Social Structure and Enlightenment in the Ancien Régime

Social Hierarchy in the Ancien Régime

Society in the Ancien Régime continued to be divided into three social groups called estates. At the top was the nobility. This group was very small, and a person's place within the group was hereditary. These were privileged people who did not have to pay tax. Within the nobility were the monarchs, the aristocracy, and the lesser nobility.

Education and Daily Life

Education in the Ancien Régime depended on gender and social class:

• Daughters: Regardless of social class, they were taught at home by their mothers. They learned how to carry out domestic tasks and received a basic education in religion.
• Sons of ordinary people: Most acquired a basic knowledge of religion and learned agricultural or craft techniques. Only some went to school to learn to read and write.
• Sons of the nobility and bourgeoisie: They often had private tutors. In the case of the bourgeoisie, they were prepared for work in the family business and for entrance to university.

Housing and Living Conditions

Housing also depended on social class. Some people lived in single-room dwellings alongside domestic animals, while others had dwellings with separate living and working spaces. The privileged few had houses with many rooms, each designed for a specific use.

Social Values and the Bourgeoisie

The more privileged members of society saw work and manual labor as dishonorable. This meant the nobility avoided work and relied on the rent they received from the peasants who lived on their land. Sometimes this was not enough to cover their costs, and they went into debt.

At this time, honor was valued above wealth. Attaining a noble lifestyle was the main goal for most of society. This was particularly true of the wealthy bourgeoisie, whose money was useful to struggling nobles. In return for financial support, these nobles offered bourgeois families strategic marriages. These allowed the bourgeoisie to improve their social position.

The Enlightenment: The Age of Reason

The Enlightenment was a cultural and intellectual movement that aimed to dispel the darkness of human ignorance through the light of knowledge. It championed humans' capacity to understand and explain the world, and to achieve success and happiness using the power of reason.