3. Althoug during the Modern Era, European
society was still based on a feudal system,
many changes happened in the 18th century,
changes which were reflected in the
composition of society too. Nevertheless,
society was still divided into privileged and non-
privileged estates.
4. It was forbidden to pass from the non-privileged estates to the
privileged ones
The king
The Nobility
The clergy
Bourgeoisie
Peasantry
5. THE PRIVILEGED ESTATES THE NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATES
The privileges were:
Not working
Not paying taxes
Inheriting and owning title
and land
Receiving rent
Occupying important
govermmental positions
Special laws
They worked
They payed taxes
They could´t arrive to the
govermment
They were judged by the
nobility
6. Their original function
was to defend society in
times of war.
They didn´t have to
work
They were landowners
There were high and low
nobility
The peasents payed
taxes in the nobles
lands
7. The high clergy were nobles- archbishops,,
bishops, cardinals) and they were rich
The «regular clergy» consisted of abbots and
abbesses who were in chrge of monasteries
and convents and had big properties
The lower clergy depended for their salaries on
the landowners
They were all educated and literate
They also collected church taxes
8. The bourgeoisise consisted of
merchants, bankers,( the
richests ones),investors,
functionaries, lawyers…
The high bourgeoisie often
obtained more power than the
nobility but they could´t obtain
privileges, so they became
noblse by marrying into noble
families or buying titles to the
king.
9. It was the most numerous
group in society. There was
high peasantry-land owners-
tenants and land workers.
During the 18th century
because of the plagues, bad
harvests, droughts and
famine and the increase of
taxes, the minor landowners
sere obligued to sell their
lands to nobles and
bourgeoisie
10. In pairs , try to answer the following questions:
1- Write down some of the nobles´privileges
2- What was the difference between the high
and the low clergy?
3- How could a person pass through a non-
privilege estate to a privilege one?
12. The economy was based on agriculture but it
was very important the development of
industry and the commerce between Europe
and America.
In industry it was important the Domestic
System but the Industrial Revolution and
transoceanic trade began to take effect.
England and Netherlands were the most
powerful countries in commerce.
13.
14. Agricultural development :
Enclosures system
New technologies and new techniques
Many peasents were forced to leave their lands
and moved to towns.
But food production was increased and new
crops were cultivated for industrial needs.
15. In modern era feudal
kings became more
authoritarian, like
Isabella of Castile and
Ferdinand of Aragon
Their sucessors were
absotut monarchs.
Absotutism means the
absolute power of the
kings
16. In France, Louis XIV was the most absolute monarch that Europe had seen.
The success of his monarchy was based on:
- He ruled the country personally
- He had many ministers but he taked all the decisions. He controled
everybody and everything.
He stopped the meetings of the Estates General (like the Cortes)
The nobles received money and titles but they had to obey him and be
grateful to him.
He moved his court to Versailles (20000 people)
He formed a personality cult around his image
He created a professional royal army, loyal to him
He expelled all religious dissidents: calvinists (hugonotes)
He said ´I ´m the State»
17. Look at the portarit of Louis XIV by Rigaud and then, think of
three adjectives that describe how the kings looks.
Three symbols are used in the painting. Find them, according to
the following descriptions and try to name them.:
- It is the symbol of a royal power
It was worn at the investiture of French kings,and represanted
contiuity or Royal lineage
It was the royal symbol of control, of dominance, of the king as
master
What did Louis mean with the famous sentence «I am the
State»
18. The first absolute king in
Spain was Philip V, Louis
XIV´s grandson, the 1st
Bourbon in Spain, who
ascended the throne after
the War of Succession
(France against Austria,
Netherlands and England
The war ended in 1714
with the Treat of Utrech)
19. In England since the
Middle Ages the power
was shared between
Parliament and kings but
when James I became
king, he brought
absolutist ideas, and his
son Charles I,king in
1625 , limited
parliamentary power.
Charles I, by Van Eycck
20. The English Paliament at
that time was dominated by
the Protestant bourgeoisie,
led by Oliver Cromell.
In order to avoid irregular
detentions, the Parliament
ask for the Bill of Rights.
The king executed the
parliamentaries opposed to
him. The confrontation
became a Civil War, 1642-
48.
21. The parliamentarians
won.
The monarchy was
abolished and Charles I
was executed. England
became a Republic
The Republic was led by
Cromwell as Lord
protector . He was a
dictator.
After Cromwell´s death,
the Estuardo and the
absolutism returned to
England.(restoration)
But the parliament wrote
the Habeas Corpus Act, a
law which gave an
arrested person the right
of trial- 1679
22. The new king James II
tried again to reduce
parlamentary power.
The Parliament rose up
against him: The
Glorious Revolution
The parliament invited
Wiliam of Orange to be
the new king but he had
to accept:
The Parliamentary
monarchy, written in the
Bill of Rights of 1689,
wich limited his power
In that year John Locke
wrote his book «Two
Treates of government»
23. The Enlightened Despots
were kings of the 18th
century who justified their
authority saying they were
servants of the state, based
on the Enlightement ideas:
the had absolut power but
they care about the well-
being of their subjects.
«Everything for the people
but nothing by the people»
(Joseph I of AustriaI)
Carlos III
24. THE KINGS STIMULATED: REFORM OF ADMINISTRATION
Health : medicin research,
hospitals
Education
Science
Economic activity
Territorial organisation : in
Spain he created provinces
Creation of provincial
governors
Creation of Royal Advisory
Commitee: nobleand
enlightened ministers
25. What does it mean emperor Joseph with this
sentence?:
The people are not capable of using power
A king must help his people but without their
participation
Enlighttened Despotism is democratic
Ordinary people must participate in
government.
26. The 18th century was also called the century of
the Light and of Reason, because they wanted
to emphasise reason as the main factor in life,
reason based on scientific methods. This idea
caused doubts about religion because the
religion could not explain everything.
Some of the Enlightenment thinkers were
Adam Smith, John Locke,J.J. Rosseau, Voltaire,
Diderot, d¨Alambert and Montesquieu
27.
28. John Locke- 1623-1704
A key thinker of the early
Enlightenment. He believed
that human nature is
characterized by reason and
tolerance. People
established a civil society to
resolve conflicts in a civil
way with help from
government. Locke also
advocated governmental
separation of powers. He
wrote «Two treatises of
Government»
29. A. Smith (1723-1790)
The father of modern
economics and
capitalism. He wrote
«The wealth of nations»
«By pursuing his own
interest he frequently
promotes that of the
society more effectually
than when he really
intends to promote it»
30. Diderot achieved fame
for editing his
Encyclopedia, which
took up over twenty
years of his life. Hetried
to pick up all the human
knowledge at his time
31. 1689-1755. He wrote
«The spirit of the laws»
1748,
Separation of administrative
powers, legislative,
executive and judicial . They
must be depend upon each
other so that the influence
of any power would not be
able to exceed that of the
other two
32. 1712-1778- He wrote
The Social Contract
which had a big
influence during the
French Revolution..
Rousseau believed that
people were born equal.
He argued that
sovereingnty should be
in hands of the people
33. 1694-1778
He wrote «Candide»
Probably the most important
thinker of the
Enlightenment. He accused
aristocracy to be parasitic
and the church to be an
oppresive force. He
attacked intolerance and
religious persecutions
34. The Rococo was the art
style that reflected the
way of life of the
nobility. It lasted the
first half of the 18th
century.
Caracteristichs:
- exuberant
- use of curves
- Over-elabotation
35. 2nd half of 18th century
It´s the art that
represented the ideals
of the Enlithgteners and
the bourgeoisie.
They imitated the art of
ancient Greece and
Rome.
