CHAPTER 18

Eighteenth Century –War and Change

What is Enlightened Absolutism? Enlightenment brought about ideas of

NATURAL RIGHTS- unchangeable privileges that shouldn’t be withheld from anyone Equality before the law Freedom of religion Freedom of speech and press Right to assemble, own property,

happiness ENLIGHTENED ABSOLUTISM-

monarchs rule while allowing natural rights to speech, religion, etc

France

Saw an economic revival as Enlightenment grew

Louis XIV left France with enormous debts

Louis XV was lazy and weak More inclined to spend time with

Madame de Pompadour Louis XVI (XV’s grandson)

married Marie Antoinette Not capable of fixing economy Marie denied as a wife and falls

into court intrigues

Great Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain -1707 England and Scotland United British refers to English and Scots

Parliament Makes laws, levies taxes, passes budget Dominated by landed aristocracy

PEERS – House of Lords Life position

LANDED GENTRY – House of Commons Voting varied widely, wealthy able to use patronage-

bribery to gain control of boroughs and counties

St George, EnglandSt Andrew, Scotland

Great BritainSt Patrick, Ireland

United Kingdom 1802

Great Britain

1714- Queen Anne, last Stuart ruler, died Crown offered to Protestant rulers of German state of

Hanover George I (1714-1727)

Didn’t speak English George II (1727-1760)

Had no familiarity with British system, chief ministers handled Parliament

William Pitt the Elder (PM) won Canada & India during 7 Years War

George III (1760-1820) Occasional bouts of insanity, replaced PM William Pitt the Elder

and angered the People and the Parliament after losing Americas

Decline of the Dutch

Economic Decline Infighting between regents and the

House of Orange Burghers – calling themselves Patriots-

wanted democratic reforms Prussian troops came to protect the

monarchs

Prussia- rise of army and bureaucracy

Frederick William I (1713-1740) General Directory

Supervised military, police, financial affairs Code: obedience, honor and service to the king Closely supervised by Frederick William

Strict class stratification Nobility & landed aristocracy “Junkers”

Still had large estates with serfs Junkers had monopoly on officer corps of army

Prussia- rise of army and bureaucracy

Army – 4th largest behind France, Russia, Austria Nobility as officers created a

close bond between two Prussia was an “army with a

country” Frederick II “the Great” (1740-

1786) Best educated & cultured

monarch Invited Voltaire to live at his court Single code of laws for territories No torture Limited freedom of speech,

press, religion Enlarged military further and

used it!

Catherine the Great

German princess Believed in

philosophes but knew she would alienate the nobility if she implemented reforms like Joseph II

Strengthened the landholding class at expense of serfs

Pugachev’s rebellion (1773-1774)

COSSACKS- independent tribes of warriors Volga valley and South RussiaPugachev betrayed by his own men, tortured and executed

Catherine responded by extending serfdom

Poland1772-1795

Polish king elected by nobles thus restricting his power

Instead of fighting with each other, Austria, Russia & Prussia divided Poland

After the heroic but failed Rebellion under Thaddeus Kosciuszko

Austria & the Habsburgs

Maria Theresa 10 surviving

children Divided Austria and

Bohemian lands into ten provinces, subdivided into districts Administered by

royal officers making more centralized government

Enlarged military

Austria & Habsburgs

Joseph II Driven by reason Abolished serfdom, gave serfs

hereditary rights, outlawed death penalty, equality before law

EVERYONE found issue with reforms Alienated nobility & church Serfs couldn’t understand new laws

“here lies Joseph II, who was unfortunate in everything he undertook”

Successors undid everything he accomplished

Prussia, Austria, Russia, Britain, and France dominate -

in what area were they most likely to compete for land and power?

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)

PRAGMATIC SANCTION – allowed Maria Theresa to take the Austrian throne

Frederick II of Prussia took advantage of Maria Theresa taking the throne by invading Silesia France entered to take

advantage of Austria’s weakness

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)

Maria Theresa allied with Great Britain

France took Madras in India from British, Brits took French forts in America

Peace Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returned all land but Silesia

Seven Years War (1756-1763)

Maria Theresa planned revenge by building her army and by separating Prussia from France (mean girls unite!)

1756- Habsburg v. Bourbon rivalry falls away Britain & France rivals over colonies Austria & Prussia hate each other France abandoned Prussia and joined Austria So did Russia Great Britain sided with Prussia

New War fought in Europe, India, and North America

7 Years War

GREAT BRITAINPRUSSIA

PORTUGAL

VERSUS

AUSTRIAFRANCERUSSIASPAIN

SWEDENSAXONY

7 Years War

GREAT BRITAINPRUSSIA

PORTUGAL

VERSUS

AUSTRIAFRANCERUSSIASPAIN

SWEDENSAXONY

War in Europe

British & Prussians vs. Austrians, Russians, French Frederick the Great able to

defeat Austria, Russia, France… But he was gradually worn down

from surrounding powers Tsarina Elizabeth of Russia died,

Peter III admired Frederick the Great and withdrew, ending the war

Peace of Hubertusburg 1763 All occupied territories returned Austria recognized they lost

Silesia

War in India

“Great War for the Empire” Robert Clive

(1725-1774) won the battle for the Madras

Treaty of Paris, 1763 French withdrew

and India remained under the British

“French and Indian War”

Two areas of contention Waterways of Gulf of Saint

Lawrence Forts of Louisbourg, Great Lakes,

Lake Champlain Ohio River Valley

French moved South from Quebec, North from Louisiana along Mississippi, cutting of British expansion

England felt they must destroy French colonial empire if they will grow concentrated on American theatre

“French and Indian War”

French had greater numbers

British won decisive naval battles

Treaty of Paris (1763) France ceded Canada

and lands East of Mississippi

Spain (France’s ally) gave up Florida

France gave Louisiana to Spain

Points for participation

European Life Seminar

How did armies change between 1740-1780?

French 190,000 300,000 Prussian 83,000 200,000 Austrian 108,000 282,000 Russian 130,000 290,000

What was the composition of the armies?

Officers from landed aristocracy Middle class not allowed in higher ranks Rank-and-file soldiers came from lower

classes Because peasants were needed in fields,

many hired soldiers from Switzerland and Germany

England didn’t have a standing army Britain and Dutch built up navies

Why didn’t bigger armies lead to more war?

Europe was less driven by ideology like during religious period

Ideological wars are more violent and destructive

Armies depended on tax money so monarchs were loathe to “spend” that investment

Costliness of war and technology created barriers

How did child-rearing change? Childhood began to be viewed as a

phase of human development Children dressed in more comfortable

cloths Primogeniture- treating son better – came

under attack Toys specifically for children appeared

Changes limited to nobility Infanticide and abandonment common in

lower classes

How did agriculture change? New plants replaced leaving fields fallow

Alfalfa, turnips, clover return nitrogen Jethro Tull invented a seed planter in

rows Potatoes and corn

Potato staple of the poor Large landowners enclosed old open

fields Led to demise of village farming, small

farmers became tenant farmers

How did finance change?

Public and private banks and acceptance of paper notes made expansion of credit possible Bank of England (1694) – made loans “banknotes” issued giving credit Government bonds paying interest created

notion of “national debt” outside of monarchy We can now raise more for militaries

How did Industry Change?

Cottage Industry- textiles were produced by “putting out” or “domestic” system where rural workers would work raw materials in their home

Cotton from slave labor increased production and led to innovation

Trade increased with new world