The Old Regime: European Society and Politics (16th-18th Century)
The Old Regime in the Modern Age (16th–18th Century)
The Old Regime refers to the political, social, and economic system in Europe during the Modern Age (16th, 17th, and 18th centuries), characterized by absolute monarchy and a rigid social structure.
Economic Structures
- Guilds: Associations of craftsmen that controlled manufacturing activities in European cities from the Middle Ages until the mid-18th century.
- Domestic System: A production method developed in the mid-17th century where work was performed at home to bypass guild regulations.
- Privileged Companies: Large monopolies protected by 17th-century European governments. The most prominent examples were found in the United Provinces.
Social Organization
Society under the Old Regime was divided into three distinct estates:
- Nobility (Noblezia)
- Clergy (Kleroa)
- Commoners (Herri xehea)
Crisis and Property
Subsistence Crisis: Natural disasters frequently reduced agricultural productivity, leading to farmers' protests and economic instability.
Communal Property: Throughout the Middle Ages and the Modern Age, communal lands allowed villagers to utilize forests and pastures for their livestock.
The Estate System
Large landholdings were known as estates, categorized into two types:
- Land-estate: Focused on income generated from the land for the owner.
- Power-estate: Granted the lord authority over justice, tax collection, and local administration.
Political Systems
- Aristocracy: The highest tier of nobility, consisting of the most powerful families, particularly prominent in 18th-century France.
- Absolute Monarchy: A system where state power was concentrated in the hands of the king. It peaked in the 17th century, exemplified by Louis XIV of France.
- Enlightened Despotism: A policy adopted in the second half of the 18th century where monarchs implemented social and economic reforms based on Enlightenment philosophical ideas.
- Parliamentary Regime: A system where the middle class gained political power. In England and the United Kingdom, the supreme power resided in Parliament, limiting the authority of the monarch.