Information AboutAncien Regime |
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''Ancien Régime'' means ''Old Rule'' or ''Old Order'' in French ; in English , the term refers primarily to the Social and Political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. More generally, "Ancien Régime" means any regime which shares the former's defining features: a Feudal system under the control of a powerful Absolute Monarchy supported by the doctrine of the Divine Right Of Kings and the explicit consent of the Established Church , essentially how Europe had been organized since at least the 8th century. The term dates from The Age Of Enlightenment (first appearing in print in English in 1794) and was originally Pejorative in nature. Similar to other sweeping criticisms of the past, such as the consciously disparaging term Dark Ages for what we call the Middle Ages , the concept of ''Ancien Régime'' is layered onto the past as an expression of disapproval for the way things were done, and carries an implied approval of a "New Order". No one alive during the Ancien Régime saw themselves as living under an "Old Order". The term was created by Enlightenment era authors to promote a new cause and discredit the existing order, and thus was not, in its origin, a neutral historical descriptor of the past. As defined by the creators of the term, the Ancien Régime developed out of the French monarchy of the , others were torn down by wars and revolutions. The analogous term ''"Antiguo Régimen"'' is often used in Spanish . However, although Spain was strongly affected by the French Revolution and its aftermath, the break was not as sharp as in France. Power in the Ancien Régime relied on three pillars: the , the Roman Catholic clergy; the Second Estate , the nobility; and the Third Estate , the rest of the population. SEE ALSO |
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