Prior to the eighteenth century, Group of answer choices governments were primarily democratic. governments rarely sought the support of their people. most governments were based on respect for the rule of law. autocracies were extremely rare.

governments rarely sought the support of their people.

Explanation:

The oldest modern democracy still in place is the US. Some democratic institutions existed in other countries, e. g. British parliament, but the King (or Queen) basically controlled the empire.

The US was the first country where its citizens were actually allowed to choose their national leader. In 1788 George Washington was elected president but he was chosen by an electoral college. It wasn't until 1824 when citizens starting voting directly for presidents (John Quincy Adams was elected).

Both the American and French revolutions spread the idea of freedom and liberty, although the French revolution didn't end very well.

Before the 18th century, governments were basically autocratic and the ideas of the common people didn't matter very much. You have to remember that democracy and liberty (western ideals) are not very common even nowadays.

Only about 1/5 of the world's population lives in free and democratic countries. India which is considered the largest democracy still follows a strict caste system and therefore cannot be considered a completely free and equal system. The same applies to countries like Russia that have pseudo democracies (Vladimir Putin wants to be elected president until 2036).