December 1 st 2010 Enlightened Despotism Absolute ruler

December 1 st, 2010 Enlightened Despotism Absolute ruler + who ruled by Enlightenment Ideals

n. What’s Serfdom? n. What do you think enlightened leaders would think of Serfdom?

Frederick the Great (Frederick II) n (r. 1740 -1786) n 1 of the greatest rulers in German history n Son of Fredrick William I who gave him a strong military education

Wars of Frederick the Great

War of Austrian Succession (1740 -1748)

Cause n Frederick invaded & annexed Silesia, part of the Austrian Hapsburg empire

n. Frederick violated Austria’s Pragmatic Sanction (1713) whereby the Great Powers recognized that Charles VI’s daughter, Maria Theresa, would inherit the entire Hapsburg empire

End of the War Prussia efficiently defeated Austria n. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle –Prussia gained Silesia (& doubled Prussia’s population in the process) –Prussia was now recognized as 1 of Europe’s “Great Powers”

Cause: Maria Teresa sought to regain Silesia from Prussia & gain Russia & France as allies. n. Goal of Austria, Russia & France was to conquer Prussia & divide its territories among the winners

“Diplomatic Revolution of 1756” n. France & Austria, traditional enemies, now allied against Prussia

n World war that also included England & France’s struggle for North America n Prussia outnumbered by its enemies 15 to 1 n 180 k Prussian’s dead & severe disruptions to its society n Prussia was on the verge of a catastrophic defeat

n. Russian Empress Elizabeth dies n. Russian Czar Peter III (an admirer of Frederick) pulled Russia out of the war in 1763 –Saved Prussia from almost certain defeat

n. Peter was assassinated & replaced by Catherine II as a result

n. Treaty of Paris (1763) –Most important peace treaty of the 18 th century & most important since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) –Prussia permanently retained Silesia –France lost all of its colonies in N. America to Great Britain

n Saw Enlightened Reforms himself as the “ 1 st servant of the state” – Duty: Make his people happy n The destruction of war encouraged Frederick to help improve society n Yet, Frederick was an absolute ruler

n. In reality, his reforms were mostly intended to increase the power of the state

n. Allowed religious freedom n. Promoted education in schools & universities

n. Codified (systemized) & Streamlined laws –Easier for all to understand –Judicial system became efficient in deciding cases quickly & impartially

n. Freed Serfs the serfs that were on the crown’s land. Why? –He needed peasants for his army n. Serfdom lands remained on the noble’s –But ordered nobles to end physical punishment of serfs

n. Improved state bureaucracy by requiring exams for civil servants (merit rather than privilege by birth) n. Reduced censorship

n. Abolished capital punishment –except in the army

Maria Theresa n 1740 -1780 n Hapsburg n Austria

n. Centralized control of the Habsburg Empire –Limited the power of the nobles §Reduced power of the lords over their serfs §Some serfs were partially freed

n. Did more to help the condition of serfs than any ruler in European history up to that time nonly her son, Joseph II, did more

n. Brought the Catholic Church in Austria under state control (continued by Joseph) –Sought to reduce pope’s influence in Austria

Why Many Do NOT consider Maria Theresa an Enlightened Despot n. Opposed religious toleration

Joseph II (r. 1780 -1790) His Mother was Maria Theresa

n. Perhaps the greatest of the “Enlightened Despots” in terms of reforms but in many ways was among the least effective

n. Deeply influenced by the Enlightenment & its emphasis on reforms

Major reforms

n. Abolished serfdom & feudal dues in 1781 n. Freedom of religion & civic rights to Protestants & Jews n. Allowed freedom of the press to a significant degree

n. Reformed the judicial system & sought to make it equal for all citizens n. Abolished torture & ended the death penalty

n. Expanded state schools n. Established hospitals, insane asylums, poorhouses & orphanages

Catherine the Great (r. 1762 -1796)

n One of greatest rulers in European history n As a reformer, perhaps the least “enlightened” of the Enlightened Despots

Pugachev Rebellion (1773)

n. Eugene Pugachev, a Cossack soldier, led a huge serf uprising. n. His cause was to end serfdom, taxes & army service.

n. Landlords & officials were murdered all over southwestern Russia.

n. Catherine needed support of nobility n. Gave them absolute control of serfs

n. Nobles control of serfs reached its height & serfs were worse off than before the rebellion

Catherine’s Achievements n. Imported western culture into Russia n Great relationship w/ the Philsophes

n. Education –The # of books published annually in Russia increased from a few dozen to about 400 during her reign n. Restricted the practice of torture