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The economy and society of the Ancien Régime, image, image, image - Coggle…
The economy and society of the Ancien Régime
Economy
Characteristics
Traditional agriculture with very low productivity
The dominance of the guilds
Domestic trade grew very little due to internal customs duties and the poor quality of the roads
Foreign trade was expanding due to the discovery of America and the establishment of new sea routes to Asian markets
Europe's absolute monarchs imposed a new economic system called mercantilism
Was based on the idea that a country's wealth depended on how much gold and silver it possessed
During the 17th century
There was a serious economic crisis in Spain and in most parts of Europe
American markets had stopped buying Spanish products due to agriculture in these colonies becoming more self-sufficient
The estates of the realm continued to be the dominant form of social organisation in Europe
The First and Second Estates
The clergy and nobility
Maintained their traditional privileges
The Third Estate
The ordinary people
Did not have any privileges
The nobility and the clergy did not pay tax
The Third Estate had to pay tax
The upper middle class or bourgeoisie
Became richer and more powerful as the European economy developed
The lower middle class or petite bourgeoisie
Declined because they could not compete with new forms of production
The peasantry and day labourers
Suffered, because of poor harvests, rising prices and the higher taxes which they had to pay to the crown, nobility and clergy.
Society
Had its own peculiar and often clichéd characteristics
A sense of honour and the idea that work was dishonourable
Among the privileged groups
The nobles did not usually invest in productive or profit-making activities
The number of people entering the clergy increased
Because of the economic crisis
The commercial bourgeoisie was small and insignificant
The petite bourgeoisie and the peasantry became poorer as a result of the economic crisis
Spain experienced severe demographic problems
