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The Ancien Régime was the predominant political, social, and economic system in Europe between the 15th and 18th centuries. It was characterized by an absolute monarchy, a class-based society, and a subsistence agrarian economy.
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He was an English philosopher and physician, considered the father of classical liberalism and one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. His fundamental contributions centered on empiricism, political philosophy, the theory of knowledge, and religious tolerance. -
The Enlightenment was an 18th-century philosophical, cultural, and intellectual movement that promoted reason as the primary tool for understanding and improving the world, emphasizing critical thinking, science, and individual rights over tradition and superstition, seeking progress based on knowledge.
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He was a French philosopher and jurist, a key figure of the Enlightenment and recognized as the father of the theory of the separation of powers. His thinking laid the foundations for modern constitutionalism and liberal democracies, defending human freedom and a moderate government that would prevent abuses of power. -
He was an 18th-century French writer, historian, and philosopher, known for his central role in the Enlightenment. He was a passionate advocate of freedom of speech, civil liberties, and the separation of church and state. -
Absolutism was the ultimate expression of the system of government in which a single monarch concentrated all the powers of the state (legislative, executive, and judicial). This power was justified by divine right, arguing that the king's authority came directly from God. -
It was a pre-industrial artisanal production system in which merchants provided raw materials to rural workers, who manufactured the products (mainly textiles) in their homes during periods of low agricultural activity. -
The three estates of the Ancien Régime were the nobility, the clergy, and the third estate. The nobility and clergy were the privileged groups, exempt from taxes and granted special rights, while the third estate, which included the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, and the urban working classes, supported the rest of society. -
In the 18th century, the tithe was a mandatory church tax consisting of the donation of a tenth of agricultural and livestock production to the Catholic Church. It was a fundamental economic burden for peasants and the financial backbone of the clergy, which at that time still held great social and economic power. -
He was a Swiss-French philosopher, writer, educator, and political thinker whose ideas had a profound influence on the Enlightenment, pre-Romanticism, and the French Revolution. Although he is associated with the Enlightenment, he was often critical of its positions, which earned him the antagonism of other philosophers such as Voltaire. -
It was a monumental work published in France and a crucial symbol of the Enlightenment. It was directed by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond. Its goal was to compile and disseminate all the knowledge accumulated to date for social progress, critically examining it through reason. -
Liberalism is a political, economic, and philosophical doctrine that defends individual liberty as a fundamental principle for social progress. It promotes equality before the law, individual rights (such as life, liberty, and private property), and the rule of law that limits public power, while also defending private economic initiative. It opposes absolutism and is based on ideas of freedom of expression, tolerance, and the separation of powers.