17th Century Europe: Economy, Society, Politics

Economy and Society in the 17th Century

The 17th century is sometimes referred to as a period of general crisis in agriculture, economic growth, demography, and social conflict.

Economy

Agriculture

Rural areas suffered from low productivity, with the exception of England and the Low Countries, where new agricultural techniques were developed. Agriculture became less productive due to changes in climate and decreased demand for agricultural products.

Craft Production and Trade

• In southern Europe, craftsmanship was still regulated by guilds. However, the domestic system spread in northwest Europe. This way, cheaper products could be obtained more efficiently.
• Before the 17th century, Spain, Portugal, and Italy were the main economic powers. In this period, England and the United Provinces became important trading nations. They created their own colonial empires and sold their products in Spain's and Portugal's colonies.

Society and Demography

Population growth was really low in this century due to an increase in the mortality rate:

• Bad harvests and the effect of wars on the land caused frequent famines.
• There were epidemics of typhus, cholera, and the bubonic plague, mainly in southern Europe.
• Some wars were especially destructive. The Thirty Years' War led to the depopulation of large areas in central Europe.

It was also a time of major migrations:

• Some people were forced to leave their countries. For example, Huguenots were expelled from France during the reign of Louis XIV.
• Other people emigrated voluntarily: around half a million people went to live in America.

Absolutism

During the 17th century, most of the European states were ruled by absolute monarchies. Because of this, the 17th century is known as the century of Absolutism. These were its most important characteristics:

• The Theory of Divine Right: This theory explained that the power of the king comes directly from God, and the king is only responsible before God.
• Concentration of Power: The king controlled the three main powers: the executive power (it executed the laws), the legislative power (it made the laws), and the judicial power (it imparted justice).
• Centralized Power: The kings developed a professional and efficient bureaucracy. It was composed of civil servants that worked directly for the king and new institutions that represented only the interests of the king.

England

At the beginning of the 17th century, the new dynasty that ruled in England, the House of Stuart, tried to impose Absolutism. This led to a confrontation between the Monarchy and the Parliament and to a period of instability. There were two Revolutions (in 1640 and in 1688) and a succession of important events such as the execution of King Charles I (1649), the Protectorate of Cromwell, the restoration of the House of Stuart, and after the revolution of 1688, the arrival of a new dynasty (House of Orange) in the figure of William III of Orange. This new king signed the Bill of Rights, an important English law that obliged the king to obey laws passed by the Parliament. This was a very important advance for the Parliamentary system in England. The main supporter of the parliamentarian regime was the English philosopher John Locke.

The Netherlands

After the separation of The Netherlands from the Spanish Monarchy, they established a Republic, where the Parliament was the most important institution. The Netherlands became an important major power and a financial center during the 17th century and the 18th century thanks to its industrial and commercial activities. This led to the rise of a rich bourgeoisie, formed by important merchants, bankers, or shipyard owners, who, thanks to their economic power, obtained control of Parliament and acquired great political power.

International Relations

In this period, there are two main European conflicts that we have already seen in the unit of the Habsburgs: the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the Franco-Spanish War (1648-1659).