Ancien Régime and Enlightenment Critique

The Divine Law

The central axis of the political system of the Ancien Régime was absolute monarchy by divine right. The monarch's authority came from God, who was in power. The state was controlled by the monarch, who concentrated all power and had absolute authority. Furthermore, the arbitrariness of the state was the norm. The most significant example of absolutism was the French monarchy of the Bourbons (Louis XIV). It arrived in Spain in 1700 by the hand of Philip V. All power resided in the monarch, and some advisory institutions existed. The main governing body was the Council of State, whose members were appointed by the king and was divided into sections: Board of Finance, Justice, War. It was also customary to designate a Secretary of State. The provincial administration was in the hands of governors and mayors who had the authority to enforce laws, maintain order, direct public works, industry, trade, or any issue of territorial government. These charges depended on the monarch and were revocable, with a host of officials and bureaucrats responsible for carrying out royal orders, administering justice, collecting taxes, etc. The monarch did not share sovereignty with any institution, should not be accountable to anyone, nor did they submit to any control. One of the limitations of the real power came from the parliament, which met with the representatives of the three estates.

The Criticism of the Old Regime

The Enlightenment criticized the pillars of the Ancien Régime and proposed a new model of political and social organization based on the principles of freedom and equality. It criticized absolutism and shaped the foundations of a new political doctrine (liberalism). Montesquieu advocated the separation of powers and put an emphasis on the independence of the judiciary. Rousseau defended the need for a social contract between rulers and ruled and made the principle of national sovereignty: power emanates from the free consent of all the people expressed through voting. The enlightened society opposed the estates system and defended social mobility, equality of origin, and merit as the worth and intelligence of each. Voltaire proclaimed himself a defender of freedom of conscience and said that human relations should be based on tolerance. In the economic field came the Physiocrats, such as Quesnay, who laid the foundations of economic liberalism. They believed the main source of wealth was agriculture and not the accumulation of precious materials, supporting economic freedom and individual initiative. These new ideas found fertile ground in a bourgeoisie that had seen its economic power grow throughout the eighteenth century.