The Enlightened Despots: Europe's Dynamic Monarchies in the Eighteenth Century

1. Recent scholarship suggests that the enlightened despots of Europe • represent a new type of monarchy that emerged in the eighteenth century • were affected little by Enlightenment ideas • were more “enlightened” than “despotic” • relished the opportunity to implement the ideas of the philosophes • had absolutely nothing to do with the philosophes or their ideas

2. The reign of Louis the XV was marked by • great military victories and a growing empire • a return to fiscal and social stability • vigorous and vital leadership on the part of the king • mounting debt and higher taxes • increasing public support for the monarchy

3. The political system of Great Britain during the eighteenth century can be described as • absolutist, with power solely in the hands of the king • oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of a few aristocrats • unstable, with limited leadership in the seat of government • balanced, with the sharing of power between the crown and Parliament • democratic, with power solely in the hands of the Parliament

4. Between the end of the sixteenth century and the eighteenth century, the economic center of Europe • remained in the Mediterranean • was balanced between the states of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic • shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard • remained in the Atlantic seaboard • was land based

5. During his forty-six year reign, Frederick the Great of Prussia did not: • have the philosophe Voltaire tutor him at court • eliminate the use of torture except in cases of murder or treason • eliminate serfdom and restructure the Prussian class system • enlarge the army and use it in foreign policy disputes • make Prussia one of Europe’s great powers

6. Joseph II of Austria tried to demonstrate that philosophy was his lawmaker by • granting monopolies only to banks which hired people from all classes • permitting each part of his empire to speak its native tongue in court • letting Protestants worship freely in five cities of his kingdom • establishing the principle that all his subjects were equal before the law • imposing a system of tariffs and trade barriers

7. All rural reforms in Russia were halted and serfdom was expanded by • Peter the Great • Peter III • Catherine the Great • Ivan the Terrible • Alexander Romanov

8. Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned • Poland • Sweden • Serbia • the Balkans • Croatia

9. The War of the Austrian Succession was fought in all of the following locations except • India • North America • Prussia • Netherlands • China

10. The Seven Years’ War • saw Britain ally with Austria • was initiated by Russian incursions into Poland • saw much fighting in South America • led to the weakening of France • ended with Austria in control of Silesia

11. The most important factor in Europe’s dramatic eighteenth-century population growth was • a significant decline in the death rate • a doubling of the birth rate • improved diet • improved hygienic conditions • the elimination of smallpox and dysentery

12. In North America, the Seven Years’ War was known as the • War of Austrian Succession • Franco-British War • French and Indian War • Franco-Austrian War • Prussian and Indian War

13. Food production increased because of all of the following factors except • improvements in the climate • the availability of more farmland • better farming techniques • greater yield per acre • better and more livestock

14. The nature of European social organization in the eighteenth century can be best described as • based on new Enlightenment notions of equality • based on a person’s educational success • based on a person’s contributions to the social order • based on a person’s accumulation of wealth • founded on traditional “orders,” while Enlightenment thought sought to introduce reforms

15. By the end of the eighteenth century, • Rome was the largest city in Europe • the inhabitants of cities outnumbered rural residents • the urban poor resented the prosperity of agricultural regions • large cities offered educational and cultural opportunities • common folk held the bulk of political power in towns and cities