T

THE
A
AGE
O TH
OF
HE EN
NLIGH
HTENM
MENT
T

1. THE
T
EIGHT
TEENTH CENTURY:
C
T
TIMES
OF CHANGE
THE OLD REGI
IME (ANCI
IEN REGIM
ME)
Term
m used to describe the
e times befo
ore the French Revolu
ution.
-

Political system based on absolute mona

archy.
Economy
y based on agriculture
e.
Rigid social stratific
cation.
Importance of relig
gion in all aspects
a
of liife.

THE ENLIGHTMENT
Ideological mov
vement of French
F
origin opposed
d the old regime ideas
s.
Princ
ciples:
1. Faith in human rea
1
ason and intelligence (religion,
(
su
uperstitions
s)
2 Progress
2.
s achieved by scientifiic advances
s.
3 Criticism
3.
m of the old regime: absoluttism and social stra
atification were
criticized
d and relig
gious intole
erance was
s condemn
ned. New m
moral base
ed on
reason promoted developm
ment of science, education
n and culture
indepen
ndent from
m religious
s influence
e.
DISS
SEMINATI
ION OF TH
HE IDEAS OF
O THE EN
NLIGHTENMENT
The ideas of the
e Enlighten
nment sprea
ad around Europe and
d America.
-

Salons: centres off intellectua

al and socia
al exchange
e (private h
houses)
Media: pamphlets, periodicalls and new journals.
Encyclo
opedia (Did
derot and DAlembert
D
/ 1751-177
72)

2. PO
OLITICAL CHANGES
S
FROM ABSOLU
UTISM TO ENLIGHTE
ENMENT DESPOTIS
D
M
OLD
D REGIME:: Absolute monarchy
y. Kings power
p
deriived from God. King
g had
abso
olute powe
er to gove
ern, legisla
ate, and administrate
a
e justice a
and contro
ol de
econ
nomy and th
he army. Ig
gnored parliaments.
Enlig
ghtenmen
nt intellecttuals: critic
cized absolu
ute monarc
chy.
-

Voltaire
e: power off the king must
m
be lim
mited by the
e parliamen
nt.
Montes
squieu: division of powers: legislative,
l
the exec
cutive and
d the
judiciary
y.
Rousseau: sovere
eignty resides in the people.

ENLIGHT
TENMENT DESPOTI
ISM: form of government
that tried
d to reconc
cile the ide
ea of abso
olutism with
h the
ideas of the
t
Enlighttenment su
ummarized in the follo
owing
principle:: everyth
hing for the
t
people
e but witthout
the people. (Kin
ng had abs
solute pow
wer but followed
o the peoplle.
the will of
Kings: Louis
L
VX of France
e, Carlos III of Sp
pain,
Jose I off Portugall, Catherin
ne II of Ru
ussia...)

NEW
W INTERNA
ATIONAL RELATION
R
NS
H
17TH
C: Spanish empire was
w the dom
minant pow
wer in Europ
pe due to the expansion of
its te
erritories. Spain
S
lost itts hegemon
nic position to France.
H
18TH
C: the victories of Grreat Britain
n establishe
ed it as the new coloniial empire.

3. EC
CONOMIC TRANSFO
ORMATION
NS
INTE
ERNAL CO
OMMERCE: goods tra
ansported by
b cart on roads in p
poor condittions;
comm
mercial transactions took
t
place in local markets
m
werre agricultu
ural and arrtisan
th
products were exchanged. Later, during the 18
8 C, intern
nal commerce experie
enced
an im
mportant growth
g
with
h the increa
ase in prod
ducts and the
t
improv
vement of roads
r
and canals.
EXTE
ERNAL CO
OMMERCE: with the discovery
d
of
o the New World exte
ernal comm
merce
was centered around
a
important portts. During the
t
18th C, the colonie
es provided
d raw
mate
erials, prec
cious meta
als and pla
antation prroducts an
nd created a demand
d for
manufactured products and
a
slaves. The deve
elopment of credit, banks and stock
exch
hange mark
kets, gave rise
r
to commercial cap
pitalism.

W ECONOM
MIC POLICIES
NEW
MER
RCANTILIS
SM (17TH C)
C
The wealth of the nation was based
d on the accumulation of precio
ous metals. The
state
e regulated
d commerc
ce, restricting foreign
n imports and encouraging exp
ports.
Euro
ope exporte
ed to the co
olonies and they were providers of
o raw materials.
PHY
YSIOCRACY
Y (18TH C) wealth of a nation came
c
from the land ((agriculture
e and
mining). From the land people
p
obtained the ra
aw materia
al to be ma
anufactured
d and
trans
sformed intto products
s to be sold
d and expo
orted. Franc
cois Quesna
ay let it be, let
it happen.
ECONOMIC LI
IBERALISM
M (18TH C) the origin of
o wealth is
s individual effort to obtain
o
maximum proffit without regulations
s. The state should not interfe
ere. Supply
y and
demand will regulate
r
prroduction and
a
price is determ
mined by tthe relationship
betw
ween supply
y and dema
and.

4. SP
PAIN: THE
E ENLIGHT
TENMENT AND THE BOURBON
N DYNASTY
Y
THE END OF THE
T
HOUSE
E OF AUST
TRIA
1700: King
g Carlos III died with
hout any direct
d
heirs (end of the house off Austria).. He
designated Philip of Anjou as his succe
essor.
(s
start of the
e house of Bourbon in Spain). Other
O
Europ
pean countries oppos
sed fearing
g the
union betw
ween Spa
ain and France. They
su
upported the Archduk
ke Charles of Austria as a
ca
andidate to
o the thron
ne. This wa
as the outb
break
of the War of
o the Span
nish Succession.

THE WAR OF SUCCESSI

S
ON (1700
0-1713)
The war has a double
d
aspe
ect:
Euro
opean war: Spain and
a
France fighting against
a
Gerrmany, Gre
eat Britain, the
Unite
ed Province
es, Savoy and
a
Portuga
al. Victories
s for both sides
s
but th
he deaths of
o the
Germ
man emperor and his eldest son were decis
sive. his second son, Charles became
the new
n
emperror (1711). The Peace
e Treaty of Utrecht (1713) estab
blished Philip as
the new
n
king off Spain butt he had to renounce his
h rights to
o the Frenc
ch throne. Spain
S
gave
e up its pos
ssessions in
n Europe (M
Menorca and
d Gibraltar went to Grreat Britain).
Civill war in Spain:
S
Cas
stile supporrting Philip of Anjou and the Crown of Arragon
supp
porting Archduke Cha
arles of Austria. The war was won
w
by the
e supporte
ers of
Philip
p.

THE BOURBON
NS: ENLIG
GHTENMEN
NT AND RE
EFORM
Fourr Bourbon kings
k
reign
ned in Spaiin during the 18th C.. Some important refforms
that followed th
he Enlighte
enment ide
eas were in
ntroduced. The
T
impactt of these ideas
was very small because the
t
middle class had not grown much, mo
ost of the clergy
c

and the nobility

y opposed them, and the comm
mon people were indiffferent or hostile
to th
hem.
5. REFORMISM
M IN BOUR
RBON SPA
AIN
A NE
EW MODEL
L OF STAT
TE
Abso
olutist mo
onarchy: the king held
h
all the
e power.th
he bourbon
ns removed
d the
noble
es from pos
sitions of political
p
pow
wer, interve
ened in Chu
urch issues and summ
moned
the Parliament
P
as little as possible.
Centtralized sttate: Philip
p V wanted
d to follow the French
h model an
nd abolished
d the
histo
orical laws and insttitutions off the diffe
erent territories. ara
agon, Vale
encia,
Catalonia and Majorca
M
lostt their statu
us with the
e Nueva Pla
anta decree
es.

ECONOMIC RE
EFORMS
Eightteenth century was a time of ec
conomic prrosperity in Spain. due to the grrowth
of the population and to
t economic
c societies.
Agriculture
A
e: new cro
ops (corn and potattoes).
irrrigation was
w
introd
duced and
d fallow land
re
educed. th
he expansio
on of farm
ming land grew
(lland that belonged
b
to
o the Churrch was ord
dered
to
o be sold fo
or farming).
Industry: it was modernized, manufactturing
grew
In
nternal com
mmerce: im
mprovemen
nts in trans
sport;
new bridges
s, roads we
ere paved a
and widene
ed. a
ra
adial netwo
ork of roads was de
esigned witth its
ce
entre in Madrid, connecting the
e capital to
o the
m
most
importtant ports.
Exte
ernal comm
merce: freedom of co
ommerce with
w
the American colonies. (1778
8)
SOC
CIAL REFORMS
-

Being a member of the no

obility was
s not inco
ompatible
e with worrk or
commerrce.
The Jesu
uits, who opposed, we
ere expelled
d and the Inquisition rreduced.

6. ART AND CU
ULTURE
-

Public education
e
t prevent ignorance
to
e and the ideological control of the
Church.
ROCOCO
O ART: originated
o
i France and little impact in Spain. it was
in
refined, courtly, arristocratic. Rococo dec
coration wa
as used to decorate salons
and sma
all cabinets. walls and ceilings co
overed in sttucco. (The
e Royal Pala
ace in
Madrid and
a
the Palace of la Granja in Se
egovia).
NEOCLA
ASSICAL ART:
A
origin
nated in Frrance (seco
ond half of the 18th C).
C It
was a rational and
d austere style
s
conformed to a set of rule
es that imitated
Greek and Roman models.
Architecture: follo
owed Greek and Rom
man models
s. Rejected ornamenta
ation.
(Pantheo
on in Franc
ce, the British Museum
m in Englan
nd, the Pue
erta de Alca
al by
Sabatini and the Prrado Museu
um by Villan
nueva).
Sculptu
ure: represented ide
eal beauty
y, simpliciity. Mytho
ological sce
enes,
classicall history an
nd portraits were popu
ular themes
s. (Cibeles in Madrid).
Painting
g: focused
d more on
o
drawing
g than on
n colour a
and also used
mytholo
ogical and historical themes.
t
(C
Ceilings of some salon
ns in the Royal
R
Palace, Madrid).
M