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Explore the spread of Enlightenment ideas in France, the creation of the Encyclopedia, and the influence of Enlightened Despots like Frederick the Great, Joseph II, and Catherine the Great.
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France • Made it illegal to criticize the Catholic Church or the government • Many philosophes landed in jail or were exiled
Encyclopedia • A large set of books created by Diderot • Many philosophes contributed articles and essays • The Encyclopedia as well as salons helped spread Enlightenment ideas to educated people all over Europe • Soon ideas were being spread to the growing middle class through newspapers, pamphlets, and political songs
Enlightened Despots • Monarchs who embraced the new ideas and made reforms that reflected the Enlightenment ideas • Supported the philosophes’ ideas, but had no intention of giving up any power
Enlightened Despots, cont. • Changes they made were motivated by two desires: • They wanted to make their own countries stronger • They wanted to make their own rule more effective
Frederick the Great • King of Prussia from 1740-1786 • Committed himself to reforming Prussia • Granted many religious freedoms, reduced censorship, improved education, reformed the justice system, and abolished the use of torture • Believed that serfdom was wrong, but did nothing to end it
“First servant of the state” Known most for his attitude on being king His goal was to serve and strengthen his country Frederick the Great, cont.
Joseph II • Ruled Austria from 1780-1790 • Most radical reformer • Introduced legal reforms, freedom of the press, and freedom of worship (even for Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews)
Abolished serfdom and ordered that peasants be paid for their labor with cash Nobles resisted the change This reform was undone after his death Joseph II, cont.
Ruled Russia from 1762-1796 Ruler most admired by the philosophes She ruled with absolute authority, but also sought to reform Russia Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great, cont. • Formed a commission to reform Russia’s laws • Based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria • Recommended allowing religious tolerance and abolishing torture and capital punishment • Commission did not accomplish any of these goals
Catherine the Great, cont. • She did little to improve the life of peasants, so there was a massive uprising of serfs • Very brutal • Catherine’s army crushed the rebellion • The uprising changed her views on the Enlightenment idea of abolishing serfdom • She ended up giving the nobles absolute power over the serfs
Her army won control of the north shore of the Black Sea Gained the right to send ships through Ottoman-controlled straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea Expanded her empire westward into Poland Catherine Expands Russia