ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS
An Oxymoron?
Enlightened Despots
ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM: An__absolute____
rule which favored religious ____toleration______,
economic and legal reforms, and justified the right
to hold power by usefulness to society rather than
by __divine right___
NOT IN FRANCE
LOUIS XV
Louis was hostile to the philosophes
and _banned__ their writings. He
considered himself an absolute
monarch ruling by divine right. His
ineffectual rule, involvement in costly
wars, imposition of unpopular __
taxes__ , loss of much of France's
overseas empire, and affairs with
Madame du Pompadour and Madame
du Barry made him personally
unpopular and paved the way for the
_French Revolution___ of 1789.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
A. Preferences: He liked music and witty
conversation. He studied philosophy, played
the flute, wrote poetry, and corresponded
with famous intellectuals, most
notably____Voltaire______ . His opinions
were humane and liberal but his actions
were not. Remember, he started the War of
the Austrian Succession in 1740.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
B. Voltaire Connection: He wrote letters to
Voltaire who came to stay at his court at
Sans Souci near Potsdam from 1750-53.
The initial enchantment ended and they
became enemies.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
C. Reforms:
1. Abolished the use of torture, except for crimes such as
murder and treason.
2. He permitted some freedom of speech and press.
3. He decreed broad religious toleration
4. He improved Prussia's judicial system by establishing
impartial and efficient court procedures.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
5. He reorganized existing ___laws_ into a single code.
6. He reorganized the Prussian economy along mercantilist lines,
promoting metallurgy and textile industries
7. He introducing scientific methods of cattle breeding and crop
__rotation____ from western Europe. He fostered the planting of
soil-enriching clover and fodder crops as well as inexpensive
foods such as turnips and ___potatoes__.He also drained
swamps, initiated reforestation projects.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
D. Negatives:
1. He was less progressive in social
reform and defended traditional
distinctions of rank and privilege
2. He relieved the burdens of
__serfs____ who lived on his own
lands but did little to ameliorate the lot
of serfs tied to the private estates of
the aristocracy, or Junkers.
PRUSSIA
FREDERICK II (THE GREAT)
E. Final Analysis: He was a tireless worker,
beginning each day at 6 am and personally
overseeing all governmental business. He
considered himself the "first servant of the
state". When he died on Aug. 17, 1786,
Prussia's population was approaching
6,000,000 and its army numbered 200,000
men. He left his successor, FREDERICK
WILLIAM II, a full treasury and a smoothly
operating, disciplined bureaucracy.
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
A. Grand Duke Peter: He was the _heir____
to the Russian throne whom
Catherine__married__ in 1744. He was
mentally deficient, playing with toy soldiers
and torturing dogs and cats. Empress
Elizabeth (daughter of Peter the Great) died
on Dec. 25, 1761, and Catherine's husband
succeeded as PETER III. The new ruler was
unpopular with the army and was overthrown
in June, 1762 in a coup led by the brother of
Catherine's lover. Peter was subsequently
__deposed___ and Catherine became
absolute ruler.
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
B. Carrying on the Dream: Imbued with the
ideas of the Enlightenment, she was a
__patron__ of writers and wrote letters to
_Voltaire__ She aimed at completing the job
started by Peter I -- _westernizing____
Russia. She succeeded to a degree with the
upper classes, but did nothing for the
overwhelming majority of the population--the
enserfed peasantry
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
C. Pugachev Rebellion: This 1773 event
was an uprising of peasants, serfs,
Cossacks (mercenaries), and escaped
prisoners led by Yemelian Pugachev who
claimed to be the dead Peter III come
back to life. The revolt was ruthlessly
crushed by the army in 1775. Catherine
put away any thoughts of ending serfdom
and gave the nobles absolute control
over the serfs.
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
D. Reforms:
1. Catherine encouraged the modernization of agriculture
and industry.
2. She promoted trade and the development of underpopulated regions by inviting foreign settlers. She
founded new towns.
3. She permitted the establishment of private printing
presses and relaxed censorship rules.
4. She promoted education, increasing the number of state
and private __schools__ .
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
E. Expansion of the Russian Empire
1. Following two successful wars against Turkey (the
RUSSO-TURKISH WARS of 1768-74 and 1787- 92,
Russia secured the Crimea and thus realized a
centuries-old dream of establishing itself on the
north shore of the ___Black__ Sea.
2. The fertile lands of the Ukraine were also opened
for settlement and soon became the granary of
Europe.
EXPANSION OF RUSSIA, 1689–1796 The
overriding territorial aim of the two
most powerful Russian monarchs of the
18th century, Peter the Great (in the first
quarter of the century) and Catherine
the Great (in the last half of the century)
was to secure navigable outlets to the
sea in both the north and the south for
Russia’s vast empire; hence Peter’s
push to the Baltic Sea and Catherine’s
to the Black Sea. Russia also expanded
into Central Asia and Siberia during this
time period.
RUSSIA
CATHERINE II (THE GREAT)
3. Catherine also participated
in the partitions of Poland
(1772, 1792, and 1795), with
Frederick the Great bringing a
large part of that country under
Russian rule. With the last
partition in 1795, _Poland___
ceased to exist as an
independent country and
would not re-appear until
after___World War I___ .
(1918)
AUSTRIA
MARIA THERESA
• Maria Theresa (1740 – 1780)
Archduchess of __Austria__, queen of
__Hungary___ and __Bohemia_, and
wife of Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I.
She and her husband had ten children
who survived to adulthood including
Marie Antoinette, future queen of
__France__.
• She came to the throne by virtue of her
father, __Charles VI’s___ promulgation
of the ___Pragmatic Sanction___.
• The War of __Austrian Succession___
immediately followed her accession to
the throne.
AUSTRIA
MARIA THERESA AND JOSEPH II
1. Reforms: Maria Theresa carried out many internal
reforms with the aid of her minister _Wenzel Anton
von Kaunitz__.
a. Began the centralization of the state
administration.
b. Began the reduction of the powers and
privileges of the nobility.
c. Subordinated the church to the authority
of the state.
d. Abolished the tax exemptions of both the
nobility and church.
e. Initiated agrarian and educational reforms
and a system of relief for the poor.
AUSTRIA
MARIA THERESA AND JOSEPH II
2. Beliefs: In her actions she upheld
the interests of the monarchy. She
was intolerant of both Judaism and
Calvinism. She disliked
Enlightenment ideas but her son,
Joseph, became enamored of them.
AUSTRIA
JOSEPH II
(co-emperor 1765 when Francis I died; inherited crowns of
Bohemia and Hungary in 1780 when _Maria Theresa_ died.
Ruled until his death in 1790)
1. Reforms:
a. Continued centralization of administration
and reduced the influence of provincial
diets and the special privileges of the
aristocracy
b. Abolished serfdom
AUSTRIA
JOSEPH II
c. Established freedom of the press
d. Eliminated torture and the death penalty
e. attempted to establish equality before the law
f. Introduced a single tax based on land.
g. Granted official toleration to Protestants and
Jews; dissolved the monasteries of
contemplative Catholic orders
h. Decreed the use of German governmental
business throughout his domains.
AUSTRIA
JOSEPH II
2. Beliefs
a. Strove to enhance the power of his state and the
welfare of his subjects.
b. Dominated by a desire for reason and order, Joseph was
intolerant of opposition. He created a secret police and
employed military force to implement the thousands of laws and
edicts he issued.