The Impact of the
Enlightenment
The Arts
 Architecture and Art: Many rulers build grand
castles to mimic Louis XIV’s Palace at Versailles
 unique architectural style is created
– Rococo: new artistic style is created as well
 Emphasizes grace, charm and gentle action
 Highly secular: focused on the pursuit of pleasure, happiness
and love
 Sense of enchantment and enthusiasm
Music:
Perfecting Baroque
 Johann Sebastian
Bach
– One of the greatest
composers of all time
– German
– Mass in B Minor
 George Frederick
Handel
– Messiah
– German, but lived in
England
– With Bach, perfected
the baroque musical
style
Music:
Creation of Classical
 Haydn
– Wanted to play public
concerts rather than
serve only princely
patrons
– The desire to play for
everyone leads him to
write his two great
works
 Mozart
– Child prodigy
– Along with Haydn,
helps to found what we
know as classical music
– One of the greatest
composers of all time
Literature
 18th century= development of the European
novel
Enlightenment and Enlightened
Absolutism
 What role does Enlightenment thought play in
politics?
– Who believes in natural rights for all people?
– “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their creator
with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
 How were these natural rights to be preserved?
– Governed under an enlightened ruler
– Enlightened absolutism: rulers try to govern by Enlightenment
principles while maintaining their royal powers
Frederick the Great
Frederick the Great of Prussia
 Enlightened despot
 Made enlightened reforms
– Abolished the use of torture except in treason and
murder cases
– Granted limited freedom of speech and the press, as well
as complete religious toleration
 On the other hand…
– Kept Prussia’s serfdom and rigid social structure intact
and avoided any additional reforms
The Austrian Empire
 Joseph II succeeds Maria Theresa and
starts to call for enlightened change
– Swept away anything standing in the path of
reason
 Abolishes serfdom, eliminates the death penalty,
equality before the law, enacts religious reforms.
 Joseph’s reform program largely fails
– Why?
Russia under Catherine the Great
 Rules Russia from 1762-1796
– Assumes the throne after her husband is
murdered by a group of nobles
– German
 Favored the ideas of the philosophes and
wanted to implement reform, but does not
– Why?
 Need support of nobility
Philosophes v. 18th Century
Monarchs
 Philosophes
– Condemn war as
foolish
– Want all to have
equality under the law
 Monarchs
– Use war to expand
empires
– Concerned with the
balance of power, that
each state should have
equal power
– Really, each want to
gain more power
War
 War of Austrian Succession
– Maria Theresa succeeds her father on the
Austrian throne
– King Frederick of Prussia invades Austrian
Silesia
– France enters war vs. Austria, its traditional
enemy
– Treaty agreed to in 1748
 Prussia refuses to return Silesia to Austria= another
war
War
War
 The Seven Years’ War
1756-1763
– Maria Theresa rebuilds army
and takes France as an ally
from Prussia
– Russia joins France and Austria
 War in Europe: Prussia holds its
ground against Austria, Russia,
and France
– Once Russia withdraws, there is
a stalemate
– Agree to end war and Prussia
keeps Silesia; all other occupied
territories are returned to their
original owner
 Sees Prussia as a threat
–
Britain allies itself with Prussia
 War fought in 3 locations:
Europe, India, and North
America

War in India
– Britain vs. France
– Seeking to expand their empire
– India falls to Britain
 War in North America
– Great Britain is victorious
overall and becomes one of the
greatest colonial powers