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THE ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS
Notes
I RUSSIA: CATHERINE THE GREAT 1762-1796
1. Probably the least “enlightened” of the Enlightened Despots. She
became Queen after the assassination of her husband, Peter III. An
assassination she plotted.
2. Supported the principles of the enlightenment.
a. Financed the encyclopedia and Diderot lived in her court for a
time.
b. Corresponded with Voltaire
c. Western architects, artists, musicians, and writers were invited to
Russia.
d. Culturally, Russia gained the respect of western European
countries.
3. REFORMS:
a. Education: Founded a school for noble girls.
b. Supported the first private printing presses. The number of books
published annually increased to approx. 400 compared to a few
dozen before her reign.
c. Restricted the practice of torture.
d. Allowed limited religious toleration
1) Stopped persecution of “Old Believer” (a conservative sect of
Orthodox Church)
2) Jews were granted civil equality.
e. Established a Legislative Commission of over five hundred to
propose reform in the legal system, 1767-68. Dismissed the
Commission following only a few of the recommendations
f. Strengthened local government led by elective councils of nobles.
4. FAILURES:
a. Condemned serfdom yet made it more severe than ever before.
Pugachev’s Rebellion 1773: Huge serf uprising led by
Eugene Pugachev.
a) Demanded an end to serfdom, taxes, and army service.
b) Landlords and officials were murdered all over
southwestern Russia.
c) The rebellion was brutally crushed and Pugachev executed
b. Caherine needed the support of the nobility and gave them
absolute control of serfs. Nobles reached their height of power
while serfs were worse off than ever before.
1) Extended serfdom into new areas including the Ukraine.
2) In 1785 she freed the nobles forever from taxes and state
service.
3) Nobles could give arbitrary punishments, even death, for
offenses.
4) Confiscated lands of the Russian Orthodox Church and gave
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them to favorite officials. Only nobles could own land
c. Considered a constitution yet never seriously pursued the idea.
5. Economics
a. Continued the development of Russian trade resources based on
the model of Peter the Great
b. Reduced internal barriers to trade within Russia
c. Increased Russian exports of flax, furs, grain, and naval stores
6. Wars
a. War with the Ottoman Empire, 1769-1774 and again 17871792
1) Russia gained the entire north Black Sea coastline.
2) The Crimea was annexed by Russia in 1783
3) Russia gained the right to use the Turkish Straits (the
Bosporus and the Dardanelles) for access to the
Mediterranean Sea
4) The Russian Czar was recognized as the protector of the
Orthodox Christians under Turkish rule, a pretext for later
Russian intervention in the Ottoman Empire
b. Russia gained eastern Poland in the partitions of Poland with
Prussia and Austria in 1772, 1793, and 1795.
II PRUSSIA:
FREDERICK THE GREAT 1740-1786
1. One of the greatest rulers in German history. He was a poet and
musician besides being one of the great military leaders. Frederick
saw himself as “the first servant of the state.”
2. Profoundly influenced by the enlightenment.
a. He was a patron of Voltaire and they corresponded regularly and
Voltaire lived at Frederick’s court for a time.
b. Considered French learning superior.
3. REFORMS: Most reforms were intended to increase the power of
the state.
a. Allowed religious freedom for all except Jews.
b. Promoted education in schools and universities.
c. Streamlined laws creating a clear unified national code of laws
1) Judicial system became efficient in deciding cases quickly and
impartially.
2) Abuses by judicial magistrates were stopped.
d. Freed the serfs on crown lands in 1763 and ordered an end to
physical punishment of serfs by their lords.
e. Improved state bureaucracy by requiring examinations for civil
servants.
f. Reduced censorship of the press.
g. Abolished torture and capital punishment, except in the army.
4. FAILURES:
a. Serfdom remained in full force on the noble’s estates.
b. Allowed the Junkers to dominate the army and major government
position.
1) The state didn’t recognize marriages between nobles and
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commoners.
2) Nobles could not sell their lands to non-nobles.
c. Social structure was heavily stratified.
1) Middle class found it extremely difficult to move up socially
2) Civilian bureaucrats were not permitted to enter the nobility
(nobles of the robe)
3) In the judicial system 2/3 of judges were non-nobles.
5. Economics: Reconstructed agriculture and industry.
6. Wars: The first 23 years of Frederick’s reign were dominated by
wars.
a. War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748
1) Frederick seized Silesia and defeated Austria.
2) Treaty of Aix la Chapelle: Prussia gained Silesia and “Great
Power” status.
b. Diplomatic Revolution of 1756:
1) France and Austria, traditional enemies, ally with Russia
against Prussia.
2) England, a traditional ally of Russia, allies with Prussia
c. Seven Years War 1756-1763
1) Maria Theresa wants Silesia back while Frederick wants to
add Saxony
2) Prussia outnumbered 15 to 1 and suffers 180,00 dead. Berlin
was twice captured by the Russians and partially destroyed.
3) Prussia was on the verge of catastrophic defeat when Peter III
withdrew from the war.
4) Treaty of Paris 1763: Was the most important treaty of the
18th century and most important since the Treaty of
Westphalia (1648)
III AUSTRIA: MARIA THERESA 1740-1780
1. Maria Theresa was not an enlightened despot. She was not a fan
of the enlightenment although she lived during the period.
2. REFORMS:
a. Centralized control of the Hapsburg Empire.
1) Limited the power of the nobles by limiting their control over
the serfs.
2) Feudal dues by peasants were reduced or eliminated.
3) Nobles were taxed.
b. Maria Theresa did more to help the condition of serfs than any
ruler in European history up to that time. This was in response to
terrible famine and disease of the 1770s
c. Improved and increased the army from 30,000 to 100,000.
d. Created a new bureaucracy by appointing new local officials and
reorganizing the central ministries. The new bureaucracy helped
her collect taxes
e. Improved the tax system.
f. Reduced the use of torture in legal proceedings.
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g. Reduced conflicts between provinces within the empire.
h. Brought the Catholic Church under state control.
1) Suppressed the Jesuits.
2) Taxed the church
i. She granted limited religious toleration of Protestants.
3. Economics:
a. Promoted economic development
b. Abolished the guilds.
c. Abolished internal customs duties.
d. Encouraged immigration.
e. Improved transportation: Road and ports.
f. Supported private enterprise.
4. Wars:
a. War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748
1) Maria Theresa demonstrated her ability to rule during this
conflict.
2) War ended with Austria showing the power to withstand the
Prussian army.
3) Prussia was allowed to keep Silesia
b. Diplomatic Revolution of 1756:
1) France and Austria, traditional enemies, ally with Russia
against Prussia.
2) England, a traditional ally of Russia, allies with Prussia
c. Seven Years War 1756-1763
1) Maria Theresa wanted Silesia back to prevent Frederick from
taking Saxony.
2) Austria army helped beat Prussia and bring it to the verge of
total defeat.
d. Austria gained Galacia from the first partition of Poland 1772.
e. Faced a rebellion by the Czech nobles in Bohemia, and the
Hungarian nobles were ready to follow suit. Crushed the Czechs
and was forced to promise the Hungarians autonomy (w/in
empire).
IV AUSTRIA: JOSEPH II 1765-1790
1. Joseph II was Maria Theresa’s son and tried to govern in the spirit of
enlightened despotism.
2. REFORMS:
a. Reform of government
1) Eliminated many internal tariffs to encouraged trade within
Austria.
2) Used royal funds and tax concessions to encourage road
building and improvements in river transportation.
b. Abolished serfdom in Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, and
Transylvania.
1) Abolished the robot, the law that obligated the peasants to
perform services for the landed nobility.
2) Replaced the robot with a tax which went in part to the
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nobility for compensation and in part to the state to increase
revenue.
c. Granted complete religious toleration to all Christians and
removed many restrictions upon Jews.
d. Expanded state schools and promoted education.
e. Reformed the judicial system to make it equal to all citizens.
f. Abolished torture and capital punishment.
g. Established hospitals, insane asylums, poorhouses, and
orphanages.
3. FAILURES
a. Reforms of Joseph II brought turmoil and decline
b. Peasants rose up demanding full rights and opposed the robot
c. The nobility fought to keep its traditional privileges
d. The Catholic Church objected to restrictions on its powers and the
new religious toleration
e. The French Revolution began in 1789
1) Both monarch and nobility were frightened by the events in
France
2) Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, was Joseph’s sister.
3) Many of the émigrés who fled France led by the Count Artois,
brother of Louis XVI, went to Austria asking for assistance
4. Wars
a. Defeated by the Ottomans several times.
b. Austrian Netherlands staged a revolt.
c. Russia threatened Austrian interests in the Balkans
V AUSTRIA: LEOPOLD II 1790-1792
1. The French Revolution brought a halt to reform and a strong fear of
change
2. Most of the reforms of Joseph II were repealed or abandoned to
conciliate the nobility
a. Serfdom was re-imposed
b. The robot remained in effect in most Habsburg domains until
1848
c. The school system was abandoned
d. Religious toleration was withdrawn
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Notes