Enlightened Despots: Where Absolutism meets the Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment movement was so widespread and influential that many of the most powerful monarchs of the day implemented enlightened reforms during their reigns. Some of these monarchs were truly enlightened while others fell short of the mark as concerns over the stability of the state overrode their desire to reform. Considered the most enlightened of all of these monarchs was Prussia's Frederick II (The Great). Frederick, while a talented military tactician, was also well educated in the disciplines of philosophy, history, music, and poetry. He corresponded frequently with French philosophers such as Voltaire. He claimed to be anti-Machiavellian (this point could be argued) promoting peaceful and enlightened rule. As you have seen in an earlier module, Frederick was involved in a series of 18th century wars, however, his domestic policies reflected a man of benevolence and education. Frederick was an absolute ruler (despot) who was personally involved, in great detail, in the administration of his government. He studied and implemented new methods of agriculture and manufacturing that were introduced during the period. While he did not entirely abolish serfdom, he did liberalize the system making life better for the peasants. As a believer in enlightened principles, he was sympathetic to the cause of the American Revolution and a great admirer of George Washington. Once the American colonists gained their independence, Frederick was one of the first sovereigns to conclude a commercial treaty with the United States. In true Prussian style, he increased the size and the efficiency of the military, writing books on the science of warfare. Frederick instituted a new codification of Prussian Law, the Code Fridericianus, which established a more equitable distribution of justice to all classes. His social reforms included patronizing the arts and sciences (he opened the Academy of Science), improving the elementary education system, he preferred French to German, as a musician he played the flute, and was a prolific writer (producing 30 volumes of works which were published in 1846 and 1857).

In Brandenburg-Prussia, state building was once again made possible through an alliance between the ruler and the nobles. The nobility saw that they could get serfs and consolidate their power on their lands, and the elector saw that he could build a strong state. The nobles created very efficient, profitable estates, and were known as Junkers. Learn more about Frederick William, and the other Prussian leaders in the activity below.

Let's Make Some Changes

Another pair of Enlightened despots were the Habsburgs, Joseph II of Austria who served as Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790, and his mother, Maria Theresa of Austria. He was also the Habsburg monarch from 1780 until his death and the brother of Marie Antoinette of France. His mother, the Empress Maria Theresa, inherited the throne of Austria from her grandfather, Charles V, Did you know? Pragmatic Sanction

Maria Theresa inherited the throne after her father’s death. and served as an absolute ruler. She made significant reforms while she served as monarch.

Strengthened Austria’s military and bureaucratic efficiency.
Unified the legal system.
Promoted education by establishing schools for students six through 12.
Promoted censorship, especially of Enlightenment thinkers such as Rousseau and Voltaire as well as works that went against the Catholic Church.
Tried to improve the life of the peasants including a reform of serfdom.
Promoted inoculation.
Created a unified legal system.

While Maria Theresa made many reforms for her country, she withdrew from court life when her husband, Francis I died. Her son, Joseph became the Holy Roman Emperor. Joseph was even more of an Enlightened Despot than his mother, which caused the two of them to disagree over further reforms. Once Maria Theresa died in 1780, Joseph was able to implement changes of his own with the purpose of making people happy.

Freed all the serfs, abolished the death penalty, and reformed the legal system.
Made education mandatory for all boys and girls.
Promoted religious toleration and challenged the Catholic Church.
Centralized the government.
Expanding the boundaries of the empire.

Joseph’s attempts at reform were bold but were often too aggressive and misconstrued.

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In your notes, respond to the following question.

What rulers were impacted by the Enlightenment and in what ways did it affect their rule?

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