Modern European History I HIS-106

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Modern European History IHIS-106

• Unit 9 The Enlightenment

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The Enlightenment

• Enlightenment
• Intellectual and cultural movement of the 18th
  century
• Used Scientific Revolution to reexamine all
  aspects of life
• Period of skepticism and criticism of traditional
  values, beliefs, and institutions
• Discarded dogma, superstition, and the opinions
  of others
• Goal gain an understanding solely through the
  use of reason
• Main concerns of Enlightened thinkers
• Danger of unchecked and arbitrary authority
• Value of religious toleration
• Importance of natural law, reason, and human
  dignity

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Characteristics of the Enlightenment

• Not all thinkers shared the same ideas
• Some actually criticized the ideas
• There were similar characteristics
• Had confidence in the power of human reason
• Stems from the accomplishments of the Scientific
  Revolution
• Declared their independence from the past
• Gave a level of self-confidence thinkers did not
  have before
• Believed reason needed autonomy and freedom
• Dare to Know! (Immanuel Kant)
• Were indebted to their immediate predecessors
• Voltaires Holy Trinity Locke, Bacon, and
  Newton

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Characteristics of the Enlightenment

• Applied the scientific method to the organization
  of knowledge
• Evidence was collected on the rise and fall of
  nations
• Government constitutions were compared
• Cultural project of the Enlightenment
• Used practical, applied knowledge to help spread
  knowledge and free public discussion
• Wanted To change the common way of thinking
  (Diderot)
• Wrote for a larger audience, which included the
  average educated person
• Some would use satire and fiction as a way of
  bringing this message to more people

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Leading to Enlightenment

• England was the starting point for the
  Enlightenment
• During 17th century, progressive ideas and
  developments
• Home of Newton and Locke
• Impact of the Glorious Revolution (1688)
• French philosophes examined England
• Voltaire visited there and praised its system
• Montesquieu used it as the basis of his
  separation of powers
• Paths to the Enlightenment
• Popularization of science
• Rise of a new skepticism
• Impact of travel literature
• Legacy of Newton and Locke

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• Bernand de Fontenelle
• (1657-1757)

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Popularization of Science

• Science during the 17th century did not affect
  the masses
• Works of natural philosophers only affected a
  small minority
• Most of what was written could not be understood
  by the average person
• Bernard de Fontenelle (1657-1757)
• Secretary of the French Royal Academy of Science
  (1691-1741)
• Main contribution was bringing science to the
  upper class
• Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (1686)
• Written in French instead of Latin
• More accessible to the non-scientific population
• Story is about how a man explains the
  heliocentric view of the universe in laymans
  terms to his lover

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• Pierre Bayle
• (1647-1706)

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A New Skepticism

• Major impact of the Scientific Revolution was the
  population becoming more educated
• The more people knew about nature and the
  universe, the more they started to question
  religious truths and doctrines
• This led to growing secularization and the rise
  of skepticism
• Pierre Bayle (1647-1706)
• French Huguenot scholar and philosopher
• Attacked many of the traditional religious
  attitudes superstition, religious intolerance,
  and dogmatism
• Said that you cannot prove which beliefs are true
  and false
• Therefore, all beliefs should be tolerated

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A New Skepticism

• Morality was separate from religious beliefs
• A group of atheists could be more moral than a
  group of Christians
• Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697)
• Starts to question the sources of the Bible
• Israeli King David was not the heroic king so
  often portrayed
• In actuality, he was a vicious leader who
  pillaged, tortured, and murdered innocent victims
• The book was banned in France
• Placed on the Index of Prohibited Books shortly
  after it was published

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• Captain James Cook
• (1728-1779)

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Impact of Travel Literature

• During this period, travel literature was popular
• Many explorers began to publish accounts of their
  travels
• Examined the new cultures of the world
• Showed how advanced some of them were
• China was considered a highly developed
  civilization with a morally superior form of
  religion in their Confucianism
• Other cultures became known and respected
• This led to the rise of cultural relativism
• Were more simpler than European ones and they
  were happier
• The life of savages is so simple, and our
  societies are such complicated machines!...They
  understand nothing about our manner or our laws,
  and they are bound to see in them nothing but
  shackles disguised in a hundred different ways.

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Impact of Travel Literature

• Captain James Cook (1728-1779)
• Captain of H.M. Bark Endeavour
• Traveled around the world three times
• Discovered New Zealand, Tahiti, and eastern shore
  of Australia
• Charted most of the south Pacific
• Endeavour Journals (1768-1771)
• Written during his first voyage around the world
• Focused on his discoveries in the Pacific
• Discussed the use citrus fruits to help ward off
  scurvy
• Also how he kept his crew in shape through
  exercise
• His book became a best seller

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• John Locke
• (1632-1704)

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The Legacy of Newton and Locke

• Both gave the intellectual inspiration for the
  Enlightenment
• Impact of Newton
• Through his physics, Newton gave a better
  understanding of the universe
• If there were laws to the universe, could there
  be laws to mankind?
• John Locke (1632-1704)
• English philosopher
• Tried to find the laws of mankind in terms of
  politics and justice
• Set the stage for Classical Liberalism

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John Locke (1632-1704)

• Two Treaties On Government (1689)
• Criticizes the concept of Divine Right of Kings
• Government is a social contract with the people
• It is designed to protect mans natural rights
  (life, liberty, property)
• If the people do not like what the government is
  doing, they have a right to overthrow it
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
• Every person is born with a tabula rasa (blank
  slate)
• Our knowledge comes from our environment
• Evil is not hereditary but something that has to
  be learned
• New governments and societies could be created
  using reason and natural laws

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• Reading from Molière (1728)

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The Philosophes

• Philosophes
• A free thinker unhampered by the constraints of
  religion or dogma in any form
• Few were actual philosophers and not all of them
  were French
• Included everything from professors to political
  scientists to social reformers
• Wanted to study society with the purpose of
  making his kind better and happier
• Salons
• Hosted by salonnières, aristocratic women
• Gatherings of elite of society and the
  philosophes
• Helped spread ideas outside of academia
• Helped to educate women

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• Voltaire
• (1694-1778)

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Voltaire (1694-1778)

• Voltaire (1694-1778)
• Born François Marie Arouet
• He was a writer, philosopher, and deist
• Used satire to criticize many of the institutions
  of the day
• Targeted the French government and the Catholic
  Church
• Wrote during a time period of censorship
• Early Works
• Made satirical criticisms of the French
  aristocracy
• Served time in the Bastille for libel when he was
  in his 20s
• He was temporarily exiled in England in 1724
• While he was there, he became a great admirer of
  all things English (especially Newton and Locke)

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Voltaire (1694-1778)

• Philosophical Letters (1734)
• Written after he returned to France
• It was also known as Letters on the English
  Nation
• Compared a healthy and rational nation (Great
  Britain) to a very unhealthy one (France)
• Discussed the religious and political liberties
  of the British
• Showed great admiration for English culture and
  politics and respect for scientists
• Praised Britain for having more religious
  toleration than France
• Candide (1759)
• Criticized Leibnitzian Optimism (we live in the
  best of all possible worlds)
• Mocked every institution and aspect of the
  aristocracy

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Voltaire (1694-1778)

• Philosophy
• Promoted toleration, civil rights, and free
  speech
• Was very anti-clerical
• Écrasez linfâme (crush infamy)
• Saw infamy as all forms of repression,
  fanaticism, and bigotry
• Especially saw this in the Church
• Calas case
• Was strongly opposed to religious bigotry
• Sought to free religion of superstition
• The less superstition, the less fanaticism and
  the less fanaticism, the less misery
• Not against religion but rather against narrow
  dogma

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Voltaire (1694-1778)

• He was a big believer in civil liberties
• He once said to a political opponent I do not
  agree with a word you say, but I will defend to
  the death your right to say it
• Saw inspiration in enlightened despotism
• Still viewed monarchy as necessary
• Voltaires works caused him many problems
• He was forced into temporary exile numerous times
• His books were banned and burned
• However, because of his popularity, the French
  kings had to tolerate him

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• Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de
  Montesquieu
• (1689-1755)

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Montesquieu (1689-1755)

• Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
  (1689-1755)
• Philosophe and political writer
• Was more cautious and less provocative in his
  work
• Born into a noble family
• Became magistrate in the parlement of Bordeaux
• Persian Letters (1721)
• Story of two Persians travelling to Paris
• Examination of Parisian life through the eyes of
  foreigners
• Criticized all aspects of France (e.g., criminal
  justice system, lack of equality between sexes,
  etc.)
• Was able to criticize society and avoid censorship

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Montesquieu (1689-1755)

• The Spirit of Laws (1748)
• Examined different types of governments using an
  empirical approach
• Believed there were three different types of
  governments
• Republic was either a democracy or rule by an
  aristocracy (virtue)
• Monarchy was limited by the law (honor)
• Despotism does not follow the law and there is
  fear of the ruler (fear)
• There was no one perfect type of government that
  would work everywhere
• Each countrys system should be based on its
  traditions and cultures
• For example, hot climates should have despotism
  to get people working

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Montesquieu (1689-1755)

• Balance of Power
• Most important section of Spirit focused on
  separation and balance of power
• Built upon the structure set up in England
• Major influence on the writers of the U.S.
  constitution
• Criticism of France
• Realized France was drifting towards despotism
• Wanted to use either the parlements or the
  aristocracy to counter-balance the monarchy
• However, aristocracy was very corrupt during this
  period

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• Denis Diderot
• (1713-1784)

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Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

• Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
• Encyclopédie, or a systematic dictionary of the
  sciences, arts, and crafts (1751-1772)
• A 28 volume set that he edited
• Its main goal was to change the way people
  thought
• "All things must be examined, debated,
  investigated without exception and without regard
  for anyone's feelings
• Even though the cost was high, it still had high
  circulation despite the high price
• Articles were written by numerous philosophes
• Attacked religious dogma and superstition
• Encouraged religious toleration

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Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

• Philosophy
• He liked to comment on the more popular themes at
  the time
• Mainly discussed Christianity and government
• Christianity was the most absurd and the most
  atrocious in its dogma
• Went from being a deist to an atheist
• Attacked the monarchy
• Man will never be free until the last king is
  strangled with the entrails of the last priest
• And his hands would plait the priest's entrails,
  For want of a rope, to strangle kings.

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• Page from the Encyclopédie
• It illustrates Truth in the middle shining its
  light

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Humanitarianism

• Humanitarianism
• Focused on the dignity and worth of all
  individuals
• This had many different aspects including legal
  reform
• Criminals were subject to torture
• Including branding, whipping and various forms of
  mutilation
• Numerous crimes involved the death penalty
• There were public executions
• Trial of Jean Calas (1762)
• Illustrated the flaws with the criminal justice
  system
• Calas was found guilty of murdering his son
• Argued that Calas, a protestant, wanted to kill
  his son to prevent him from converting to
  Catholicism
• There was no proof of this

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Humanitarianism

• Punishment included being tortured twice and then
  put to death
• First round of torture was to garner a confession
• Second round was to find his accomplices
• Included having his arms and legs slowly pulled
  apart, having gallons of water poured down his
  throat, and then broken on the wheel in public
• He then had his head cut off
• Voltaire took on this case
• Became his own crusade against anti-Protestant
  fanaticism
• Convinced the court in 1765 that Calas was
  actually innocent

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• Cesare Beccaria
• (17381794)

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Cesare Beccaria (17381794)

• Cesare Beccaria (17381794)
• He was an Italian jurist who focused on
  humanitarianism and legal reform
• On Crimes and Punishments (1764)
• Attacked the common view that punishment
  represented societys vengeance on the criminal
• Argued that the legitimate rationale for
  punishment was to maintain social order and
  prevent other crimes (deterrence)
• Exposed the public to horrors of torture being
  used
• Also illustrated the dehumanizing process of
  public executions
• By 1800, a number of countries eliminated torture
  and limited the death penalty to capital crimes
• Many believe this was influenced by Beccarias
  work

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• Gotthold Lessing
• (1729-1781)

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Religious Toleration

• Religious Toleration
• Called for an end to religious warfare and
  persecution of heretics
• Many philosophes were against religious
  institutions and dogmas
• Most of them considered themselves religious
• Some who considered themselves agnostics
• Only a small few considered themselves atheists
• Attacked Christianity for being too superstitious
• Deism
• Common belief amongst the philosophes
• God was like a divine clockmaker
• Do not believe God intervenes in the everyday
  life of mankind

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Religious Toleration

• Religious toleration was mainly limited to
  Christianity
• A number of the philosophes saw Jews and Muslims
  as being backwards and full of superstition and
  ritual
• Others called Jews heretics and Christ killers
• Some who believed in toleration of non-Christians
  as well
• Gotthold Lessing (17291781)
• Treated Jews sympathetically in his play Nathan
  the Wise (1779)
• Stated there was not one true religion
• Believed the three monotheistic religions were
  three versions of the same truth

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• Adam Smith
• (1723-1790)

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Economic Reforms

• The philosophes also addressed economic policy
• The shape of the state was changing
• A rise in the financial demands of states and
  their rising empires
• How could a government make the most of its
  resources?
• French physiocrats
• Saw an inherent natural order that properly
  governed society
• Spoke out against mercantilism
• True wealth came from land and agricultural
  production
• They called for a simplified tax system
• Laissez-faire - Wealth and goods should circulate
  without government interference

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Economic Reforms

• Adam Smith (17231790)
• Pushed the concept of laissez-faire economics was
• Scottish economist who took in the ideas of the
  physiocrats
• Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth
  of Nations (1776)
• Restrictions associated with mercantilism (e.g.
  high taxes on imported goods) did not create real
  economic well-being
• Individuals should chose their own interests
  without competition from state-chartered
  monopolies or legal restraints
• No state regulation of the economy let business
  regulate itself

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• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• (1712-1778)

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Radical Enlightenment

• There were also radical philosophes
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
• He did believe in humanitarianism and the
  creation of a just society
• Focused on making mankind good
• Theory of Natural Man
• Praised the virtues of natural man
• Natural man does not act morally
• Savage man does not understand complex concepts
  such as justice or evil

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

• Society as a necessary evil
• Society was necessary for people to develop their
  moral nature and capacity to reason
• Society also corrupted by pitting individuals
  against each other
• Called for reforms in political society and
  education
• The Social Contract (1762)
• Man is born free, and everywhere he is in
  chains. One man thinks himself the master of
  others, but remains more of a slave than they."
• In humanitys natural state, all men are equal
• Society brings about inequality with its division
  of labor and private property
• Man becomes more competitive and yet more
  dependant on other men

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

• Popular Sovereignty
• Was against different branches of government and
  monarchy
• He did not believe in representative democracy
  but rather direct democracy
• This would transformed a nation
• Citizens would form a body politic
• People would be willing to give up certain rights
  out of mutual obligation rather than coercive
  laws
• General Will
• The population would be united together by the
  general will
• Common interests would outweigh individual ones
• Popular sovereignty will do what is good for the
  people in general

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• Mary Wollstonecraft
• (1759-1797)

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Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
• British writer, philosopher, and feminist
• Many of her ideas were similar to other
  philosophes of the time
• She also had been Rousseaus sharpest critic
• A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)
• She illustrated numerous Republican ideas
• Spoke against inequality and artificial
  distinctions of rank, birth, or wealth
• Society ought to seek the perfection of our
  nature and capability of happiness
• Women had the same innate capacity for reason and
  self-government as men
• Virtue the same thing for men and women
• Relations between the sexes ought to be based on
  equality

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Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

• Wollstonecraft also spoke about issues with the
  family
• Marriage laws were unequal and allowed the
  husband to be despotic over his wife
• Women have been taught to be dependent and
  seductive in order to win husbands
• Education needs to promote liberty and
  self-reliance
• She did see a natural division of labor between
  men and women
• A womans main job was mothering and educating
  her children

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• Europe (c. 1700)

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Enlightened Absolutism

• Secularization of the monarchy
• Monarchs no longer pressed the issue of
  divine-right
• Took up more utilitarian viewpoint they were
  there to provide services to the well-being of
  their state
• These ideas were strongly supported by the
  philosophes
• Enlightened monarchs
• Rulers who took on enlightened ideas
• Believed that their power was similar to the
  absolute monarchs
• Included hereditary rights and refusing
  constitutions
• Believed in improving the lives of their subjects
• Strengthen a monarchs authority rather than hurt
  it

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Enlightened Absolutism

• Characteristics of an enlightened monarch
• Allowing religious toleration
• Promoting freedom of speech and press
• Avoiding arbitrary rule
• Obeying laws of the land and enforce them fairly
• Reforms must come from above
• Rulers start the reforms to help the people
• Each enlightened monarch approached social
  reforms in different ways but they were all
  effective

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• Frederick the Great
• (1740-1786)

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Frederick the Great (1740-1786)

• Frederick the Great (1740-1786)
• Just the opposite of his father, Frederick
  William I
• Was more interested in the arts than the military
• His childhood was not an easy one
• Endured mental and physical abuse from his father
• In 1730, he and a few friends attempted to escape
  to England
• Frederick William arrested them at the border
• Frederick and his friend were found guilty of
  treason and desertion
• They were to be executed
• After begging for forgiveness, his father made
  him watch his friends execution

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Frederick the Great (1740-1786)

• Forced marriage
• He was forced to marry Elisabeth Christine of
  Brunswick-Bevern
• She was supposedly very ugly
• After the wedding ceremony he never saw her again
• He named his younger brother, Augustus William,
  as heir to the throne
• During the Seven Years War he was able to retain
  control of Silesia
• With the partition of Poland in 1772, Prussia
  gained a large amount of territory
• Included access to the Baltic Sea
• It was at this point that Frederick took the
  title King of Prussia

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Frederick the Great (1740-1786)

• Enlightened despot
• Corresponded with many of the philosophes of the
  time
• His philosophy was that I am the first servant
  of the state
• He brought about numerous social reforms
• He made the law codes less severe
• He encouraged religious toleration
• All religions are equal and good and as long as
  those practicing are an honest people and wish to
  populate our land, may they be Turks or Pagans,
  we will build them mosques and churches.
• He set up a system of elementary schools
• Frederick also promoted the growth of the arts

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Frederick the Great (1740-1786)

• He also tried to modernize Prussia
• This included the development of new industries,
  including silk factories
• He was able to gain the support of the Junkers,
  the landed nobility
• Gave them jobs in his administration and high
  ranks in the nobility
• He died in 1786 supposedly while eating hot eel
  pie
• From this point on the Prussian government went
  into a decline

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• Joseph II
• (1765-1790)

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Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)

• Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)
• Educated through reading the works of Voltaire
  and other philosophes
• These ideas strongly appealed to him
• Was attracted to the policies of Frederick the
  Great
• Became co-regent with his mother, Empress Maria
  Theresa, in 1765
• She prevented him from making any reforms because
  of her conservatism
• Joseph took sole possession of the throne in 1780
• Wanted to enhance the power of the Habsburgs both
  domestically and in Europe
• Wanted to Implement major social change to
  Austria

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Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)

• He planned to follow the path of reason
• I have made Philosophy the lawmaker of my
  empire, her logical applications are going to
  transform Austria.
• Abolished serfdom in 1787
• Nobility disliked this as they were dependent on
  their labor
• Peasants did not like the new monetary system
• Changed the penal code
• He abolished the death penalty in 1787
• He established the policy of equality before the
  law
• Implemented laissez-faire policies
• He removed all internal trade barriers
• Ended domestic monopolies and removed guild
  restrictions

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Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)

• Reformed the schools
• Most of the schools in the Empire were run by the
  Catholic church
• Opened up state run schools that could be
  attended by both Protestants and Jews
• Only a 30 attendance rate but that was very
  impressive for a time
• Supporter of religious tolerance
• Wanted complete religious toleration throughout
  his empire
• Patent of Tolerance in 1781 which provided a
  limited guarantee of freedom of worship

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Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)

• He placed restrictions on the Catholic Church
• Reducing the size of the clergy and religious
  orders in the Empire
• Dissolved over 800 monasteries over the course of
  his reign
• Other reforms
• Required the use of German as the only political
  language
• Allowed for civil marriage and divorce
• He issued over 6,000 decrees and made 11,000 laws
  over the course of his reign

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Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790)

• Not everybody was happy with the reforms
• Nobility were unhappy due to the emancipation of
  the serfs
• Serfs were unhappy with all the changes taking
  place
• Catholic church was unhappy because of all the
  new restrictions
• Non-Germans did not like speaking German
• By the end of his reign, both nobles and peasants
  were rising up in revolt throughout his Empire
• Joseph became ill in 1788
• His minister refused to grant him an audience
• Even his brother Leopold, refused to visit him
• He died in February 1790
• His reforms were dismantled by his successors

63

• Catherine the Great
• (1762-1796)

64
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Catherine the Great (1762-1796)
• Born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst
• Came from a minor German royal family
• Received a French styled education and was
  exposed to the works of the philosophes
• Her mother paved the way for Catherines marriage
  to a high ranking politician
• The Marriage
• Catherine married the future Russian tsar, Grand
  Duke Peter in 745
• There were questions of impotence and extreme
  immaturity
• Marriage was not consummated for eight years
• Her mother-in-law told her to take a lover to
  provide an heir

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Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Catherine had many lovers through the course of
  her reign
• She believed the father of her son Paul was
  Sergei Saltykov, not Peter
• She quickly began to integrate herself into
  Russian culture
• Wanted the Russian people to see her as being
  worthy of the crown of Tsarina
• Learned Russian, converted to Russian Orthodox,
  and even changed her name to Ekaterina Alexeyevna
• On January 5, 1762 Empress Elizabeth died
• Peter took the throne as Peter III

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• Peter III
• (Jan. 5- July 9, 1762)

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Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Peter was unpopular with the nobility
• His foreign policies were of greatest concern
• Pulled Russia out of the war against Frederick
  the Great
• Got Russia involved in a unpopular dispute
  between Holstein and Demark
• Catherine became friendly with a group of
  nobility who strongly disliked Peter
• Overthrow (July 9, 1792)
• The Leib Guards (the emperors personal guards)
  revolted
• Deposed of Peter III and placed Catherine as the
  new ruler
• Peter seemed to actually enjoy the news

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Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• The overthrow was conspired by Catherine and her
  lover at the time, Grigori Orlov
• Believed that Catherine was fearful that Peter
  would divorce her
• Death of Peter
• On July 17, 1762, Peter was killed while in
  custody at the imperial estate at Ropsha
• Alexei Orlov, Grigoris brother, was involved
  along with a number of other guards
• Historians believe that Catherine had nothing to
  do with the murder itself
• At the time the official cause of death was
  listed as hemorrhoidal colic but it is now
  believed to have been poison

69
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Once on the throne, Catherine was quick to reform
• Had been corresponding with the likes of Voltaire
  and Diderot
• However, she could not lose support of the
  nobility
• This was a huge error that many of her
  contemporaries
• Legal Reforms
• Called for the election of an Legislative
  Commission in 1767
• Purpose was to write a new legal code
• Catherine wrote Instruction as a guide for the
  deliberations
• Ideas based on the philosophes
• Called for all people were to be equal under the
  law
• She disapproved of death penalty and torture
• Questioned serfdom but was not able to give a
  specific fix to it
• Commission failed to put anything into practice

70
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Reorganization of the government
• Divided Russia into 50 provinces and numerous
  districts
• Officials would be selected by the local nobility
• Allowed the nobility to become involved in
  running the government
• Charter of the Nobility (1785)
• Established the nobility as a separate estate in
  Russian society
• Assured them certain privileges
• Peasants and serfs suffered with these
  pro-nobility policies
• From 1762-1769, more than fifty peasant revolts
  occurred
• Were unhappy with the increasing protection and
  responsibilities the nobility were getting

71
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• In 1767, serfs were no longer allowed to petition
  the state against their masters
• Pugachevs Rebellion (1774-1775)
• Led by a Cossack named Emelyan Pugachev
• Issued a manifesto in July 1774 which called for
  the freedom of all peasants from taxes and
  military service
• The peasants supported Pugachev
• Killed more than 1,500 estate owners and their
  families
• Pugachev was defeated and executed

72
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Catherine responded with harsher treatment of
  peasants
• She ended all rural reforms
• Serfdom was expanded into the newer parts of the
  empire
• Reorganized the government to prevent future
  revolts
• Powers were divided amongst different agencies
  and more provinces were created
• Expansion of the Russian empire
• Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) gave them a warm
  water port that had direct access to the Black
  Sea
• She also played an integral role in the
  partitions of Poland
• Russia received 50 of Polish territory

73

• Catherine on her horse

74
Enlightened Absolutism?

• Three main rulers associated with the
  Enlightenment
• Only Joseph II completely braced the ideas of the
  Enlightenment and attempted massive reforms
• Frederick and Catherine only put through modest
  reforms
• They were driven more by the necessities of the
  state than the ideas of the philosophes
• While the reforms were limited, they did make
  some positive changes
• Were successful at building a stronger state
• Amassed large armies to wage wars and gain more
  power
• Did reform the legal system reflecting some
  enlightened ideas
• Promoted religious toleration to some extent
• Expanded education

75

• Poland before the Partition Treaties

76
Partitions of Poland

• Poland
• At this time was the Commonwealth of
  Poland-Lithuania
• Became a victim because it did not have a strong
  monarchy
• Polish king was severely limited in his power
• He was elected by Polish nobles
• He had severe restrictions on his power
• Had little revenue, a small government, and was
  not allowed to keep a standing army of more than
  20,000
• Prevented the Polish monarch from becoming
  absolute
• At the same time left the country open to attack

77
Partitions of Poland

• Eyeing Poland
• Austria, Prussia, and Russia were all interested
  in the territory held by Poland
• Poland would come to be used as a negotiating
  point between the three to prevent warfare
• Treaty of the Three Black Eagles (1730)
• Signed by Austria, Prussia, and Russia
• Written in response to the death of Augustus II
  of Poland
• The three countries wanted to make sure that the
  next Polish king was friendly to their interests

78
Partitions of Poland

• First Partition of Poland (1772)
• Organized after Russia became a threat to Austria
• A reorganization of borders was used to keep the
  peace
• Poland became a negotiation point
• Prussia got most of Poland between Brandenburg
  and Prussia
• Austria expanded into southern Poland taking
  Galicia
• Russia received parts of Livonia and Belarus
• With this, Poland lost 30 of its territory, 33
  of its population, and 80 of its foreign trade
• King Stanislaw August Poniatowski and the Polish
  Parliament were forced to approve the treaty

79

• First Partition Treaty (1772)

80
Partitions of Poland

• Constitution of 1791
• Issued by Poland on May 3, 1791
• Designed to make the Polish king stronger
• Europes first codified national constitution
• The neighbors of Poland were not happy with this
  constitution
• In May 1792, the big three invaded Poland
• War in Defense of the Constitution (1792)
• Poland was defeated and the Constitution
  nullified
• Second Partition Treaty (1793)
• This time only Prussia and Russia received
  territory
• The total land mass of Poland was reduced even
  further
• The population was now only 1/3 of the 1772
  population

81

• Second Partition Treaty (1793)

82
Partitions of Poland

• Kosciuszko Uprising (March 24-November 16, 1794)
• Led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko
• Attempted to free Poland and Lithuania from
  Russian dominance
• Were successful at first
• Could not stand up to the Russian army
• Third Partition Treaty (1795)
• The remaining territories of Poland were divided
  up between Russia, Prussia, and Austria
• This ended the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania

83

• Third Partition of Poland (1795)

84
England in the 18th Century

• Englands limited monarchy
• Increasing Parliamentary control at the expense
  of the king
• Kings ministers set policy and guided Parliament
• Parliament would levy taxes, make laws, and
  indirectly influence the kings ministers
• Parliament was controlled by the aristocracy
• House of Lords had the peers of the realm
• House of Commons had the landed gentry
• Both shared similar interests but were plagued by
  rivalries
• Monarchs were not powerless
• They would play upon these rivalries and gain the
  support of the aristocracy through the granting
  of titles, jobs, and land