El Antiguo Régimen: Feudalismo y la Asamblea de los Estados Generales

The Old Regime: Feudalism and the Estates General

The Old Regime, also known as the Ancien Régime, was the social and political system established in the Kingdom of France from approximately the 15th century until the French Revolution in 1789. This system was based on the rigid division of society into three disproportionate and unequally treated classes: the clergy (the First Estate), the nobility (the Second Estate), and the commoners (the Third Estate). The Old Regime was characterized by feudalism, a social system based on landownership and the relationship between lords and vassals, and the Estates General, a legislative and consultative assembly that represented the different classes of society.

Feudalism

Feudalism was a system of land tenure and political relationships that developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. It was based on the relationship between lords and their vassals, who were bound to the land and to the lord by a series of mutual obligations. Lords granted land to their vassals in exchange for military service, and vassals were obligated to provide the lord with military service and attend his court.

In France under the Old Regime, the feudal system was characterized by the granting of fiefs, which were parcels of land held by vassals from their lords. The holder of a fief was known as a vassal or a lord, and the land was held in exchange for certain services, such as military service or court attendance. The relationship between lords and vassals was based on a code of honor and loyalty, and was regulated by customary law.

The feudal system was a powerful influence on the social and political structure of the Old Regime. It created a hierarchical society in which lords held power over their vassals, and vassals held power over their tenants. It also created a sense of loyalty and obligation that bound people together in a system of mutual support and protection.

Estates General

The Estates General, also known as the States-General, was a legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes of society in France under the Old Regime. It was first summoned by King Philip IV in 1302 to address a conflict with Pope Boniface VIII. The Estates General was made up of representatives from the three estates: the clergy (the First Estate), the nobility (the Second Estate), and the commoners (the Third Estate).

The Estates General had no true power in its own right, as it was not required to approve royal taxation or legislation. Instead, it served as an advisory body to the king, primarily by presenting petitions from the various estates and consulting on fiscal policy. The Estates General met intermittently until 1614, and only once after that, in 1789, during the French Revolution.

The Estates General was distinct from the parlements, which were the most powerful of which was the Parlement of Paris. These institutions started as appellate courts but later used their powers to decide whether to publish laws and claim a legislative role. The Estates General had similarities with institutions in other European polities, such as the States General of the Netherlands, the Parliament of England, the Estates of Parliament of Scotland, the Sejm of Poland-Lithuania, the Cortes of Portugal or Spain, the Imperial Diet (Reichstag) of the Holy Roman Empire, the Diets (Landtage) of the "Lands", the Parliamentum Publicum of Hungary, and the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. Unlike some of these institutions, however, France's Estates General were only summoned at irregular intervals by the king, and never grew into a permanent legislative body.

In conclusion, the Old Regime was characterized by feudalism and the Estates General, two key components of the social and political structure of the time. Feudalism created a hierarchical society based on land ownership and relationships between lords and vassals, while the Estates General served as an advisory body to the king, representing the different classes of society. These structures were part of the complex and evolving society of the Old Regime in France.