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
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