3.

Enlightened reforms of Frederick the

Great
a. Frederick claimed that he saw
himself
as the first servant of the
state
The
destruction
of
war
encouraged Frederick to help
improve society
Yet, Frederick was an absolute
ruler
His reforms were mostly
intended to increase the power
of the state

b. Allowed religious toleration

(although
less so for Jews)
Jews did not receive full rights
until eight years after
Fredericks death
c. Promoted education in schools
and
universities
Gains in primary education were
modest
d. Codified and streamlined laws
e. Freed serfs on Crown lands
Peasants were needed for the
army
Serfdom remained on noble

f. Improved the state bureaucracy

by
requiring exams for civil
servants
g. Reduced censorship
h. Abolished capital punishment (but
not in the army)
i. Encouraged immigration
j. Encouraged industrial and
agricultural growth

4. Yet, Prussias social structure remained

stratified
a. Serfdom remained on non-crown
lands
b. The Junkers were the backbone of
the Prussian military and the state
The state did not recognize
marriages between nobles and
commoners.
Nobles were not allowed to sell
their lands to non-nobles.
c. Middle class had trouble
moving up

D. Catherine the Great (Catherine II) of

Russia (r. 1762-1798)
1. Background
a. One of the greatest rulers in
European history
Perhaps the least enlightened of
the Enlightened Despots
b. Conspired against
her husband Peter III
to gain the throne.
c. Lover of French culture
and saw herself as a child
of the Enlightenment
Diderot lived in her court briefly

2. Pugachev Rebellion (1773)

a. Eugene Pugachev, a Cossack
soldier,
led a huge serf uprising
Demanded an end to serfdom,
taxes, and military conscription
Landlords and officials were
murdered all over southwestern
Russia
Pugachev was
eventually captured
and executed

b. Catherine needed support of the

nobility and gave them absolute
control over serfs
Serfdom spread to new areas
(e.g. Ukraine)
1785, Catherine freed nobles
from taxes and state service
Confiscated Orthodox Church
lands and gave
them to her favorite
officials
Nobles reached their
height while serfs
were worse off

3. Catherine imported Western culture into

Russia
a. Architects, artists, musicians and
writers were invited to Russia
b. Culturally, Russia gained the respect
of
western European countries
4. Educational reforms
a. Supported the first private printing
presses
-- Number of books published
annually
in Russia increased
dramatically
b. A school for noble girls founded

5. Restricted the practice of torture

6. Allowed limited religious toleration
a. Stopped persecution of Old Believers
b. Jews granted civil equality
7. Strengthened local govt led by elective
councils of nobles
-- Yet, the crown not obligated to accept
recommendations from councils
8. Shortcomings of Catherines reforms
a. Only the state and nobility benefited
b. Serfdom became even more
severe

9. Territorial growth under Catherine

a. Annexed Polish territory through
three Partitions of Poland: 1772,
1793, 1795
-- Polands Diet was weak due to the
Liberum veto
b. Gained Ottoman land in the Crimea
controlled by Tartars.
c. Began conquest of the Caucasus
d. Expansion provided new lands with
which to give Russian nobles

Partitions of Poland: 1772-1795

D. Austria
1. Maria Theresa (r. 1740-1780)
a. Inherited the throne from
Charles VI
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713:
issued by Leopold
She was archduchess of
Austria and Queen of Hungary
and
Bohemia
Sought to improve
the condition of
her people through
absolute rule
Conservative and

b. War of Austrian Succession

As a female, she could not
assume the title of Holy Roman
Emperor
o This cast doubts on her
legitimacy as ruler of the
Habsburg empire
Though she lost Silesia, she
saved her leadership of the
empire
o Gained support of the
Hungarian nobility in defeating
Bohemian revolt and

c. Centralized control of the

Habsburg
Empire
Limited the power of the nobles
Reduced serfdom
Increased size of the empires
army
Improved the tax system
Reduced conflicts between
various provinces in the empire
Reduced torture in legal
proceedings

d. Brought the Catholic Church

under
state control
Reduced papal influence in
Austria
Taxed the Catholic church
Believed the Church and nobility
were the foundations of the
state
e. Promoted economic development
Hoped giving serfs freedom
would make them more
productive
Abolished guilds
Abolished internal tariffs

f. Maria Theresa is not considered

an
Enlightened Despot
despite numerous
reforms
She was not a fan of the
Enlightenment
Did not go as far as others in
allowing religious toleration
(although she allowed some
tolerance for Protestants)

2. Joseph II (r.1765-1790)
a. Co-regent with Maria Theresa
until 1780
b. Perhaps the greatest of the
Enlightened Despots but
also the
least effective
c. Major reforms
Abolished serfdom and feudal
dues
Freedom of religion
and civic rights to
Protestants and Jews
Reduced influence of
the Catholic church

 Freedom of the press (to

some degree)
Reformed the judicial system
and sought to make it equal
for all citizens
Abolished torture and death
penalty
Expanded state schools
Established hospitals, insane
asylums, poor houses and
orphanages

d. The Empire declined under

Josephs
reign
Austria was defeated several
times by the Ottoman Empire
The Austrian Netherlands
were in revolt
Russia was threatening
Austrias interests in
eastern Europe and
Balkans
Leopold II reversed
many reforms in order
to maintain effective
control of the empire