ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM
Enlightened despots believed that political change could best come from above; from the ruler. However, they were encouraged by the philosophers to make good laws to promote human happiness. How did these monarchs differ from earlier unenlightened monarchs of the past? The difference lay in tempo. These new despots acted abruptly and desired quicker results. They were impatient with all that stood in the way of their reforms. In addition, they justified their authority on the grounds of usefulness, not divine right. These new monarchs were rational and reformist and they regarded political change as possible and desirable. Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, and Joseph II are good examples of Enlightened Despots.Frederick II (Frederick the Great), the most famous Prussian absolute monarch and a military genius, pursued an aggressive foreign policy. In 1740 he seized from Austria the province of Silesia. His action culminated in a major European conflict, the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), in which he was pitted against a powerful Europea
His passion for military victory and his concern for his subjects provide the (almost) perfect example of the Enlightened Despot. The Empress Maria Theresa believed in the need for reform. On the death of Charles VI (1740), the Habsburg dominions passed to his twenty-three year old daughter Maria Theresa. In addition, she took the first steps toward the eventual abolition of serfdom by placing a ceiling on the amount of taxes and of labor service that the peasants could be compelled to render. In exchange for her promise of sovereignty within the Habsburg Empire, the Magyars offered her loyalty and the troops necessary to resist the invaders. Many of the philosophers, including Voltaire, felt progress could come faster if the government were directed by a reasonable, benevolent, enlightened despot, who would make his state's welfare his/her highest aim. She subjected the Roman Catholic Church to heavier taxes, confiscated monastic property, and expelled the Jesuits. He invaded Silesia and won solid victories. Frederick the Great was just such a man. Where Maria Theresa collected taxes from nobles, it wasn't equal. Catherine the Great was the German wife of Peter III. Frederick, aided only by England, barely managed to retain Silesia. Joseph II insisted on equality of taxation. She went to Hungary's Magyar nobles and appealed for support.
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