Ch. 10: Revolution and Enlightenment

1. Ch. 10: Revolution and Enlightenment 1550 - 1800

2. I. The Scientific RevolutionA. Background to the Revolution • Science in the Middle Ages was practiced by natural philosophers, who studied the works of Aristotle and a few other Latin authors to understand the world around them. Experimentation was limited to the practice of alchemy. • During the Renaissance, Europeans rediscovered texts in Greek by Ptolemy, Archimedes and Plato. These disagreed with Aristotle and broadened scientists’ perspectives. • The printing press, new optical instruments like the telescope and microscope, and practical engineering problems all encouraged new types of thought. • Classical texts on mathematics influenced the likes of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton. They believed that all of nature could be understood through math. Their work set the stage for the Age of Reason. An alchemist’s lab Sir Isaac Newton

3. I. The Scientific RevolutionB. A Revolution in Astronomy • Astronomy had always been an important field of study for European intellectuals. The movement and alignment of stars and planets was thought to have an affect on people’s destinies and the fates of nations. This belief is known as astrology, and it was taken very seriously by the elite. • The European understanding of the universe was based on the knowledge and observations of Classical astronomers. In the Age of Enlightenment, those notions were challenged by new measurements and mathematical proofs.

4. I. The Scientific RevolutionC. The Ptolemaic System • Ptolemy (AD 90-168) was the greatest astronomer of the Classical age. His ideas and written works were well known to natural philosophers of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. His calculations, in connection with the ideas of Aristotle and the worldview of early Christianity, produced the Ptolemaic, or geocentric, system. • In the Ptolemaic system, the Earth is believed to be stationary at the center of the universe. Around the Earth are ten clear crystal spheres, which rotate independently of one another. The sun, moon, planets and stars are attached to these spheres. • The outermost heavenly sphere was known as the “prime mover,” which moved on its own and gave motion to the inner spheres. Beyond the prime mover was heaven. In Ptolemy’s view, as adapted by Christian scholars, the Earth was the center and most important part of the universe. Even so, Man’s goal was to make his way to God beyond the universe. Ptolemy

5. I. The Scientific RevolutionPreview • Copernicus and Kepler • Galileo • Newton • Pgs. 295 - 297 Nicholas Copernicus Johannes Kepler Galileo Galilei Sir Isaac Newton

6. I. The Scientific RevolutionD. Copernicus and Kepler • The Polish-born mathematician Nicholas Copernicus (1473 – 1543) believed that the geocentric system was unnecessarily complicated. In his book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, he suggested that the motions of the planets and stars make more sense when viewed as a sun-centered, or heliocentric, system. • The Copernican heliocentric system held that the moon rotates around the Earth, the Earth rotates around the sun, and theEarth revolves on its axis every 24 hours. This explains why the sun appears to move from the Earth’s perspective. • The heliocentric theory was further supported by the observations of Johannes Kepler(1571 – 1630), a German mathematician. Kepler’s analysis of thousands of measurements showed that the planets did not follow circular orbits, but elliptical ones. This is known as Kepler’s First Law, and it explained all apparent inconsistencies in Copernicus’s model. Heliocentric model Kepler’s First Law

7. I. The Scientific RevolutionE. Galileo • The heliocentric model gained acceptance amongst scientists, but it posed further questions. An Italian astronomer named Galileo Galilei(1564 – 1642) attempted to answer some of these questions through observation. He was the first European scientist to look at the planets through a telescope. • Galileo’s observations of mountains on the moon and sunspots demonstrated that other celestial bodies were made of matter, just like the Earth. This refuted to Ptolemaic idea that the planets and stars were orbs of pure light. • Galileo’s ideas were much more widely read than those of Copernicus and Kepler, largely because his book, The Starry Messenger, was written for a general audience. Unfortunately for Galileo, this got the attention of the Catholic Church. • Copernican astronomy seemed to challenge the Christian concept of the universe and Man’s place in it. The Church, fearful of Galileo’s ideas and influence, forced him to recant. He spent the last ten years of his life under house arrest.

8. I. The Scientific RevolutionF. Newton • Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) was a latter-day Renaissance man. He was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, he developed and made his own optical instruments, he studied medicine and anatomy, and he was an acknowledged expert on the biblical Apocalypse. • Newton’s most important work, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (called the Principia), defines the laws of motion governing all objects. The universal law of gravitation states that all objects in the universe exert an attraction on one another, which is why the planets orbit around the more massive sun. All of Newton’s work is based on precise measurements and provable mathematical formulas. • Newton’s theorems demonstrated that the all motion in the universe could be explained by mathematical principles. This was the foundation for a new, mechanistic view of the world which would persist until the early twentieth century.

9. I. The Scientific RevolutionPreview • Breakthroughs in Medicine & Chemistry • Women & the Origins of Modern Science • Descartes and Reason • Pgs. 297 - 298

10. I. The Scientific RevolutionG. Breakthroughs in Medicine & Chemistry • Until the Renaissance, medicine had been based on the works of Galen, a Classical-era Greek physician. Galen’s understanding of anatomy and disease came from animal dissections. • Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564), a professor at the University of Padua, dissected human remains and wrote the book, On the Fabric of the Human Body. He corrected many of Galen’s errors through careful examination. • The circulatory system was described by William Harvey (1578 – 1657) in his work, On the Motion of the Heart and Blood. He showed that the same blood circulates throughout the body, and that the heart is the source of its motion. • The science of chemistry was pioneered by Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691), who conducted the first laboratory experiments. Boyle’s Law states that the volume of a gas is dependent on the pressure exerted on it. • Antoine Lavoisier (1743 – 1794) was the first chemist to try and organize the known elements by their properties. His efforts led to the Periodic Table.

11. I. The Scientific RevolutionH. Women & the Origins of Modern Science • Prominent women were also engaged in scientific endeavors in the seventeenth century. • Margaret Cavendish (1623 – 1673), an Englishwoman of noble birth, criticized the popular belief that science could make humanity the masters of nature. In one of her books, Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy, she stated: • “We have no power at all over natural causes and effects… for man is but a small part, his powers are but particular actions of Nature, and he cannot have a supreme and absolute power.” • In Germany, up to 14% of astronomers were women who had been trained at observatories by their husbands or fathers. One such woman, Maria Winkelmann(1670 – 1720), discovered comets and made original contributions to astronomy. When she applied for a position at the Berlin Academy, she was denied because she was a woman with no university degree. Margaret Cavendish Maria Winkelmann

12. I. The Scientific RevolutionI. Descartes and Reason • The new philosophy of European scientists of the seventeenth century is best exemplified by the French thinker Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650). • Descartes’ approach to understanding the universe was the axiom, “I think, therefore I am.” By this he meant that in order to study anything else, he must first recognize that he himself was real. • All other information was to be approached through doubt. He reasoned that the material world and everything in it could be doubted, so they must be very different from the mind, which could not be doubted. • Descartes’ notion that mind and matter were separate led scientists to deal with the material world as a subject of study independent from philosophy. • The application of reason to the study of matter is called rationalism, and Descartes is credited with its invention. “The Thinker” by Rodin

13. I. The Scientific RevolutionII. The EnlightenmentPreview • The Scientific Method • Path to the Enlightenment • Philosophes and their Ideas • Pgs. 299 - 302

14. I. The Scientific RevolutionHomework • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. Name the four great mathematicians who had a profound impact on astronomy. For each one, briefly summarize what he contributed. • 2. How did Vesalius and Harvey disprove many of Galen’s theories? • 3. What is the significance of Descartes’ principle of the separation of mind and matter?

15. I. The Scientific RevolutionJ. The Scientific Method • Scientists wanted to understand the physical world in a systematic manner. They wanted a way to organize information and guarantee that their findings were reliable. The resulting system is called the scientific method. • The scientific method was developed by Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), who was not really a scientist. Bacon suggested that, rather than rely on ancient authorities like Aristotle, scientists should employ inductive reasoning. • Inductive reasoning involves moving from the particular to the general, or from observed phenomena through experimentation toward general principles. • Bacon was not interested in pure science. He viewed scientific endeavor as a means to provide humanity with new technologies and capabilities. His ultimate goal was to “conquer nature in action.” Sir Francis Bacon

16. II. The EnlightenmentA. Path to the Enlightenment • The Scientific Revolution had a tremendous impact on the philosophers of the eighteenth century. The belief in reason as humanity’s greatest tool for progress was important to the Enlightenment movement. Enlightenment thinkers wrote a great deal about reason, as well as natural law, hope and progress. • Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727) was a major influence on the Enlightenment. His mechanistic universe led philosophers to believe that if they could discover the principles on which nature operated, then they could apply them to how society operated. • John Locke (1632 – 1704) also influenced the Enlightenment when, in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, he suggested that the mind was created by its experience and observation. This encouraged philosophers to believe that the environment could be changed so as to produce the perfect mind and therefore the perfect society. John Locke

17. II. The EnlightenmentB. Philosophes and Their Ideas • The important thinkers of the Enlightenment were of the middle and upper classes. They were authors, teachers, economists and social reformers. While they were not philosophers in the strictest sense, they were known by the French term “philosophes.” • The early influences of the Enlightenment were largely English, including Newton and Locke, but those who spread the movement were mostly French. They synthesized the ideas of the earlier generation into a social program and spread it to other parts of Europe. • The goal of the philosophe was to improve society through the application of reason and rational criticism. Over the course of a century, this agenda was pursued in different ways by different philosophes. They often disagreed with one another, and their ideas became more radical later in their era.

18. II. The EnlightenmentPreview • Montesquieu • Voltaire • Diderot • Pgs. 302 - 303

19. II. The EnlightenmentC. Montesquieu • Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755) studied the law. In his The Spirit of the Laws, he attempted to use the scientific method to determine which laws were natural, or universal. • Montesquieu’s investigation led him to identify three types of governments: • Republics, which work well for small groups of citizens • Despotism, which is ideal for large nations • Monarchies, which work best for mid-sized states, like England • Montesquieu identified the three branches of England’s government: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. These three branches maintain a separation of powers through the use of checks and balances. • Montesquieu’s analysis, when translated into English, became a principle founding document for the American Constitution.

20. II. The EnlightenmentD. Voltaire • Perhaps the most influential, and certainly the most prolific, thinker of the Enlightenment was Francois-Marie Arouet (1694 – 1778), known as Voltaire. He wrote hundreds of letters, essays, histories, plays and novels, including Candide. • Voltaire was an advocate of deism, a religious philosophy that was popular among eighteenth century intellectuals. Deists believe that the universe was created by a great mechanic, usually associated with God, who designed the laws of physics and matter. The universe operated along these guidelines in a mechanistic way without further involvement from God. • Voltaire was also a champion of religious toleration. He criticized religious persecution in France in his book, Treatise on Toleration in 1763. He was also known to be a critic of Christianity in general. Voltaire The deist universe

21. II. The EnlightenmentE. Diderot • Denis Diderot (1713 – 1784) attended the University of Paris. His original intent was to become a lawyer or enter the Church. Instead, he pursued a career as a freelance writer, much to his father’s disappointment. Writing allowed Diderot to study any subjects that appealed to him and learn whatever he could. • Diderot was passionate about knowledge for its own sake. His life’s work was the Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades, published between 1751 and 1772. The Encyclopedia had 28 volumes and included all the information Diderot and other contributors could collect. • Unlike a modern encyclopedia, Diderot’s work included articles that argued for a reform of the ancien regime. They attacked superstitions and supported religious toleration, they called for changes to the law and political practices. The Encyclopedia was especially popular amongst middle-class intellectuals like doctors, lawyers and the lower clergy. Denis Diderot Alchemy lab Cobbler’s tools

22. II. The EnlightenmentPreview • Toward a New Social Science • Economics • Beccaria and Justice • Pgs. 303 - 304

23. II. The EnlightenmentF. Toward a New Social Science • Newton’s idea of a mechanistic universe had led the philosophes to believe that all aspects of the world could be understood through underlying natural laws. • Intellectuals believed that human institutions were also subject to natural laws, and that these laws could be understood through scientific exploration. Once the laws were understood, they could be exploited to improve society for the betterment of all people. • The search for these universal laws led to the development of the social sciences, a set of academic disciplines that include economics and political science.

24. II. The EnlightenmentG. Economics • The first attempt to establish the universal laws of economics was made by a group of French philosophes called the Physiocrats. Led by Francois Quesnay (1694 – 1774) and Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727 – 1781), they reasoned that if everyone were free to follow their own self-interest, then all of society would benefit. • This idea, called laissez-faire (from the French phrase meaning “to let people do what they want”) economics, became popular in the late eighteenth century. Laissez-faire economics held that the government should not interfere via taxes or regulations. • The ideas of the Physiocrats were taken to a new level with the works of the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723 – 1790). In his Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that the government’s only role was to provide for an army, a police force, and expensive public works like roads and canals. Francois Quesnay Adam Smith

25. II. The EnlightenmentH. Beccaria and Justice • In the 1700s, nearly every European nation had a judicial system and a set of courts. The punishments handed down by these courts were often brutal, involving maiming and public execution. The reason for these harsh penalties was to deter future criminals, as the police were not adequately equipped to investigate crimes. • The philosophe CesareBeccaria(1738 – 1794) disagreed with the idea of capital punishment. In his 1764 book, On Crimes and Punishments, he argued that public executions did not prevent future crimes. Instead, displays of brutality simply made people more comfortable with brutality. • Beccaria’s essays on criminal justice represented a more practical and less theoretical approach than other leading authors, including Samuel von Pufendorf. He advocated the use of imprisonment for reform rather than punishment. Flaying CesareBeccaria

26. II. The EnlightenmentPreview • The Later Enlightenment • Rights of Women • Pgs. 304 - 305

27. II. The EnlightenmentHomework • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. What are the characteristics of the scientific method? • 2. What contributions did Isaac Newton and John Locke make to Enlightenment thought? • 3. What were the major contributions of Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot to the Enlightenment?

28. II. The EnlightenmentI. The Later Enlightenment • The latter stage of the Enlightenment began in the 1760s, with the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1717 – 1778). Rousseau spent the early years of his life working at various jobs in France and Italy. He was eventually brought into the company of the philosophes in Paris. • In Discourse on the Origins of the Inequalities of Man, Rousseau argued that people invent laws and government to protect their property, and that governments take away people’s rights in exchange for safety. • In The Social Contract, Rousseau suggests that a society agrees to abide by a set of rules, called a social contract. Those individuals who prefer to follow their own self-interest may be forced to follow the social contract, which benefits the “general will” and creates liberty for the entire community. Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract

29. II. The EnlightenmentI. The Later Enlightenment • In Emile, a novel, Rousseau makes the point that education should encourage children’s natural inclinations, no restrict them. This is in line with Rousseau’s belief that emotions, as well as reason, are necessary for the development of the human mind. Other philosophes had de-emphasized the role of emotions in favor of pure reason. • Rousseau’s personal attitudes paint him as something of a hypocrite. He sent his own children off to be raised in orphanages. He believed that women were fundamentally different than men, less accustomed to thought or work. In Rousseau’s personal view, women should be educated only in obedience and nurturing, so that they could be supportive wives and mothers. Nothing more was required of them. Frontispiece to Emile Death mask

30. Mary Wollstonecraft II. The EnlightenmentJ. Rights of Women • With few exceptions, European intellectuals had minimized the role of women for centuries. Women were regarded as inferior in intelligence and energy. This attitude made male domination of women possible, and justified it after the fact. By the early eighteenth century, female intellectuals were challenging this paradigm. • Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797) is known as the founder of the modern women’s rights movement. In her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, she identified two flaws in Enlightenment thinking: • On the one hand, philosophes had said that arbitrary political power was wrong. On the other hand, they said that women had to obey men. Wollstonecraft asserted that this was equally wrong. • The Enlightenment had been based on the supremacy of reason. Since women had reason to the same degree as men, then women should have equal rights and opportunities. Suffragettes

31. II. The EnlightenmentPreview • Social World of the Enlightenment • The Growth of Reading • The Salon • Religion in the Enlightenment • Pgs. 305 - 307

32. II. The EnlightenmentK. Social World of the Enlightenment • The Enlightenment was not entirely an aristocratic movement. Philosophes came from various social and economic backgrounds. Rousseau and Diderot, among others, were from lower-middle-class families. • While not all of the celebrated thinkers were from the aristocracy, the Enlightenment appealed most to the wealthier classes. The lower nobility and wealthy urban professionals made up the majority of the movement’s audience. • The urban poor and the peasantry had relatively little interest in the intellectual pursuits of the upper classes. Neither did they have much to gain from their ideas, at least not until the end of the eighteenth century. Fancy folks Vive la Revolicion!

33. II. The EnlightenmentL. The Growth of Reading • The publishing industry expanded dramatically during the 1700s. In France, the number of books published annually rose from 300 to 1,600 over 30 years. This was related to a profound change in reading habits. • Books had been written and published with small, specialized markets in mind. By the end of the eighteenth century, the lower-middle class were reading for pleasure and education. Women bought books at a much greater rate. This is how Enlightenment ideas spread throughout society. • The spread of available print media was not limited to books. Magazines became increasingly popular through the course of the 1700s. By 1780, 158 different magazines were published in London alone. • Daily newspapers appeared for the first time in 1701. They were cheap enough to appeal to the urban poor, and were often provided for free in coffeehouses.

34. II. The EnlightenmentM. The Salon • Among the aristocracy and urban wealthy classes, it became a common practice to hold gatherings of intellectuals in private houses. Artists, scientists, writers and other philosophes would gather in a large sitting room in the home of a wealthy patron and discuss the new ideas of the time. This practice came to be named after the room it occurred in: the salon. • The most fashionable salons began to attract the attention of politicians and aristocrats. The Paris home of Madame Marie-Therese de Geoffrin(1699 – 1777) became so well-known for its intellectual discussions that future kings of Sweden and Poland begged to be invited. This glamour helped popularize Enlightenment ideas. Mme. Geoffrin

35. II. The EnlightenmentN. Religion in the Enlightenment • While prominent philosophes became deists or atheists, this did not reflect the religious sentiment of Europe at the time. The majority of people were Christians, and many became more spiritual in this era. • The spiritual fervor of the early Protestant Reformation had dissipated by the eighteenth century. It was replaced by state-controlled churches that often lacked enthusiasm. This led to parishioners seeking spiritual depth in new movements. • The most influential of these new movements was Methodism, founded by John Wesley (1703 – 1791) in England. Wesley received a mystical revelation and spent the rest of his life preaching his “glad tidings” of salvation to the poor. • Methodist societies focused on good works and cooperation. Methodism stresses hard work and spiritual contentment, which are said to be more valuable than social or political equality. The Methodist Church therefore proved that spiritual satisfaction was still important in a world that emphasized reason. John Wesley Methodism

36. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentPreview • The Arts • Architecture and Art • Music • Literature • Pgs. 308 - 310

37. II. The EnlightenmentHomework • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. What is the concept of laissez-faire? Who came up with it? How did Adam Smith add to the idea? • 2. What were Rousseau’s basic themes as presented in The Social Contract and Emile? • 3. What are the central ideas of Methodism?

38. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentA. The Arts • The impact of the Enlightenment was not limited to philosophy and science. Ideas changed how artists approached their work as well. • While traditional forms persisted in some fields, such as portraiture, the eighteenth century saw the development of new techniques in painting, architecture, music and literature.

39. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentB. Architecture and Art • The monarchs of Europe built immense residences. These palaces exhibited Renaissance styles as much as Baroque. The combination created a new style: neoclassical. • The neoclassical style features religious and secular themes, bright colors, and extreme ornamentation. The Church of the Fourteen Saints and the Residence of Wurzburg, both by Balthasar Neumann (1689 – 1783), are prime examples of the style. • By the 1730s, a new style had replaced neoclassical. Called rococo, this trend featured graceful curves and soft colors to suggest a happy, bright mood. • Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684 – 1721) painted aristocrats enjoying pastoral entertainment. There is a sadness, suggesting the short-lived nature of pleasure. • Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696 – 1770) painted scenes full of enchantment and enthusiasm, like the ceiling of the Residence at Wurzburg. Church of the 14 Saints Ceiling of the Residence

40. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentC. Music • Some of the most profound music in history was composed in the eighteenth century. The four principle geniuses of the century are associated with the Baroque (Bach and Handel) and classical (Haydn and Mozart) music: • Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach spent his entire life in Germany. He was a notable organist and composer, most famous for his Mass in B Minor. • George Frederick Handel: Handel spent much of his career writing for the court of King George I of England. His Messiah appeals to nearly everyone, yet is a subtle masterpiece. • Franz Joseph Haydn: Haydn began his career writing court music in Hungary, but later composed popular pieces in England, including The Creationand The Seasons. • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart began his musical career at the age of four. He was never a financial success, but his operas (The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni) are among the greatest in history.

41. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentD. Literature • The novel continued to develop as a unique form of literature. As literacy spread to more social classes in the eighteenth century, the practice of reading for pleasure became common amongst the middle class. • The novel also became an opportunity for authors to make criticisms of the age they lived in. Characters came to represent the various classes and were used to ridicule the social order. • Henry Fielding (1707 – 1754), an English novelist, wrote about immoral characters who succeed through trickery and intellect. His most famous novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, is a comedy in which the protagonist makes a fool of the aristocracy and takes advantage of the London poor.

42. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentPreview • Enlightenment and Enlightened Absolutism • Prussia: Army and Bureaucracy • The Austrian Empire • Russia under Catherine the Great • Enlightened Absolutism? • Pgs. 310 - 312

43. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentE. Enlightenment & Enlightened Absolutism • Eighteenth century philosophes intended to reform society in a rational way. They believed in natural rights, and they believed that the state should protect these rights. Therefore, a truly enlightened government should guarantee the following: equality before the law; freedom of religious worship; a free press; the right of assembly; property ownership; and the pursuit of happiness. • Most philosophes believed that society should be governed by enlightened monarchs, who protected natural rights and fostered the arts and sciences. They should obey the laws and enforce them fairly. • For a long time, historians described the monarchies of eighteenth century Europe as examples of enlightened absolutism. By this, they meant that the rulers maintained their royal authority while attempting to support Enlightened philosophies. Phillip III of Spain

44. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentF. Prussia: Army and Bureaucracy • Prussia became a major power in Europe under the leadership of two eighteenth century kings, Frederick William I (1688 – 1740) and Frederick II the Great (1712 – 1786). They developed the Prussian state along two traditional lines: The bureaucracy and the army. • The Prussian bureaucracy was based on absolute loyalty to the monarch, and it stressed obedience and honor among its thousands of governmental workers. • By 1740, Prussia’s army was the fourth largest in Europe, even though the nation had only the thirteenth largest population. Officers came from among the Junkers, and also held a strong sense of loyalty to the monarch. • Frederick the Great was fond of Enlightenment ideas. He was acquainted with philosophes and he made progressive changes to the state, like abolishing torture, religious persecution, and censorship. However, he maintained serfdom and the medieval social structure.

45. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentG. The Austrian Empire • By the early 1700s, the Austrian Empire had become one of the most influential nations in Europe. Management of the empire was still a challenge, as it was composed of more than a dozen semi-autonomous states. Empress Maria Theresa (1717 – 1780) attempted to centralize authority and alleviate the conditions of the serfs, though she did not pursue Enlightened reforms. • Maria Theresa’s son, Emperor Joseph II (1741 – 1790), was a true Enlightened monarch. He abolished serfdom and the death penalty, established religious toleration and equality under the law. • Unfortunately, Joseph’s reforms were wholly unpopular. He was opposed by the aristocracy for freeing the serfs, the Catholic Church for imposing religious toleration, and the serfs for their loss of livelihood. The subsequent Austrian emperors had to undo all of Joseph’s work. Joseph II

46. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentH. Russia under Catherine the Great • Peter the Great’s death in 1725, there was a series of six weak czars who were all assassinated or removed by their guards. The last of these, Peter III (1728 – 1762), was succeeded by his German wife. She ruled Russia as Catherine II the Great (1729 – 1796). • Catherine was an intelligent and dynamic woman. She knew some of the philosophes and conversed with Diderot about his ideas for reforming Russian law. She did not implement them because she felt they would not work for the Russian people, especially the nobility. • Catherine’s policies favored the aristocracy, which made conditions worse for the peasants. A rebellion broke out in 1774, led by a Cossack named EmelyanPugachev. The rebellion was defeated, and Catherine instituted even harsher conditions for the serfs. • Under Catherine’s rule, Russia expanded to the Black Sea in the southwest and annexed roughly half of Poland. Catherine the Great

47. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentI. Enlightened Absolutism? • Of the three eastern European monarchs discussed, two of them (Frederick, Catherine) were more interested in maintaining the status quo than with meaningful Enlightened reform. They knew the philosophes and appreciated their ideas, but made little effort to implement them. • In fact, all three rulers were more concerned with maintaining power and increasing tax revenue than with Enlightened rule. While the philosophes argued that warfare was wasteful and ultimately self-destructive, the monarchs of Europe still competed with one another to build the biggest armies and wage costly wars against one another. • Kings and emperors became obsessed with the notion of a balance of power, where each nation would be prevented from becoming too powerful by the combined efforts of its neighbors. This balance often led to wars of conquest and precarious alliances.

48. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentPreview • War of the Austrian Succession • The Seven Years’ War • New Allies • The War in Europe • Pgs. 313 - 315

49. III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentJ. War of the Austrian Succession • The balance of power in Europe led to a global war in 1740. The War of the Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) was triggered when the emperor of Austria died and the throne passed to his daughter, Maria Theresa. Frederick the Great of Prussia saw a woman on the throne as a sign of weakness and invaded the Austrian territory of Silesia. • The system of alliances that guaranteed the balance of power meant that France declared war on Austria, while Great Britain declared war of France and Prussia. • Fighting took place on three continents: Prussia attacked in Silesia and France invaded the Netherlands; France captured Madras from the British in India; and Britain besieged the French fortress at Louisbourgin Canada. • In 1748, all parties were exhausted by fighting. They signed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which returned all captured territories to their original owners. Prussia refused to return Silesia to Austria, which set off another global war. Siege of Louisbourg Surrender of Madras

50. Empress Maria Theresa III. The Impact of the EnlightenmentK. The Seven Years’ War • The loss of Silesia was something that Maria Theresa could not accept. From the moment that Prussia refused to return the territory, the empress began planning a further war. • The Austrian army had been badly beaten during the War of the Austrian Succession and needed to be rebuilt. Maria Theresa spent eight years reorganizing her forces. • Even with a new army, the empress knew that she could not beat the combined forces of Prussia and France. She set about turning the French against their recent allies. Her success in this field has been called a “diplomatic revolution.” Hungarian grenadiers