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The '''Old Regime''' refers to the time in French history from the 14th to 18th century (during the Valois and Bourbon dynasties). Known in French as the Ancien Régime, this time period was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected [[Feudal]] society of the years directly prior. There were differences though, as [[absolute monarch]]s gained much more power during this time. One last thing of note would be that [[France]] was just coming out of quite a few conflicts at the start of this time period, the greatest of which was the [[Hundred Years War]]. During the Old Regime France was working hard to fight the chaos that those struggles left in their wake.
The '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order of [[France]] between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties. It is the prevailing political and social model in place in France prior to the [[French Revolution]], and which was deliberately destroyed by the Revolution.
The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The middle class intellectuals, lawyers and businessment had little political power.
==Society and Population==
The Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles in 1700, and supported 20 million people. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; Spain and Sweden held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively</ref>
France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. Britain had five or six million, Spain had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. Russia was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other counbtries grew faster.
==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was not draft until the Revolution in 1798.
==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Notes===
<references/>
[[Category:French Revoltuion]]
[[category:French History]]
[[category:French History]]