U1. 18th century. age of enlightenment

1. Unit 1
18th Century:
The Age of Enlightenment
IES CAMILO JOSÉ CELA
Teacher: Rocío Bautista

2. Introduction
What happened at
the end of the 18th
Century… in 1789??

3. Introduction
18th Century  period of changes that marked
the transition between the Modern Age & the
Contemporary Age.
Satirical print from 1789 depicting the Third
Estate carrying the clergy and nobility on its back

4. ANCIEN RÉGIME
(Old Regime)
Stratified society
(privileged VS non-privileged)
Agrarian
economy. Scarce
industry; controlled
by guilds.
Mercantilism
Modern Age
(situation before 1789)
Renaissance &
Baroque art
Absolutism
Great influence
of religion
ENLIGHTENMENT
Growth of the bourgeoisie.
Criticism of stratified society.
Economic
liberalism
Rococo &
Neoclassical art
18th Century
Enlightened
despotism
Increased
importance of
industry. New
production methods.
Increased scientific reasoning.
Religion loses influence.

5. Enlightenment
(“La Ilustración”)
Intellectual movement that emerged in France in the 18th
Century.
Main ideas
Reason  only
way to explain
& understand
the world. Believe in human progress 
they thought that the use of
reason could improve society.
They believed humans (not
God) could improve their own
existence & happiness by
means of reason & scientific
advancements.
Criticism of the
Ancien Régime
(absolutism, stratified
society, religious
influence…) they
considered it an
obstacle to achieve
human progress &
happiness.
It got its name because it
aimed to clear the darkness
of old beliefs of the past with
the light of reason.

6. Enlightenment
(“La Ilustración”)
Latin phrase meaning “Dare to know”.
Originally used by the Roman poet
Horace, it became popular thanks to
Kant’s essay “Answering the Question:
What Is Enlightenment?” (1784), where
he claimed the phrase Sapere aude as
the motto for the Age of Enlightenment.

7. French Enlightenment intellectuals:
“Les Philosophes”
MONTESQUIEU ROUSSEAU VOLTAIRE DIDEROT
In the mid-18th century, Paris became the center of an explosion of philosophic &
scientific activity challenging traditional doctrines.
Despite the Philosophes of the French Enlightenment were not revolutionaries (many
were even members of the nobility), their ideas played a major role in discrediting
the Old Regime & inspiring the French Revolution.

8. MONTESQUIEU
(1689 – 1755)

9. MONTESQUIEU
(1689 – 1755)
• French nobleman (“Baron de Montesquieu”)
• He admired the English system (constitutional
monarchy), product of the Glorious Revolution
(1688)
• Author of “The Spirit of the Laws” (1748)  political
treatise where he criticized Absolutism & claimed
that the best way to keep the government under
control & guarantee people’s liberty was through
the separation of powers.

10. ROUSSEAU
(1712 – 1778)

11. ROUSSEAU
(1712 – 1778)
Author of “The Social Contract” (1762)
• He defended freedom & equality of all the people.
• Criticized enforced governments and the hypothetical “Divine
Right” to govern of Absolute kings. He claimed that only the
people are the legitimate sovereigns of a given state (popular
sovereignty*) and that a government should be a social contract
 an agreement between free individuals who are willing to
cooperate to achieve the common benefit of the whole society;
people would come together and rule themselves by Direct
Democracy (≠ representative democracy).
* Sovereignty (soberanía): authority & power over a country.

12. VOLTAIRE
(1694 – 1778)

13. VOLTAIRE
(1694 – 1778)
• French writer, historian, lawyer & philosopher.
• Defended freedom of speech, as well as freedom of religion & separation
of church and state.

14. DIDEROT
(1713 – 1784)
• Best known for publishing the “Encyclopaedia”:
• Summarized the knowledge of the time. It included
contributions from many people (over 70.000 articles
of 140 contributors, including Voltaire, Rousseau &
Montesquieu).
• Aimed to disseminate knowledge to the public &
secularize learning (separate it from religious
connection).
• It helped to spread enlightened ideas through
Europe & America.

15. “A Reading in the Salon of
Madame Geoffrin” (Gabriel
Lemonnier, 1755)
ROUSSEAU
VOLTAIRE
DIDEROT
MME. GEOFFRIN
MONTESQUIEU
Salons: meetings of enlightened
intellectuals in private homes. It helped
to spread this ideas through Europe &
America.

16. Activity 1
 P.10: exercises 1 & 4
 Define:
 Sapere Aude
 Separation of
powers
 Popular Sovereignty
 Direct democracy
 Comment the
following painting.
You must include
relevant information
of the characters
that we’ve studied
that appear in it.

17. Old Regime 18th Century
Social
Political
Political
systems
International
relations
Economic
Economic
systems
Population
Agriculture
Industry
Trade
ACTIVITY 4: Copy & complete
Changes in the 18th Century:
political, economic & social changes

18. SOCIAL CHANGES:
Old Regime 18th Century
Stratified society:
Privileged classes
(no taxes, special
laws, didn’t work):
 Nobility
 Clergy
VS
Non-privileged
classes:
 Bourgeoisie
 Peasants
Stratified society was maintained, but increased
criticism towards it that will led to the French Revolution
(1789):
• Enlightened intellectuals criticised
privileged classes (nobility’s former
military role was now performed by
professional armies; not useful anymore)
& argued that social division should be
based on merit & social usefulness.
• Bourgeoisie grew in number & wealth &
complained about the unfair social
structure. Considered themselves
producers of wealth & demanded
social & political recognition in
accordance with their merits.

19. POLITICAL CHANGES:
Political systems
Old Regime 18th Century
Absolutism:
• Divine Right to rule.
• Absolute power (legislative,
executive & judicial).
• No summoning of
Parliaments.
Lets read the text
“Enlightened despotism” by
Frederick II of Prussia (p. 12)

20. POLITICAL CHANGES:
Political systems
Old Regime 18th Century
Absolutism:
• Divine Right to rule.
• Absolute power (legislative,
executive & judicial).
• No summoning of
Parliaments.
New enlightened political ideas:
• Separation of Powers (Montesquieu)
• Popular sovereignty (Rousseau)
ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM: a form of Absolutism
in which kings were influenced
by the progressive ideas of the
Enlightenment:
• Monarchs had no intention of
giving up power…
• But made reforms aimed to
achieve progress & happiness
for their subjects (schools,
hospitals…)
Led
to…

21. ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS
in 18th Century Europe
Frederick II
(PRUSSIA)
Carlos III
(SPAIN)
Catherine II
(RUSSIA)
Joseph II
(AUSTRIA)
Louis XV
(FRANCE)

23. POLITICAL CHANGES:
International relations
Old Regime 18th Century
European States fought to achieve
supremacy in Europe & in the colonies:
16th Century: worldwide Spanish
Supremacy
(“Austrias
Mayores”)
17th Century:
In Europe  spread of the principle
of “EUROPEAN BALANCE”: European
powers should maintain a balance
of power to prevent any country
becoming too strong & dominating
the rest.
In the colonies  supremacy of
England.
• In Europe  French
supremacy (after
P.Westphalia, 1648)
• In colonies  shared
supremacy of
France, UK & United
Provinces.
To do so, alliances between the
Great Powers of Europe (UK,
France, Russia, Prussia, Austria)
were constantly shifting.

24. UK turned into
the greatest
colonial power
in the world
EVOLUTION OF COLONIALISM:
http://geacron.com/es/?v=m&la
ng=es&z=2&x=3.8671896126832&
y=11.171934500572&nd=1&d=149
2A1520A1598A1650A1700A1750A
1800A1850A1900A1936&di=1520
&tm=p&ct=0&ly=yyyyyyy&fi=-
500&ff=1500&sp=2&e=0&rp=0&re
=0&nv=2

25. Activity 2
 P. 12-13  exercises 1a / 3 / 4
 European international relations in the 18th Century were based on
which principle? What was its ultimate aim?
 Copy these sentences & match them with their corresponding
political system: ABSOLUTISM / ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM /
DEMOCRACY:
 “Sovereignty essentially consists of the general will of the people”
 “All for the people but without the people”
 “Kings act as the ministers of God and as his lieutenants on earth. It
is through them that God exercises his empire.”

26. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Economic systems
Old Regime 18th Century
Mercantilism:
• A country’s wealth depended
on the quantity of silver & gold
they owned  pursued a
positive balance of trade.
 Great state intervention 
protectionist measures (high
tariffs on imported goods) to
promote national industry.
 Colonization of new territories
 to provide new customers
for their manufactures & raw
materials (to avoid having to
import them).
Lets read the extract of “The Wealth
of Nations” by Adam Smith (p. 15)

27. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Economic systems
Old Regime 18th Century
Mercantilism:
• A country’s wealth depended
on the quantity of silver & gold
they owned  pursued a
positive balance of trade.
 Large state intervention 
protectionist measures (high
tariffs on imported goods) to
promote national industry.
 Colonization of new territories
 to provide new customers
for their manufactures & raw
materials (to avoid having to
import them).
Economic liberalism
• Founder: Adam Smith.
• A country’s wealth depends on individual
work & people’s pursue of maximum
personal benefit. Individual prosperity will
led to the country’s enrichment.
• Characteristics:
 Minimum intervention of the state in the
economy.
 Economy regulated by law of supply &
demand.
 Free competition.

29. LAW OF SUPPLY & DEMAND
 If the supply of a good is higher than
its demand  price falls.
 If the demand of a good is higher
than the supply  price increases.
Quantity of
cookies
supplied
Quantity
demanded

30. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Population
Old Regime 18th Century
• Little population growth:
 Epidemics (bubonic plague)
 Wars
 Poor harvests & diet
 Backwardness of medicine
 Lack of hygiene
Big population growth:
• 130  190 millions
• Improved harvests & nutrition
• Less epidemics & wars

31. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Agriculture
Old Regime 18th Century
• Main economic activity (agrarian
economy)
• Cereals  basic human diet.
• Rudimentary techniques
(biennial/triennial crop rotation)
 low yields
• Feudal property system: most
land belonged to feudal lords
(nobles/clergy) & peasants had
to pay taxes to them.
• New crops from America (maize,
potatoes) spread  more diversified
diet.
• Technical improvements (continuous
• Feudal property system was
maintained.
TURNIPS (nabos)
for feeding cattle
BARLEY
ANIMAL FODDER
(alfalfa, clover…)
for feeding cattle
CEREALS
crop rotation:
ej: Norfolk
system) 
higher yields.

33. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Industry
Old Regime 18th Century
• Controlled by guilds.
• Undertaken in small urban
workshops.
• Low production.

34. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Industry
Old Regime 18th Century
• Controlled by guilds.
• Undertaken in small urban
workshops.
• Low production.
• Population growth  increased demand 
industry growth
• New production methods spread to avoid
control of the guilds. Work was still done by
hand (no machines yet). They preceded the
factory-system (Industrial Revolution).
 Cottage industries: work was carried out by
peasants at their homes (usually part-time),
where they made products commissioned by an
employer, who provided them with raw
materials & tools. The employer paid them for
the number of products they made.
 Manufactures: work was carried out in large
workshops where numerous craftsmen worked
full-time for an employer in exchange of a
salary.

35. Cottage industry (“putting-out system”)

36. Cottage industry (“putting-out system”)
•Avoided guilds:
•Increased production that enabled to satisfy the increased demand.
•Reduced prices.
•Increased competition & innovation.
•Helped farmers to supplement their income.
•Created entrepreneurs.
•Work could be done at home.
Pros
• Inefficient
• Workers were spread out in many places
• Labour wasn’t coordinated & organized
Cons

37. Cottage industry (“putting-out system”)
Manufactures

38. ECONOMIC CHANGES:
Trade
Old Regime 18th Century
Domestic trade:
• Limited due to bad roads.
• Mainly weekly urban
markets  exchange of
agrarian & manufactures
products.
Foreign trade:
• Concentrated in large port
cities.
Domestic trade:
• Grew due to improved roads & increased
agrarian & industrial production.
Foreign trade:
• Continued to
grow.
• Establishment
of Triangular
trade between
America,
Africa &
Europe.

39. AMERICA: provided raw
materials (cocoa, sugar,
tobacco…)& precious metals.
AFRICA: provided
black slaves.
EUROPE: provided
manufactured products.

40. Activity 3
 What is “Economic liberalism”? What makes it different to
mercantilism.
 P. 16  exercise 1
 How was industrial production undertaken during the Old Regime?
What changes took place during the 18th Century.
 Define “Cottage Industry” and explain its advantages &
disadvantages.
 Draw a map to represent the Triangular trade
that was developed in the 18th Century.

41. ACTIVITY 4: Copy & complete
Changes in the 18th Century:
political, economic & social changes
Old Regime 18th Century
Social
Political
Political
systems
International
relations
Economic
Economic
systems
Population
Agriculture
Industry
Trade

42. The 18th Century in Spain
(before the French Revolution)

43. Who was the last
Habsburg king in
Spain? What was his
nickname?

44.  Spain suffered a progressive decline.
AUSTRIAS MENORES
(17th Century)
The Hispanic Monarchy in
the 17th Century

45. Carlos II “El Hechizado”
(1665 y 1700)
 Last king of the Habsburg dynasty in Spain.
 Nickname  "the Bewitched“ due to his appearance,
since he seemed to be under a spell.
 Since his birth, he presented several signs of physical
disability (respiratory & diarrheal problems, periodic
convulsions & breakdowns…) & deep developmental
delay. During his adulthood his infertility became
evident, being incapable of conceiving a heir, even
though he married twice. It’s believed that he
suffered a disease (Klinefelter syndrome) possibly due
to frequent inbreeding among his ancestors.
 1700: Carlos II died childless...
BIG PROBLEM!!!

46. EMBREEDING (endogamia) = procreation between relatives.

47. Carlos II “El Hechizado”
(1665 y 1700)
 In his will, Charles II had appointed his sister’s grandson,
Felipe D’Anjou (Felipe de Borbón, duque de Anjou) as his
successor.
 1700: after Charles II death, Felipe D’Anjou was
proclaimed king of Spain as Felipe V. It was the beginning
of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain.
Problem...? Felipe D’Anjou was the
grandson of the king of France, Louis XIV.
The other European powers considered that a
possible future union of France & Spain under one
single monarch would break the principle of
EUROPEAN BALANCE. They created a great alliance,
that refused to recognize Felipe V as the new king of Spain & supported
another candidate: Archduke Carlos of Austria. This led to the WAR OF
SPANISH SUCCESSION.

49. WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION
(1700 – 1713)
TWO BLOCS FAUGHT FOR
THE CROWN OF SPAIN
ARCHDUKE CARLOS
OF AUSTRIA
(HABSBURG)
MAIN SUPPORTERS: MAIN SUPPORTERS:
France
Castilla
UK
United Provinces
Austria
Prussia
Savoy
Portugal
Aragón
FINISHED WITH THE PEACE OF UTRETCH (1713)
FELIPE D’ANJOU
(BOURBON)

50. War of Spanish Succession
(1700 - 1713)
 IT WAS A DUAL CONFLICT:
INTERNTIONAL WAR
BOURBON DYNASTY VS REST OF EUROPEAN POWERS
CIVIL WAR
CASTILLA VS ARAGON
Accepted Felipe D’Anjou
(French absolutist &
centralist mentality)
Afraid of Bourbon’s centralism & willing to maintain
their “fueros”, they supported Archduke Carlos,
who had promised to respect the traditional
federal system of the Hispanic Monarchy.

52. War of Spanish Succession
(1700 - 1713)
PEACE
OF
UTRETCH
(1713)
TERRITORIAL LOSSES:
Menorca & Gibraltar  to UK
Flanders, Luxemburg & Italian territories
(Milan, Naples & Sardinia)  to Austria
Sicily  to Savoy
European powers accepted Felipe V of
Bourbon as king of Spain (because
Archduke Carlos had become Holy
Roman Emperor in 1711, and they didn’t
want him to rule over Spain too). In
exchange, Felipe V had to renounce to
his rights to the throne of France.

53. http://geacron.co
m/es/?v=m&lang=
es&z=5&x=13.6669
93947653&y=44.58
5772532561&nd=0
&d=1700A1714&di
=1700&tm=p&ct=0
&ly=yyyyyyy&fi=-
500&ff=1500&sp=2
&e=0&rp=0&re=0&
nv=2

55. What about the internal
consequences in Spain…
Do you think that Aragon’s
support to Archduke Carlos
will bring any consequences?

56. Activity 5
 P. 20  ex. 2 & 3.
 In the map:
 Locate the
territories who
supported each
candidate (add
them to the key).
 Locate & colour
in the territories
ceded to Austria,
to UK & to Savoy.

57. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
INTERNAL POLICY
• ABSOLUTISM 
Decretos de
Nueva Planta
• ENLIGHTENED
DESPOTISM 
Social reforms

58. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
INTERNAL POLICY
FELIPE V
 Inspired by the French Absolutist model, he implanted
political centralization by means of the DECRETOS DE
NUEVA PLANTA:
 Suppressed the laws (“fueros”) & institutions
(“Cortes”) of the Crown of Aragon. The whole
territory was now ruled by the laws Castilla &
there were only Cortes in Castilla (only to
advise the king; no legislative power). The only
exception was Navarra & the Basque
Country, which kept them because they had
supported Felipe V.
 New territorial division: to ensure the control of the entire
territory, Spain was divided into provinces (capitanías
generales) governed by a “Capitán General”.

61. Felipe V commissioned the construction of a new ROYAL PALACE
The old Alcázar
burned down in
1734 and King
Philip V ordered a
new palace built
on the same site.

62. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
INTERNAL POLICY
CARLOS III
 Inspired by Enlightened Despotism. Advised by
enlightened Ministers he implemented several
reforms to provide progress to his subjects:
 Construction of infrastructures (boosted trade):
bridges, wider & paved streets, radial road
network, …
 Promotion of agriculture: construction of irrigation
canals, repopulation of Sierra Morena…
 Promotion of industry: creation of Royal Factories
 Promotion of education & culture: scientific
disciplines & investigation were encouraged.

64. RADIAL ROAD NETWORK TO CONNECT MADRID WITH THE MAIN
PORTS OF SPAIN

65. REPOPULATION OF SIERRA MORENA
Thanks to government financing, uninhabited areas of Sierra Morena
threatened by bandits, were colonized to increase agricultural production &
promote economic development.
Peasants that moved to these area were given lands, houses, tools, cattle,
grain,…

66. New ROYAL FACTORIES
(“Reales Fábricas”) to
boost industry  protectionist
mentallity
Real Fábrica de armas de Toledo
Real Fábrica de paños (Guadalajara)

67. PROMOTION OF EDUCATION & CULTURE
Botanical
Garden
Promoted the REALES
ACADEMIAS (lengua, Historia,
Bellas Artes…)
Astronomical
observatory

68. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
INTERNAL POLICY
CARLOS III  The Italian minister ESQUILACHE undertook the project
to modernize Madrid, to make it suitable for an
Enlightened Court:
• Cleaning & paving of streets
• Embellishment of the city (broad avenues,
gardens, monuments…)
• Streetlights (>4000 lampposts)
• Trash collection & sewer system
• Banning of Madrileños’ traditional apparel
(made it difficult to identify criminals)

70. EMBELLISHMENT OF MADRID
• Puerta de Alcalá
• Museo del Prado
• Jardín Botánico
• fuentes de Neptuno y Cibeles

71. Wide-brimmed hat
&
Long cape
Three-corned hat
&
Short cape
Se despojaba a los paseantes de sus capas y sombreros mientras un equipo de
sastres las recortaban en medio de la calle ante la resistencia de sus dueños.

72. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
INTERNAL POLICY
• Cleaning & paving of streets
• Embellishment of the city (broad avenues, gardens, monuments…)
• Streetlights (>4000 lampposts)
• Trash collection & sewer system
• Banning of Madrileños’ traditional apparel
- Very expensive  not acceptable in a context
of bad harvests, increased price of bread &
other basic products, famine…
- Esquilache  seen as a foreigner who wanted
to forbid Spanish costumes & blamed as the
responsible for the economic problems.
PROBLEM OF THESE REFORMS ? ?

73. EL MOTIN DE ESQUILACHE (1766)
In the Square of Anton Martín, a group of rebels seized a military
barrack where muskets and sabers were stored. Heavily armed, rioters
marched yelling “¡Viva el Rey! ¡Viva España! ¡Muera Esquilache!”. They
destroyed lampposts, sacked Esquilache’s home, burnt a portrait of
him in the Plaza Mayor…
Finally, they rioters made a series of petitions to the king Carlos III, who had no
option but accepting them:
• Esquilache had to leave Spain.
• Only Spanish ministers in the government.
• Decrease of the price of basic goods.
• Permission to use long capes & wide-brimmed hats again.

74. Foreign policy was based on alliances with France 
“PACTES DE FAMILLE”
The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
FOREIGN POLICY

75. The Bourbon dynasty in the 18th Century:
FOREIGN POLICY
FELIPE V CARLOS III
1st PACTE DE
FAMILLE
2nd PACTE DE
FAMILLE
3rd PACTE DE
FAMILLE
4th PACTE DE
FAMILLE
WAR OF
SUCCESSION
OF POLAND
WAR OF
SUCCESSION
OF AUSTRIA
7 YEARS WAR
(UK VS France)
AMERICAN
WAR OF
INDEPENDENCE
Spain annexed:
Naples
Sicily
Spain annexed:
Duchy of Parma
(N.Italy)
UK won, so Spain lost
Florida (to UK), but annexed
Louisiana (ceded by
France to make up for the
loss of Florida) Spain regained:
Florida &
Menorca