Economy and Society
Characteristics of the economy
Guilds: they were associations of craftsmen in the same trade that controlled some aspects
Trade
Traditional agriculture: had very low productivity and it was not commercial.
Mercatalism
Spanish economic crisis
The Society
The First and Second States
The Third State
During the Acien Regime, It continued to be organised by states
They had to pay taxes
Bourgeoisie : It was formed by merchants and bussines owners and they became richer and more powerfull with the development of economy
It was formed by the nobility and clergy
Domestic trade: grew little due to internal taxes and the poor quality of the roads
Foreign trade: was expanding due to the dicovery of America and new trading sea routes to Asian markets
It was a new economic system established by the European absolute monarchs
The country's wealth was based on how much silver and gold it had
The monarch's imposed protectionist policies so that they could keep the silver and the gold in the country
Amercian markets stopped buying Spanish products because they started being more self-sufficient.
Spanish craftsmen couldn't compete with other products because the monarch didn't protect them
Due to all the gold and silver brought to Europe from Amercia the prices increaded
Craft production fell and the farmlands were abandoned
The Royalty was also in crisis, they were spending more than what they received from income
They did not pay taxes and they manteined their power by collecting thites and receiving invome from their lands
It was formed by the bourgeoisie, the petit bourgeoisie and the peasantry
Petit Bourgeoisie : it was formed by small merchants and craftsmen
Peasantry: It was form by labourers with suffered from poor harvest and rising prices
Society in Spain
The nobles didn't invest in profit making activities and the number of people entering in the clergy increased
The bourgeoisie was small and the petit bourgeoisie and the peaantry became poorer due to the crisis
Among the nobles, they idea of work was dishonourable
Spain experienced serious democraphic problems
They became beggars, thieves or bandits
The plagues and epidemics
The expulsion of the Moriscos
Poor harvests and war
