FRENCH MONARCHY

In the 18th century France still feels the effects of her great affirmation of the preceding century under the reign of Louis XIV, but most of all it is on the cultural front that France dominates all Europe: this is the century of French Illuminism. France, over the centuries, has always held a prime position in European politics. Already in the middle ages with the foundation of Charlemagne`s Holy Roman Empire (ninth century), France brought about the almost total unification of Europe on a feudal basis. Even when France passed into the hands of Austria under the Hapsburgs, she was never a secondary state. France reached her finest era under Louis XIV who made her the ruling power of Europe. However, the long reign of this king with it`s continuous wars and court splendour (for which the royal palace of Versailles was built), created such a frightful deficit that neither the wise administration of Colbert nor future effort was able to fill. But eighteenth century France will be assigned another task: the diffusion of philosophical, political and economical doctrines that not only will be the origin of the French Revolution, but will be the birth of contemporary Europe.

SPANISH MONARCHY

Charles V came to the throne in the sixteenth century by right of descendancy and during the eighteenth century the Hapsburg dynasty was extinguished in Spain. The Borbonne dynasty succeeded with Phillip V who married Elisabeth Farnese from Italy. During the reign of this family, Spain started a period of recovery in domestic and foreign politics, a recovery that continued under Charles III, son of Elisabeth and already King of Naples. He distinguished himself for his gifts of common sense and intelligence, but also for his capacity in choosing valid collaborators.

KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN

In the eighteenth century England had already started her colonization policy damaging first Holland and then France by claiming India and creating the East India Company. It was in this century that England took the name of Kingdom of Great Britain by uniting the English and Scottish parliaments, thus emerging from a splendid isolation and beginning her power in the Mediterranean by holding on to Minorca and Gibraltar. But Britain`s great economic and colonial affirmation began out of Europe with the aquisition of Canada from the French and by occupying the whole of India. A critical moment in the eighteenth century was the American Revolution and their declaration of independence in 1783, thus forming the base for the creation of the United States of America. During this century England sets in motion the Industrial Revolution which will change the social and economical life in the nineteenth century. In fact it is in this period that this development will change Great Britain from an agricultural society to the manufacturing workshop of the world.

DUTCH STADOLDER

In the eighteenth century Holland began her gradual decline. Her history of a free state started after the "War of Devolution" with Spain in the sixteenth century, and the coming of power of William of Orange, Stadolder of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. William put into practice a grand economical and colonial policy, leaving on the quest for the "spice islands", occupying Java and founding the East India Company. Holland`s colonization extended to the Americas with the occupation of Brazil, Guyana and with the foundation of New Amsterdam (New York). Her economic power was based overall on the commercial monopoly with Japan and the fact that she financed the northern governments and maintained relationships with the Italian Maritime Republics. This great affirmation started slowly to decline in the first fifty years of the eighteenth century the cause being the predominance of England and France, who little by little took over her colonization.