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THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF THE ANCIEN RÉGIME, Characteristics, Important,…
THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF THE ANCIEN RÉGIME
Guilds
were associations of craftsmen in the same trade
that regulated aspects such as
Hours
Prices
Wages
Tools
Traditional agriculture
very low productivity
Agriculture was not commercial
people farmed to meet their own needs
Domestic trade
grew very little due to internal customs duties
poor quality of the roads
During the 17th century
Europe's absolute monarchs imposed a new economic system called mercantilism
Mercatalism
was based on the idea that a country's wealth depended on how much gold
silver it possessed
monarchs implemented protectionist policies
This way they hoped to
to keep gold
silver in the country
During the 17th century
there was a serious economic crisis in Spain and in most parts of Europe
This was partly because
American markets had stopped buying Spanish products due to agriculture in these colonies becoming more self-sufficient
During the ancien regime
The estates of the realm continued to be the dominant form of social organisation in Europe
The First and Second Estates
maintained their traditional privileges
while the Third Estate, did not have any privileges
The Third Estate had to pay tax
petite bourgeoisie
lower middle class
composed
Merchants
Craftsmen
peasantry
suffered during the 17th century because of
poor harvests
rising prices
the higher taxes which they had to pay to the crown
bourgeoisie
upper middle class
composed
merchants
business owners
The nobility and the clergy did not pay tax
They maintained their economic power by collecting tithes from the peasants
the lesser nobility and the lower clergy were often very poor
Characteristics
Important
