THE ENLIGHTENMENT The Philosophes - wanted to expose social problems and proposed reforms based on natural laws Main Ideas Reason thought reason was the absence of bigotry Nature & natural laws natural laws regulate the universe and human societies Happiness inalienable human right Progress they wanted to improve society it wasn t just about talk and explaining things Liberty intellectual freedom is a natural right Toleration questioned religious dogma wanted religious tolerance Deism idea that God set things in motion and then just let it be He is a cosmic watchmaker Many elites embraced deism Pietism about faith and emotion Voltaire Prince of the Philosophes Crush the Infamous Thing meaning religious dogma All about religious tolerance Montesquieu Spirit of the Laws Wanted to create a social science Advocated a government with separation of powers Diderot Encyclopedia disseminated Enlightenment thinking also undermined authority Rousseau In Emile, wrote about a natural education that was more child-centered Talked of the General Will sovereign power is with the general will of the community it is right and good for all Social Contract people had a social contract with each other (as opposed to Hobbes and Locke who thought they had a contract with the government) Was distrustful of science was more of an emotional thing for him French Physiocrats (physiocrats were about economic reform) Francis Quesnay proponent of laissez-faire no restrictions on trade Adam Smith Laissez faire Wealth of Nations Free markets no government interference Supply & demand self-regulate People are motivated by self-interest Invisible Hand of competition Comparison: Colbert (mercantilist in France) vs. Smith (free markets)
18 th Century Europe POLITICAL TRENDS Monarchies still prevalent Divine-right evolves into Enlightened Absolutism Aristocrats regain influence INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Great Powers: Britain France Austria Prussia Russia Lesser powers: Spain, Dutch, Poland (which will be broken up), Sweden, Ottomans WARS Fought more limited wars more about maneuvers and strategies than bloodbaths Were for specific territories and economic objectives not about religion 18 th century can be broken down into phases: PEACE & PROSPERITY 1715-1740 WAR 1740-1763 ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS 1763-1789 PEACE AND PROSPERITY 1715-1740 Britain o Leading commercial nation commercial strength mostly helped upper class gap between rich and poor actually widened o Helped by African slavery & Eastern European serfdom o Walpole first Prime Minister o Hanoverians spoke little English so relied on ministers 17 th century review: Elizabeth James of Scotland Charles I (had personal rule for 11 years until he needed $ to fight the Scots) English Revolution and Oliver Cromwell James II (Catholic guy who produced a male heir, which scared Protestants into the Glorious Revolution) replaced by William of Orange via Glorious Revolution English Bill of Rights in 1689 showed crown weakening Mary Anne goes to the Hanovers George I and II and during their tenure, ministers became more important) France o Louis XV (1715-1774) was weak and was controlled by his court and mistresses o Though France was prosperous, they were heavily in debt!
WAR Prussia vs. Austria in Central Europe Britain vs. France in North America, West Indies, India War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Austria vs. Prussia - Hapsburg s Maria Theresa was a female so couldn t be heir - Pragmatic Sanction gave her the right to inherit throne - Frederick the Great of Prussia ignored the sanction and took Silesia, which was heavily populated and also had a prosperous linen industry he was helped by France Britain vs. French - French allied with Prussia, British with Austria - French lost Canadian territory to Americans and took Madras in India from the British Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle o Prussia kept Silesia but England gave Canadian territory back to France and France gave Madras back to England Austria wanted Silesia back got France and Russia as allies and sent Marie Antoinette to marry Louis XVI England allied with Prussia to preserve the balance of power NOTICE THEY SWITCHED ALLIANCES but it was still England v. France and Austria v. Prussia! Seven Years War: 1756-1763 often called the first world war 1. Colonial War British beat French for Quebec, got French West Indies islands and French posts in India 2. in Europe Russia saves Prussia by dropping out of the war Treaty of Paris 1763 - British got French Canada and other NA land - France keeps Caribbean islands and some of India - Important takeaways: Prussia keeps Silesia and Britain strengthened her global empire LIFE AND CULTURE IN THE 18 TH CENTURY The Agricultural Revolution Traditional Production - Peasants lived in villages and farmed much of the land - Used an open-field system animals crazed on open lands, remaining land divided into strips but no hedges or fences and peasans would use two or three-field crop rotation Innovations - Low countries densely populated so they needed maximum yields from lands plus growing population meant then needed more farm products - So they started enclosing fields, continued crop rotation, used manure as fertilizer - Charles Turnip Townshend advocated continuous crop rotation using turnips, wheat, barley and clover - Jethro Tull invented a seed drill that allowed sowing crops in a straight row - Robert Bakwell pioneered selective breeding of livestock Enclosure movement - English landowners consolidated pasture lands into compact fields and enclosed them - This enabled them to rapidly implement these new innovations but forced many poor rural people to move to cities and work in factories
This enclosure movement was primarily in England and the low countries. Peasants in France and Germany resisted enclosure. POPULATION EXPLODES Limiting factors: period crop failures, epidemic diseases, war Promoting factors: ag revolution, potato, advances in transportation, less destructive wars, but NOT medical advances Statistics: - Population went from 120 million in 1700 to 190 million in 1800 - England went from 6 million in 1750 to 10 million in 1800 - France went from 18 million in 1715 to 26 million in 1789 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Before 1750: - Most young couples did not live in multi-generational households - Most married in mid-to-late twenties wanted to get land or a trade first - Parents and laws controlled marriage After 1750: - Growth of cottage industry increased income and helped young people become independent - As income rose, arranged marriages declined. - Increased mobility reduced parental and village controls. - Peasant women increasingly left home to work as servants Child Rearing - Because of high mortality rates, parents were reluctant to become attached to kids. - Rousseau encouraged parents to provide a warm and nurturing environment - Upper-middle-class parents began to place a greater emphasis on child rearing Increased life expectancy Lifespan of Europeans went from 25 to 35 New foods improved the diet Improved sanitation and beginning of the science of immunology decreased death rates but not until the very end of the century (1796 small pox vaccine) ART Rococo o Reached its peak during Louis XV (1715-1774) o Lighthearted and often frivolous scenes of nobels at play aristocratic life o Paintings featured light colored pastels o Architecture featured highly decorated interior ceilings o Leading artists: o Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera o Francois Boucher, Cupid a Captive o Jean-Honore Fragonard, the Swing Neoclassical Art o Supplanted Rococo during the 1780s o Key figures depicted as classical heroes o Classical virtues of self-sacrifice and devotion to the state o Emphasized the Greek ideals of restraint, simplicity, and symmetry o Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii
o o Jean-Antoine Houdon, Voltaire Seated Thomas Jefferson, Monticello Antoine Watteau Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii