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Chapter Summary 21.3 & 21.4 Enlightened Absolutism Textbook pgs. 408-412 Enlightenment thought influenced European politics in the eighteenth century. The philosophers believed in natural rights for all people. These rights included equality before the law; freedom of religious worship; freedom of speech; freedom of the press; and the rights to own property. Before this time, people in Europe generally did not have these rights. Rulers were all-powerful, and they controlled the lives of the people they ruled. For example, they often chose the religion of their people and excluded religions that they disliked. Many philosophers believed countries needed enlightened rulers to establish and protect people’s rights. Enlightened rulers must allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and of the press, and the rights of private property. They must help develop the arts, sciences, and education. Above all, enlightened rulers must obey the laws and apply them fairly to all subjects. Only strong monarchs could bring about the enlightened reforms that society needed. Philosophers called this Enlightened absolutism, which was a type of monarchy where rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while they kept their royal powers. The eighteenth-century monarchs were also concerned with balancing the power neighboring European countries. This idea meant that countries should have equal power in order to keep any one from dominating the others. Large armies were created for defense. However, the armies were often used to conquer new lands as well. Frederick II of Prussia said that the main reason for government was to increase territory. This idea led to major wars in Europe during the eighteenth century. The Seven Years War The Seven Years’ War started because of land struggles in Europe and quickly involved all the great European powers. France, Austria, and Russia were allied against Britain and Prussia. But, the Seven Years War was much larger than previous wars in Europe. Many believe that the Seven Years War was actually the first world war because France and Britain fought over control of colonies in North America and India. Both sides viewed colonial lands as an important source of wealth. Motivated by profit, France and Britain saw their colonies as important sources of raw materials and markets for their goods. For Great Britain, the income was even greater because its lands were more populated and provided tax revenue. So, it was particularly troublesome to Britain when it suffered severe defeats, at first. For example, American colonists like George Washington lost several battles to the French and Indians. But, when statesman William Pitt was put in charge of Britain’s war effort, things turned around. Pitt’s strategy included these factors: increasingly using Britain professional trained soldiers, providing their Prussian allies with large amounts of money, and using the British navy to defeat French ships and block the coastline so supplies could not reach the French colonies. This strategy proved successful in North America as every French fort fell, and it worked in India as all French trading posts were captured. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the war, giving control of North America and India to Great Britain, making it the undisputed world power. The war was very expensive however. Both France and Britain went into debt as a result. New heavier taxes in France and Britain led to many complaints from poorer citizens. The heavier taxes led American colonists to argue for “no taxation without representation.” In France, harsher taxes pushed many peasants into poverty. Food shortages, rising prices for food, and unemployment led to the near collapse of France’s national budget. The American Revolution Textbook pgs. 413-415 The Seven Years’ War cost Britain a lot of money. Britain also needed money to pay for an army to defend its colonies. British leaders wanted money from the American colonies for these costs. Parliament imposed a new tax on the colonies through the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required certain printed materials, such as legal documents and newspapers, to have a stamp on them. The colonists opposed the tax, often violently. Eventually, on July, 4 1776, the American colonies declared independence from the British Empire leading to American victory in the Revolutionary War. As a result of the American Revolution, the American colonies had overthrown British rule. Their experience with British rule had made them fear the power of a strong central government. They wrote a Constitution in which the national (or federal) government and the state governments share power. The organization of the federal government is based on the ideas of Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu. It has three branches, or parts: executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch has power to check, or limit, acts of the other branches. The new Congress quickly added 10 amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. Many of the rights in the American Bill of Rights came from the natural rights proposed by John Locke and the eighteenth-century philosophes. Many European intellectuals thought the American Revolution had put the principles of the Enlightenment into action. Inspired by the American Revolution, many citizens in France and other European countries began to push for natural rights and other changes their governments.