sale of grain; free trade with the Americas from
all Spanish ports; establishing tariffs to defend against foreign competition; imposing royal authority
over the Church (expelling the Jesuits) and creating primary schools and reforming universities.
However, the events of the French Revolution frightened Charles IV, who put stop to all these reforms.

Art in the 18th century

Rococo style

This style reflected the refined tastes of the aristocracy. The Rococo is elegant and ornate,
emphasizing sensual beauty and visual pleasure. The aristocracy displayed their wealth through their
palace decoration, whose interiors had extravagant ornamentation based on curves and asymmetry. As
for the Rococo painting, its remarkable features are the use of light colours, dominance of colour over
drawing, and the invention of pastel technique. The most famous Rococo artists were Watteau,
Fragonard, Tiepolo, and Gainsborough.

Neoclassic style

It was influenced by the discovery of many important archaeological sites from ancient Greece
and Rome. Neoclassicism displaced Rococo. Excessive decorations of the Rococo style were replaced by
a return to the simplicity and rationality of classical art, in line with the new bourgeois mentality that
was spreading in Europe. Neoclassical architecture was inspired by Greco-Roman style, copying its
columns, arches, domes, pediments, porticoes… and rejecting the exaggerate ornamentation. Many
public buildings such as libraries, pantheons, gates, and museums were constructed in the new style.
Neoclassical painters (David, Ingres) used mythological and historical themes to express moral values.
Sculptors (Thorvaldsen, Canova) focused on mostly mythological themes, but also made portraits and
funerary monuments. Their goal was to convey beauty and perfection. They used mainly marble and
bronze.