The Enlightenment was an 18th century intellectual movement that promoted reason and science over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Locke sought progress through reason and natural law. They influenced fields like economics, crime and punishment, and advocated for religious tolerance and women's rights. Enlightened monarchs attempted to rule based on Enlightenment principles, though with mixed success due to resistance from nobility. This period saw developments in philosophy, politics, science and the arts.

1. Enlightenment
1700 CE – 1790 CE

2. Path to Enlightenment
• The Enlightenment was an 18th- century philosophical
movement of intellectuals who based their ideas on the
achievements of the Scientific Revolution.
• Enlightenment philosophers wanted to make progress
toward a better society through reason, natural Voltaire
law, hope, and progress.
• Voltaire and John Locke were huge influences during the
Enlightenment. Voltaire sought religious tolerance for all
religions while John Locke sought to find natural laws that
governed human behavior that could be used to better
humanity.
• Locke argued that everyone was born with a tabula
rasa, or a blank slate, and we are shaped by our
experiences; if negative experiences could be
John Locke
eliminated, a good and just society would develop; he
believed if institutions would follow natural laws it would
produce an ideal society

3. Philosophes
 Intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known by the French name
philosophes, which means “philosopher.”
 The term included philosophers, writers, professors, journalists, economists, and social
reformers.
 They came chiefly from the nobility and middle classes.
 Most of the leaders of the Enlightenment were Frenchmen who were inspired by the
Englishmen of the Scientific Revolution
 To philosophes, the role of philosophy was to change the world.
 The purpose of philosophy is to improve humanity and make life better and happier
 Philosophes study humanity through reason or an appeal to facts
 Everything had to be open to rational criticism, including religion and politics
 Philosophes often disagreed, especially since the Enlightenment spanned almost a
century
 Each succeeding generation became more radical as it built on the contributions of the
previous one
 A few people dominated the philosophical landscape: Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot

4. Montesquieu
 Montesquieu came from French nobility
 He wrote The Spirit of the Laws, which was a study
of governments
 He tried to use the scientific method to find the natural laws
that govern the social and political relationships of human
beings
 He identified three basic kinds of government:
 Republics, for small states;
 Despotism, for large states;
 Monarchies, for moderately sized states
 He analyzed the separation of powers in the English
government, that functioned with checks and
balances so that no one branch of government was
more powerful than any other
 Montesquieus’s principles are found in the
U.S.Constitution

5. Voltaire
 Voltaire came from a prosperous middle class family
 He is considered the greatest figure of the
Enlightenment
 He wrote
pamphlets, novels, plays, letters, essays, and
histories
 He was well known for his criticism of Christianity
and his strong belief in religious tolerance.
 He published Treatise on Toleration, in which he
philosophized “all men are brothers under God.”
 Voltaire believed in deism, a belief that God created
the universe, but it was like a clock; once set in
motion, it runs without interference from God, and
runs according to natural laws

6. Diderot
 Diderot studied at the University of Paris, where
he wrote Encyclopedia, or Classified
Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades
 It was a 28-volume collection of knowledge, published
over twenty years
 The Encyclopedia was used in the fight against the old
French social order, and as a critique of religion
 Diderot worked to attack religious superstition
and supported religious toleration
 The Encyclopedia was used to spread
knowledge and the ideas of the Enlightenment

7. Social Sciences
 Economics – Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher, is considered one
of the founders of the social science economics, along with the French
physiocrats.
 The Physiocrats were interested in identifying the natural economic laws that
governed human society; they maintained that if individuals were free to
pursue their own economic self-interests, all society would ultimately
benefit
 The Physiocrats believed the State (government) should not interrupt the free play of
natural economic forces by imposing government regulation on the economy; the state
should leave the economy alone
 This doctrine is known as laissez-faire economics, meaning “let the people do what they want”
 Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, which supported the laissez-faire
doctrine that government should not interfere with the economy
 Smith believed the government had only three basic roles:
 Protecting society from invasion (army)
 Defending citizens from injustice (police)
 Keeping up certain public works, such as roads and canals

8. Crime & Punishment
 By the 18th century, most European states had developed a system of
courts to deal with the punishment of crime
 Punishments were often cruel and were meant to deter others from committing
crimes, partially because the state could not maintain a large police force to
ensure the capture of criminals
 Cesare Beccaria wrote On Crimes and Punishments, which
postulated that punishments should not be exercises in brutality
 He opposed capital punishment because he believed it did not stop others from
committing crimes
 He did not believe the state should commit murder: “Is it not absurd, that the
laws, which punish murder, should, in order to prevent murder, publicly commit
murder themselves?”

9. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 In the late 1760s, a new generation of philosophes came to maturity; most famous
among them was Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 Rousseau wrote Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of Mankind, in which he
argued that people had adopted laws and government in order to preserve their private
property, and in the process had become enslaved by the government
 He also wrote The Social Contract, where he presented the concept of the social
contract, in which an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will; individuals
who wish instead to follow their own self-interests were forced to abide by the general will:
 “This means nothing less than that they will be forced to be free:”
 Liberty is achieved by being forced to follow what is best for “the general will” and represents what’s
best for the entire community
 Rousseau also wrote about education and the need for education to foster children’s
natural instincts rather than restrict them
 Rousseau also believed that emotions, as well as reason, were important to human
development; he sought a balance between the heart and the mind, between emotions and
reason
 Rousseau believed women should be educated to be wives and mothers, by learning
obedience and the nurturing skills that would enable them to provide for their husbands
and children

10. Rights of Women
 Male philosophers for centuries had postulated that women were
inferior to men, which made male domination of women necessary
 Female philosophers in the 18th century began to express their ideas
about improving the conditions of women
 Mary Wollstonecraft wrote Vindication of the Rights of
Women, which identified two problems with the views of many
Enlightenment thinkers:
 The same people who argued that women must obey men also said
government based on the arbitrary power of the monarchs over their subjects
was wrong; she pointed out that the arbitrary power of men over women was
equally wrong
 She also argued that the Enlightenment was based on an ideal of reason in all
human beings; because women have reason, they are entitled to the same
rights as men
 Wollstonecraft believed women should have equal rights in education, as well

11. Social World of the Enlightenment
 Growth of Reading – Both publishing and the rate of literacy increased
during the Enlightenment; the amount of books being published per
year tripled in just under thirty years (from 1750 to 1780) and the
literacy rate increased, especially among the middle class; magazines
also began being published, along with daily newspapers
 Salons – Salons were elegant drawing rooms of the wealthy upper
class’s great urban houses; gatherings in salons brought
writers, artists, and the upper class together and helped to spread
Enlightenment ideas; women who hosted salons found themselves in a
position to sway political opinion and influence literary and artistic taste

12. Religion in the Enlightenment
 Although religion was attacked by philosophes throughout the
Enlightenment, most Europeans were still Christians
 The Catholic parish remained an important center of life for the entire
community
 Protestant churches had settled into well-established patterns and were often
controlled by state authorities; many Protestants sought a deeper religious
experience, which led to new religious movements
 The most famous new religious movement – the Methodists – was the work of John
Wesley, an Anglican minister who believed he had a mystical experience in which “the
gift of God’s grace” assured him of salvation
 He became a missionary among the English; his powerful sermons caused many to convert
to his cause; his converts joined Methodist societies which gave them a sense of purpose
and community
 Methodism appealed to the middle and lower classes;

13. Impact of the Enlightenment – The Arts
 Kings built grandiose palaces based on Louis XIV palace at Versailles
 Balthasar Neumann was considered one of the greatest architects of
the Enlightenment
 He designed the Church of the Fourteen Saints in Germany and The
Residence, a palace of the prince-bishop of Wurzburg
 Bright, light colors, fanciful decoration, and lavish ornamentation were hallmarks of the
Enlightenment period
 A new style developed, called Rococo, which was based on the
baroque and neoclassical styles that dominated the 17th century;
rococo emphasized grace, charm, and gentle actions – it made use of
delicate designs colored in gold with graceful curves
 Rococo is seen in music, architecture, and art like sculpture and
painting

14. Impact of Enlightenment - Music
 The 18th century was one of the
greatest periods in the history of
European music
 Johann Sebastian Bach and George
Frederick Handel were great composers Bach
from the first half of the 18th century;
 Bach – spent his entire life in Germany; he
is considered one of the greatest composers
of all time
 Handel – known best for his Messiah, he
was a German composer but spent much of
his career in England
 Mozart - a child prodigy, Mozart struggled
to find a patron to support him so he could
compose; he wrote throughout his life and is
known for three of the world’s greatest
operas, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Handel
Flute, and Don Giovanni.
Mozart

15. Enlightened Absolutism
 Enlightenment thought had an affect on the political life in European
states
 Philosophes believed in natural rights for all people, including equality before
the law, freedom of religious worship, freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and the right to assemble, hold property, and pursue happiness (sound
familiar ? It should!)
 Philosophes believed people needed to be governed by Enlightened
leaders, or those who allow religious tolerance, freedom of speech and
press, and the protection of private property
 A new type of monarchy emerged in the 18th century, which historians call
enlightened absolutism, where rulers tried to govern based on Enlightenment
principles
 The major monarchs of the period sometimes followed Enlightenment practices and
sometimes did not; we will examine Prussia, Austria, and Russia as examples

16. Prussia: Army & Bureaucracy
 Frederick William I and Frederick William II were two Prussian kings who helped
make Prussia a major European power in the 18th century
 Frederick I built a strong bureaucracy of civil service workers; the values of the
bureaucracy were obedience, honor, and service to the king
 Frederick I also built a huge army; he had the fourth largest army in Europe; because of its
size and its reputation as one of the best armies in Europe, it was the most important
institution in the state
 Members of the nobility were the officers of the army; they believed in duty, obedience, and sacrifice
and had a strong sense of service to the king
 Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great, was one of the best educated and
most cultured monarchs in the 18th century
 He was well-versed in the ideas of the Enlightenment (he invited Voltaire to his court to live
for several years)
 He enlarged the bureaucracy and the army
 He implemented some reforms based on the Enlightenment: he abolished the use of
torture except in murder or treason cases; he granted limited freedom of the speech and
press, and allowed greater religious toleration
 He kept the rigid social structure intact and avoided reforming the social structure, leaving serfs without
much protection

17. Austrian Empire
 Austria was difficult to rule because of its size; it was composed of
many different nationalities, languages, religions and cultures
 Empress Maria Theresa, who inherited the throne in 1740, worked to
centralize the empire and strengthen the power of the state
 Her son Joseph II believed in the need to sweep away anything that
stood in the path of reason; he believed Enlightenment Philosophy
should be used to rules the empire
 He abolished serfdom, eliminated the death penalty, established the principle of
equality of all before the law, and enacted religious reforms, including religious
toleration
 His reform program largely failed; he alienated the nobles when he freed the
serfs, he alienated the Catholic Church with his religious reforms;
 His successors undid nearly all of his reforms

18. Russia: Catherine the Great
 Peter the Great was followed by six weak successors; after the last of
these, Peter III was murdered, his German wife Catherine emerged as
the ruler of all the Russians
 Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796
 She studied Enlightenment principles and invited philosophers to her court
 She did not make any of the reforms suggested by philosophers, as she
needed to keep the Russian nobles happy in order to maintain their support
 She favored the Russian nobility, which made conditions worse for the Russian
peasants, which eventually led to rebellion; the rebellion soon collapsed, and
Catherine took stronger measures against the peasants; all rural reform was
halted and serfdom was expanded
 Catherine also expanded the Russian territory, gaining about 50% of Poland’s
territory and spreading southward to the Black Sea

19. Enlightened Absolutism
 18th century monarchs were concerned with power, strengthening the
state, and expanding territory
 They did not use Enlightenment ideals to rule (except Joseph II, who
had an unsuccessful attempt)
 Monarchs were concerned with the balance of power; the idea that
states should have equal power in order to prevent any one from
dominating the others
 They did not have a desire for peace – large armies were created to
defend state security, but were often used to conquer new lands

20. War of Austrian Succession
 The War of Austrian Succession was fought from 1740 to 1748
 The Austrian Emperor Charles VI did in 1740; he was succeeded by his
daughter Maria Theresa
 King Frederick II of Prussia took advantage of the succession and invaded
Austrian Silesia
 This caused France to enter the war against Austria, it’s traditional enemy
 Maria Theresa struck an alliance with Great Britain
 In Europe, Prussia seized Silesia while France occupied the Austrian
Netherlands
 In the Far East, France took Madras in India from the British
 In North America, the British captured the French fortress of Louisbourg at the entrance
of the St. Lawrence River
 The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle guaranteed the return of all occupied territories
except Silesia to their original owners; Prussia and Austria still fought over
Silesia

21. Europe in 1795

22. Seven Year’s War
 Maria Theresa refused to accept the loss of Silesia to the Prussians
 She rebuilt her army while working to separate France from Prussia (they were strong
allies)
 In 1756, she achieved a diplomatic revolution, in which France abandoned Prussia
and allied with Austria, Russia also joined this alliance
 This led to another worldwide war that had three major theaters: Europe, India, and North
America
 In Europe, the British and Prussians fought the Austrians, Russians, and French
 Frederick II of Prussia’s armies were able to hold out for awhile, but facing attack from three
directions, it was difficult to maintain his armies and he was gradually worn down
 Russia’s Peter III withdrew his troops from the conflict and gave back the lands the Russians occupied;
this led to a stalemate and the desire for peace; the war ended in 1763
 In India, Britain and France struggled over territory, but the British won out
 In North America, the French and British fought over territory; French North America
(Canada and Louisiana) were large trading areas with high value
 The British & French fought over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Ohio River Valley; the
French had the support of the Indians and scored several victories at first
 The British were able to defeat the French through their use of their strong navy; the French
were unable to reinforce their garrisons and forts, which led to British victories throughout the
French territory