1. Enlightenment Ideas Spread 17.2

2. New Ideas Challenge Society • Enlightenment ideas quickly spread from France across the rest of Europe • People began to question established ideas such as class systems, divine right, and absolute monarchs. • This dissent towards the social norms of the time fought by governments and religions through restricting access to threatening ideas and information (censorship). • Philosophes and writers got around censorship by criticizing society by deeming their work as fiction. • Salons were informal social gatherings that allowed the upper and middle classes to discuss new ideas about art, religion, and society.

3. Arts & Literature Reflect New Ideas • During the 1600s and 1700s the arts evolved to keep up with changing tastes of society. • Louis XIV commissioned art to be produced in the huge, grand, and colorful baroque style. Religion and battles were often the themes of baroque artwork. • Louis XV preferred less gaudy artwork. The delicate and elegant style he chose was called rococo. The subject matter tended to focus on nobles and rural settings. • Composers created works in the classical format • Popular with the growing middle class. • The novel became popular due to it’s focus on present times and how easy it was to read • A favorite of the new middle class.

4. Enlightened Despots Embrace New Ideas • Enlightenment ideas were seen as a threat to absolute rule by some of European monarchs. • Some absolute rulers sought to bring about political and social change. These leaders were called enlightened despots. • Frederick the Great of Prussia • He perceived himself as a servant of the people . He outlawed torture, granted freedom of speech to the press, and practiced religious tolerance. • In the end his main focus was on attaining more power for himself. • Catherine the Great of Russia • She believed in the ideas of equality and freedom. • She also abolished torture, criticized serfdom, granted nobles a charter of guaranteed rights, and practiced religious toleration.

5. Enlightened Despots Embrace New Ideas • Maria Theresa of Austria • Although she ruled as an absolute monarch, Maria Theresa worked to improve life for peasants. • Her son Joseph II made more radical reforms and traveled in disguise to get a real look at society. He practiced religious tolerance, freedom of the press, and abolished serfdom. • Enlightenment ideas did not change life for most Europeans . The majority of the continent’s population were peasants living in the countryside, away from cities where these ideas thrived.