Ancient Regime

Socioeconomic Reality
XVII and XVIII Centuries.
How it was like before the transformations
that will take place
 Politics. Absolute Monarchy
• There was the Court, but all the decisive power
was held by the King.

• There weren’t any official institutions or people who

formed the Government, the King was the only
responsible. No deputies or Congress.
• In previous Ages, the territories were
organised in little feuds or kingdoms and each
noble ruled his lands.

• In the Ancient Regime, there was the

Modern State, a larger country where
every region had to answer the King’s
orders.

• The French Monarch Louis XIV was a

good example of this.
 Politics. Absolute Monarchy
But... how was the King elected?
• By Divine Right: Technically, he was directly sent
by god, but, in fact, the first son of the current King
inherited the title.

• The only one above the King was God himself, the
Divine law. Not even the clergy, who has to obey.
Everyone in the country was the subedit of the King.

• Agnosticism was illegal, you had to be from one religion depending on

your country: protestant, catholic (Muslim, in Ottoman Empire)

• If you didn’t respect that, you will suffer consequences. Religion was a
social weapon to control people’s minds and life by fear and ideas like hard
work, or paradise upon death.
 Economics. Subsistence
• Agriculture was the main economic activity, 4 out of
5 people were peasants and lived in the countryside,
cities were still starting to grow.

• In cities, there was more commerce, but in the fields,

there was not so much that overrun.

• Peasants consumed what they planted,

subsistence, and they worked for the owner of the
lands they lived in, who was given a big part of the
harvest and didn’t have to work.

• Those landlords were almost the owners of the

peasants too and there was abuse.

• The peasants had tiny houses and lived with the

livestock while the owners lived so much better.
Injustice.
 Economics. Three-field crop rotation
• The Agriculture was outdated, they didn’t have
herbicides, watering systems or modified seeds like
we have now.

• That made people dependant on weather, which

caused constant famines as a result of droughts.

• Machines were starting to arrive, but they had to

plant by hand and work more than 16 hour per day
completing the heavy chores of the farm while the
landlords were hunting or practicing hobbies.

• They organised the land, which surrounded the

village, in three parts: spring cereals, autumn wheat
and fallow land, who was left to rest and fertilized by
cattle. Three-field crop rotation.
 Economics. Mercantilism
• In the cities there was more commerce: there was a
market where vegetables and fish or meat were sold.

• From the colonies, they brought products like

tobacco, sugar and seeds and raw materials like
wood, metal, silver and they sold it in the metropolis,
where they manufactured it too.

• There were craftsman workshops where artisans

produced objects, not like the fabrics which will
appear later but they were owned by Bourgeois,
plebeians who started getting money.

• Still, all the economic activities were ruled by the

crown, all the companies were owned by the king
and the wealth of the country was measured in the
precious metals it had: Mercantilism.
Class-based society.
 Privileged classes
• They inherited this privilege or title
from their family.

• They had special rights including access

to high positions in society: politics,
military, power positions...

• They didn’t have to follow the law or to

pay taxes, or either to work.

• They could have education commodities

and servants, but some of them starting
to have less money than the new
bourgeoisies.

• High clergy had those privileges too,

and they received a 10% of the harvest.
 Non-privileged classes
•The third state: serfs, artisans, traders and also
rich member of the bourgeoisie (merchants,
bankers, etc.) but they couldn’t access to high
positions in society or participate ruling it. Those
bourgeoisies felt discriminated, so they’ll rebel.

• They had to pay taxes and didn’t have right to

education if they hadn’t money.

• They couldn’t change their position, there

wasn’t social mobility, specially for the poor
people.

•They had to work a lot and survive in the

countryside or in the cities, surrounded by
misery and hunger.
• At least, low clergy was given shelter and
food.
 Comparision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFJZ728aln8
 Debate
We are going to reflect about the society then and now. Answer to those
questions.

•Summarize 4 jobs that you think that have the longest journeys and the heaviest
chores nowadays and tell why. What salary they have in return?

•Summarize 4 jobs that you think that are the lightest and where the people
doesn’t have to make an effort, and which chores include those jobs. What salary
do you think they have? You can say common jobs or extraordinary jobs like
artists.

•What conclusions you can draw? Do you think that the more you work, the more
money and facilities you have nowadays? Can you choose your job?

•What differences and things in common you see between the Ancient regime
society and today’s society?