European Hegemony and the Old Regime: Economic and Social Structures

European Hegemony and the Old Regime

Shifting Powers in Europe

European hegemony reflected the dominance of the Hispanic monarchy (territorial inheritance and colonial imperium) until the mid-seventeenth century. From the mid-seventeenth century onward, colonial France, Britain, and the Netherlands rose to prominence.

The Economy of the Old Regime

Agriculture: The Foundation

• Occupied 80% of the population.
• Focused on cereal cultivation using rudimentary techniques.
• Characterized by low yields and subsistence farming within señoríos (manorial estates).

Crafts and Manufacturing

• Textiles and metals: Produced in urban workshops controlled by guilds.
• Domestic System: Emerged in the seventeenth century to bypass guild restrictions.
• Royal Manufactories: Large state-owned workshops producing luxury items.

Trade and Commerce

• Internal: Limited by poor transport; relied on local weekly markets and annual fairs.
• External: Focused on major port thoroughfares and colonial trade with the Americas.

Mercantilism and State Intervention

Mercantilism defined national wealth by the accumulation of precious metals. The state intervened in the economy to increase exports and reduce imports through protectionist policies.

Social Structure: The Three Estates

The society of the Old Regime was divided into three estates:

• Nobility and Clergy: Held titles, honorifics, and economic and fiscal privileges.
• Third Estate: Comprised 90% of the population. A heterogeneous group including the bourgeoisie, peasants, and craftsmen, who bore the entire tax burden.

The Eighteenth Century: Transformation

Political Balance

Following the Peace of Utrecht, European powers sought a continental equilibrium. Britain emerged as the dominant colonial and commercial power after conflicts with France and the Netherlands.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement born in 18th-century France, characterized by:

• Confidence in reason.
• Faith in human progress.
• The right to happiness.

Key representatives included Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. These thinkers criticized the Old Regime, mercantilism, and religious intolerance, advocating for a moral standard based on reason.