The 18th Century: Enlightenment and Revolution

The 18th century is known as the Age of Enlightenment, a triumph of light against the darkness of the Middle Ages. This century is a great period in which there will be great contributions to freedom and the first liberal revolutions.

Changes in Agriculture

• Norfolk System: A system of crop rotation that increased land productivity compared to the fallow system.
• Fallow: Agricultural technique of leaving the land to rest for a while with the aim of improving its conditions for the next crop.
• Wetlands were drained in order to increase arable land.
• The Romans abandoned the traditional wooden plow and replaced it with the iron one. Also, they used oxen, horses, and donkeys.
• The fallow system was replaced by the Norfolk system.
• Communal land transitioned to private property and was enclosed, increasing the owners' benefits.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a cultural and intellectual movement that emerged in Europe in the mid-18th century. Its principles were:

1. Reason as the source of all knowledge.
2. Belief in the continuing progress of humanity.
3. Education as a means to human progress.
4. The belief that man, through progress, can achieve happiness.

Key Enlightenment Figures

The most important French Enlightenment figures were Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and d'Alembert.

• Voltaire: Advocated for tolerance, deism, and natural liberty.
• Montesquieu: Proposed the separation of powers, the social contract, and national sovereignty.
• Rousseau: Believed in natural equality.
• Diderot and D'Alembert: Compiled the Encyclopedia.

Enlightenment Principles

• Natural Equality: All men are equally free from birth. These principles, enunciated by Rousseau, are radically opposed to those of a class society based on the difference in birth.
• National Sovereignty: The principle according to which an individual or institution can exercise political power. It may lie with the monarchy, the republic, or the people.
• Division of Powers: To prevent power from remaining in the hands of a few, Montesquieu devised the system of division of powers:
  • The executive executes the laws.
  • The legislature makes laws and approves them.
  • The judiciary ensures legal compliance and the legality of laws.
• Deism: There is only one God common to all religions. The world has enough natural laws, and man's reason is a source of knowledge.
• Encyclopedia (Diderot and d'Alembert): Became a rational dictionary of science, arts, and crafts. It also contained information on some jobs.

Political Developments

• Bill of Rights 1689: In the late 18th century, the English parliamentary model was consolidated, in which two chambers legally limited the power of the throne, occupied by William of Orange.
• Enlightened Absolutism: Agricultural reforms were undertaken, the communications network was modernized, schools, colleges, and universities were established, and hospitals were built. These actions favored the state and improved its image among citizens. Some enlightened monarchs were Louis XVI, Carlos III, Frederick II, and Catherine II.
• Absolutism: The Spanish and French monarchies are the best examples of this system, based on the following principles:
  • Royal domain of the nobility.
  • Unified administration of the state.
  • Permanent professional army.
  • Mercantilist system.
• Peace of Utrecht: The Spanish crown was limited to the territories of the peninsula, islands, and colonies. Felipe V imposed a unified administration, and through new plant decrees, all Spanish territories shared, for the first time, the same laws.