The Enlightenment
AP European History
Unit 4: Changes of the 18th
Century
Brief Overview of 18th Century


Political Changes –
focus on reform and
increasing
participation of the
people
Intellectual Changes
– Scientific revolution,
the Enlightenment,
Increasing Education



Cultural Changes –
even more focus on
the individual
Economic Changes –
Shift from
Mercantilism to
Capitalism
Social Changes:
Increased changes;
rise of the gentry
Centers of the Enlightenment
Characteristics of the
Enlightenment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Rationalism
Cosmology – man
and his role on
earth and
universe
Secularism
Scientific Method
Utilitarianism
6. Tolerance
7. Optimism and SelfConfidence
8. Freedom of thought
and expression
9. Education of the
Masses
10. Constitutionalism
Causes of the Enlightenment





Increased Literacy
Increased
Educational
Opportunities
Increased wealth from
international trade
Absolutism
Scientific Revolution
The Philosophes






Committed to fundamental
reform in society
Popularized ideas of the
Enlightenment
Not professional philosophers
Progress through laws
Critical of the “Old Regime”
Main themes: Progress,
Reason, Science and
Civilization
THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND
RELIGION
Deism





Religious aspect of Enlightenment
Existence of God was rational explanation
for universe
God as clockmaker
Natural law, not God’s law
Rational approach to religion
Early Enlightenment Thinkers

Pierre Bayle (1647-1706)





Critical and Historical
Dictionary (1697)
Complete toleration for all
ideas
Freedom of religious
worship
Skeptic of all things
beyond rational thought
It is thus tolerance that is
the source of peace, and
intolerance that is the
source of disorder and
squabbling.
Voltaire (1694-1778)





Most influential
philosopher
Challenged authority of
Church
Deist; emphasis on
human reason
Religious toleration
Strong emphasis on
social change
Voltaire




“Ecracsez l’infame” – “crush the infamous
thing”
Enlightened Despotism (Similar to Hobbes)
Equality of opportunity, not equality of
condition
Most famous work: Candide
Famous Voltaire Quips




“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t
do.”
“It is dangerous to be right when the
government is wrong”
“Judge a man by his questions rather than
his answers.”
“The man who persecutes another because
he is not of the same opinion is nothing less
than a monster.”
David Hume (1711-1776)






English
The Natural History of
Religion (1775)
Argued against faith in
natural law
Human ideas a result of
sensory experiences
Atheistic; undermined
much of what the
Enlightenment tried to
achieve
Belief in God rested on
superstition and fear
rather than on reason
THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND
POLITICS/GOVERNMENT
The Early Enlightenment

John Locke (1632-1704)


Two Treatises on
Government (1689)
 State of Nature, Natural
Rights
 Social Contract Theory
Essay Concerning
Human Understanding
(1690)
 Environment and
education are key
 Tabula Rasa
 Knowledge through
senses
Baron de Montesquieu (16891755)



French noble who
opposed absolutism
Different systems for
different people
Spirit of the Laws
(1748)



Separation of powers
Checks and balances
13 parlements to check
power of king
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121778)


Born in Geneva
Social Contract (1762)






Consider people, not
property, in order to eradicate
social injustice
General will: consensus of
majority should control a
nation
Individual as member of
society
“Noble Savage”
Emilie (1762)
As civilizations progress, they
move away from morality
Edward Gibbon (1737- 1794)




The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire (6
vol., 1787)
Critical of English
government; religion
Considered one of first
modern historians
“History is indeed little
more than the register of
the crimes, follies, and
misfortunes of mankind.”
The Enlightenment Moves to
the Americas

Thomas Paine





Common Sense
(1776)
The Rights of Man
(1791)
Thomas Jefferson
Ben Franklin
John Adams
Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

The Encyclopedia (1765)
 Political and social
critiques
 Popularizes views of
Philosophes
 Science and Reason
over injustice and
intolerance
 Critical thought
emphasized
 Co-authored by Jean le
Rond d’Alembert
Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedia
Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedia
Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedia
Subscriptions to Diderot’s Encyclopedia
Women in the Enlightenment


The Salon movement
Women organize salons and take part in them
(Madame de Geoffren; Madame de Staël)
Women in the Enlightenment

Mary Astell (1666-1731)

A Serious Proposal to the Ladies
(1697)



Women need a better education
than currently afforded
Equality of sexes in marriage
“If absolute sovereignty be not
necessary in a state, how comes it to
be so in a family? For if arbitrary
power is evil in itself, and an improper
method of governing rational and free
agents, it ought not be practiced
anywhere….If all men are born free,
how is it that all women are born
slaves?”
Women in the Enlightenment

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
 Founder of modern European
feminism
 Vindication of the Rights of Women
(1792)
 “Would men but generously snap our
chains, and be content with the
rational fellowship instead of slavish
obedience, they would find us more
observant daughters, more
affectionate sisters, more faithful
wives, and more reasonable mothers
– in a word, better citizens.”
The Late Enlightenment

Jean de Condorcet
(1743-1794)




Progress of the Human
Mind
Utopian ideals
9 stages of human
progress that already
occurred
10th stage: perfection
The Late Enlightenment

Immanuel Kant (17241804)




Transcendentalism
Science: describes
nature, not a guide for
morality
Categorical Imperative:
intuitive instinct placed
by God in the human
conscience
Reason is a function of
the mind and has no
content
Why was the Enlightenment
Successful?




Literacy rates increased dramatically
Growth of educated middle class
Increase in newspapers and magazines
Writing more accessible and easier to understand
Reactions to the
Enlightenment

Religious Reactions – leaders fear decline of
Christian spirituality




German pietism – spiritual conversion and
experiences
Methodism – England; John Wesley; “Bornagain”
Jansenism – France; Catholic ideas that God is
personal and involved in life
Index of Prohibited Books – several philosophes
have works banned by Roman Catholic Church
Impact of the Enlightenment





Emergence of secular world view
Enlightened Despotism (Prussia, Russia,
Austria and France)
Revolutions
Educational reform
Capitalism
AP European History
Unit 4: Changes of the Eighteenth Century
ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM
What is Enlightened Despotism?



Necessary to have
absolutist rulers (Hobbes)
BUT…
Absolute rulers should
promote good of the
people




Religious Toleration
Standardized legal codes
Increased Access to
Education
Reduction of Torture and
Death Penalty

Major Areas in
Eighteenth Century:
 Prussia
 Austria
 Russia
 France (eventually)
 Minor Examples:
Spain, Denmark,
Sweden, Portugal
Prussian Enlightened Despotism



Frederick the Great
(Freddie II; r. 17401786)
Son of Frederick
William I
Influence of the
Enlightenment



Focus on French learning
Invited Voltaire to live in court
in Berlin
Studied music and poetry
Wars of Frederick the Great

War of Austrian
Succession (1740-1748)



Fred invades Silesia –
owned by Austria
Violated Pragmatic
Sanction
Treaty of Aix-laChapelle
Wars of Frederick the Great

Seven Years’ War




Austria wants Silesia back
Diplomatic Revolution of 1756
Becomes a world war – fighting
amongst European powers in
Europe and North America
Results: severe loss of Prussian
life; disruption of Prussian
society; Berlin partially
destroyed; Prussia almost
defeated…


Peter III (Russia) pulls out war in
1763
Treaty of Paris (1763)
How Successful was FtG?
Influence on the State:
 Codified laws
 Civil Service Exam
introduced
 No capital punishment
 Encourage immigration
 Encourage industrial
growth
Influence on the People:
 Religious toleration (sort
of…)
 Promoted education
(sort of…)
 Freed serfs (1763)
 Reduced censorship
Background - Enlightened
Despotism in Austria

Maria Theresa
(r. 1740-1780)




Pragmatic Sanction
of 1713
Goal: improve
condition of people
through absolute
rule
Very conservative
War of Austrian
Succession
Maria Theresa’s Policies

For the State:
 Centralized political
control
 Limited power of
nobility
 Increased size of army
 Improved tax system
 Taxes and controls
Catholic Church

For the People:
 Freed some serfs
 Reduced feudal dues
 Reduced use of torture
 Promotes economic
development
 Encouraged
immigration
MT is NOT an Enlightened
Despot Because…
Not a fan of the
Enlightenment
 Did not promote religious
toleration as much as the
others

Joseph II (r. 1780-1790)




Greatest of the
Enlightened despots
Deeply influenced by
Enlightenment
Ruled as regent with
mother for last ten
years of her life
Also served as HRE
The Reforms of Joseph II

For the State
 Reduced influence
of Church
 Reformed judicial
system
 German as the
official language

For the People:







Abolished serfdom and
feudal dues (1781)
Freedom of religion and
civic rights for P. and J.
Freedom of the Press
Abolish torture
Expanded state schools
Funds hospitals, insane
asylums and orphanages
Assistance to poor
Problems for Joseph II




Defeated in wars against Ottoman Empire
Revolt of Austrian Netherlands
Threats from Russia
Revocation of many policies after he dies under
the leadership of Leopold II
Enlightened Despotism in
Russia

Catherine the Great
(r. 1762-1796)



German, married to a
Russian (Peter the
III), but focused on
French culture
Peter III assassinated
during Seven Years’
War
Least “enlightened”
of the Enlightened
Despots
Problems in Russia

Pugachev Rebellion (1773)





Pugachev (Cossack) led
a huge serf uprising
Goals: end serfdom,
taxes and army services
Murder landlords and
officials
Pugachev eventually
killed
Results: Catherine
recognizes her need for
the support of the
nobility
Catherine’s Reforms

For the State
 Confiscate church lands
 Strengthened local
government led by
elective council of nobles
 Crown is not subject to
these councils though
 Territorial growth –
Partition of Poland
(1772, 1793, 1795)

For the People







Nobility gain complete
control of the serfs
Spreads serfdom to new areas
Freed nobility from taxes
Westernization
Funds private printing presses
Limited religious toleration
Restricts practice of torture
Shortcomings of Catherine’s
Reforms


Only nobility and
state benefitted
Serfdom becomes
more severe

Hampers economic
and technological
development for
decades to come