Download Joseph II, Emperor

Chapter 18
The Eighteenth Century: European States,
International Wars, and Social Change
Europe in 1763
Europe in 1763
1. In the Dutch Republic local and national affairs were dominated by the municipal oligarchies. When the burghers
(artisans, merchants, and shopkeepers) sought democratic reforms to open up the municipal councils, they were
crushed with the aid of Prussian troops. The old order was preserved.
2. In Brandenburg-Prussia the army and the bureaucracy became the backbone of the king and government. In both
instances, the nobility (Junkers) were utilized. The close bond between the nobility and the army translated into
the military's loyalty to the monarchy.
3. Austria was a sprawling empire of different nationalities, languages, religions, and cultures. These made
centralization very difficult. The loss of Silesia to Prussia in the War of Austrian Succession forced Empress
Maria Theresa (1740-1780) to prepare for the inevitable conflict in the future. One way to strengthen the power
of the state was to overhaul the administration and the armed forces. Begun during the war, it resulted in a more
bureaucratic and centralized government as well as a strengthened army. The later reforms of Joseph II (17801790) which reflected Enlightenment ideas, sought to further strengthen his state.
4. The eighteenth century in Spain was one of reform as a new ruling family, the French Bourbons, was initiated by
Philip V (1700-1746), though the War of the Spanish Succession had to be fought to confirm the king. New
ideas brought revitalization to Spanish institutions. With the loss of the Italian territories and the Netherlands by
the Treaty of Utrecht in the seventeenth century, the new Spanish Bourbons had fewer administrative problems
and less drain on precious economic resources than their predecessors.
5. In Russia, Peter the Great was succeeded by a series of incompetent leaders. This changed when the German
princess Catherine (1762-1796) succeeded her murdered husband Peter III in 1762. She may have wished to
emulate Joseph II of Austria but Catherine knew that the rule of Russia was dependant on the nobility. In
reorganizing government, she divided the state into fifty provinces which were further broken down into districts
ruled by noblemen. In 1785 the privileges of the nobility were confirmed by the Charter of the Nobility.
Catherine also gained considerable territory as a consequence of her war with the Turks (1769-1774) and the
partitions of Poland.
Question:
1. In what manner were governments altered in the eighteenth century to address the need for more centralized
power?
• The European States
– Enlightened Absolutism?
• Natural Rights
– Declaration of Independence (the U.S. a country founded on
Enlightened Ideals)
– Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (3 branches of government –
Checks & Balances)
– Rousseau and Voltaire (Social Contract & General Will; Enlightened
Despotism)
– The Atlantic Seaboard States
• France: Louis XV, 1715-1774
– 1743 decides to rule alone (w/o a Mazarin or Richelieu)
» Louis XV weak was greatly influenced by his mistresses – Madame de
Pompadour)
– Louis XVI, 1774-1792
» 20 years old when on the throne; he lacked the energy
&knowledge to run the state. His Wife, Marie Antoinette was no
help – Neither understood the depths of discontent among the
people.
Louis XVI &
Marie Antoinette
• Great Britain: King and Parliament
– United Kingdom of Great Britain came into existence in, 1707
– Ministers chosen by the king to make Policy and guide Parliament
– Hanoverians – George I, 1714-1727 and George II, 1727-1760
(Didn’t speak English so PM became very powerful)
» Robert Walpole, 1721-1742, prime minister
» Followed a peaceful foreign policy to avoid new land taxes
» POCKET BOROUGHS – “IN HIS POCKET” - aristocrats controlled who represented the
boroughs under their control. Less than 500 people actually voted. (pg. 519 -4th ed)
– John Wilkes - member of Parliament who publically criticized the king’s
ministers. He arrested, expelled from parliament & was not allowed to take his
seat when re-elected. “Wilkes & Liberty” – slogan for reform.
• Decline of the Dutch Republic
– Lost 2 wars to England (Anglo-Dutch Wars)
– Oligarchs, Regents, & the House of Orange, Stadholder & Executive – still ran the
country.
– Dutch Burghers – Patriots (made up of Artisans, merchants, shopkeepers) agitated for
democratic reforms.
» King of Prussia invaded to protect his sister the wife of the Orange Stadholder.
George I
George II
George III, who lost
the colonies
– Absolutism in Central and Eastern Europe
• Prussia: Army and Bureaucracy
– Frederick William I, 1713-1740
» General Directory -served as chief administrative agent of the central government,
supervising military, police, economic & financial affairs.
» Bureaucracy – Supreme values were obedience, honor, service to the king as the
highest duty.
» Junkers - Nobility or landed aristocracy – owned large estates w/ many serfs, played a
dominating role in the Prussian state – held a monopoly over the officer corps of the
Prussian army.
» Army- 4th largest, behind France, Russia, & Austria. Nobles as officers ensured a close
bond between the nobility & the army, in turn loyalty of the nobility to the absolute
monarch.
– Frederick (II) the Great, 1740-1786
» Law code (eliminated the use of torture except in treason & murder cases, granted a
limited freedom of speech & press, complete religious toleration)
» Maintains serfdom (Frederick depends on nobility so he kept serfdom)
» Expansion into Silesia caused the WAR OF AUSTRIAN
SUCCESSION
Maria Theresa, Empress
Joseph II, Emperor
– Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs
• Empress Maria Theresa, 1740-1780
– Loss of Silesia in War of the Austrian Succession, 1740-1748
– Shares throne with HER SON Joseph II, 1765-1780
• Joseph II, 1780-1790 (considered an “enlightened despot”)
– Reforms (see page 524) he issued 6,000 decrees & 11,000 new laws.
– Russia Under Catherine the Great, 1762-1796
• Reform – Instruction, 1767 (primary doc on pg. 525)
• Strengthens landholders at expense of serfs
• Rebellion of Emelyan Pugachev, 1773-1775 - long term it resulted in the lot
of the serfs to get worse.
• Territorial expansion - Catherine won wars against the Turks and was given 1/3 of
Poland.
– Destruction of Poland
• The failure to build a centralized state was disastrous for Poland
• Divided up between Russia, Prussia & Austria.
Catherine the
Great
Pugachev in jail
The Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland
1. In Poland not only was the king kept weak by the nobles but the army was quite small. Such
weakness invited trouble.
2. The partition of Poland between 1772 and 1795 was a result of the concerns of Frederick II
(1740-1786), the Great, who feared the consequences of the Russian military victory
against the Turks in 1769 which had resulted in significant gains in the Balkans. An
apprehensive Austria made it known that it opposed further Russian expansion because it
would upset the balance of power in the region. Frederick concurred and convinced Russia
to take Polish territory instead. At the same time, Austria and Prussia took slices out of
Poland. For Poland the loss represented thirty percent of its lands and half its population.
3. After the first partition, Russia exercised influence over Poland. Taking advantage of another
Russian-Turkish conflict in 1788, Poland established a brief independence. When the war
ended in 1792, Russia and Prussia took two more bites out of Poland.
4. In 1794-1795 a rebellion broke out in Poland against Russian interference. After the
insurrection was crushed, Austria, Prussia, and Russia finished carving up Poland and its
disappeared as a state.
Questions:
1. Why would Austria and Prussia be concerned about the growing expansion of Russia?
2. Why was Poland unable to stop its dismemberment?
3. Which state was the real winner in the carving up of Poland?
– The Mediterranean World
• Spain
– Bourbon rule and reform
» King Philip V (1700-1746); laws, administrative institutions 7 the
language of Castile were est. in all Spanish Kingdoms – making King of
Spain TRULY King of Spain
» Charles III (1759-1788); banished the Jesuits & stopped the Inquisition
• Portugal
– Under Marquis of Pombal’s ministry (1699-1782) he curtailed the role of
the church & Portugal was able to hang on to its empire. However, after his
dismissal Portugal fell back into decline.
• Italy dominated by Austria – As part of the Treaty of Utrecht –
Austria took Spain’s place in Italy
– Scandinavian States
• Sweden – Under Gustavus III (1771-1792) “Most enlightened monarchs of his age”
he
reasserted the power of the monarch – he was assassinated by nobles who wanted their
power back in 1792
• Denmark – Christian VII (1766-1808) attempted Enlightened Reforms.
– Enlightened Absolutism Revisited - Read pages 528 & 529
• Rarity and brevity
• Reality
• Wars and Diplomacy
– War of the Austrian Succession, 1740-1748
• Vulnerability of Maria Theresa (woman inherits the throne)
• Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748 (gave Silesia to Prussia – MT wanted it back
which leads to……)
– Seven Years’ War, 1756-1763
• Diplomatic Revolution – England joins Prussia to fight France, Austria & Russia
• European War Fred the Great wins the Battle of Rossbach – however Russians pushing in on
him --- he survives b/c of the death of the Empress Elizabeth and her idiot nephew becomes Czar
Peter III – he LOVED Freddy & ends the war. Army so angry w/ him – they overthrow him after 3
months & put his wife on the throne (Catherine the Great)
• Indian War - French & English fight over India – English win – French leave & set up house
in Southeast Asia (later becomes French Indochina)
• North American War (really! You have HEARD of the French & Indian
War)
– William Pitt the Elder – made the decision that English troops would
concentrate on North America rather than Europe
• British victory – Treaty of Paris, 1763 Made Great Britain the world’s
greatest colonial power.
The Seven Years’ War
The Seven Years' War
1. Paralleling
the growth of absolutist states was the expansion of armies and the willingness to use them. Between
1740 and 1780, the army of France grew from 190,000 to 300,000 men; Prussia from 83,000 to 200,000; Austria
from 108,000 to 282,000; and Russia from 130,000 to 290,000.
2. There were three areas of conflict in the Seven Years' War: Europe, North America, and India. In Europe, Prussia
and Britain faced Austria, France, and Russia. Although Prussia had early successes, it was gradually worn
down and was saved only when Russia withdrew from the conflict in 1762 due to the accession of Peter III
(1762) who admired Frederick the Great of Prussia and refused to fight him. The removal of Russia in
conjunction with the loss of the will to fight by Austria and France assured a stalemate that eventually forced
peace in 1763. Though Prussia had to relinquish some of the territory it had gained in the war, Austria
recognized Prussia's retention of Silesia.
3. The American phase of the war, called the French and Indian War, witnessed British victories on the Great Lakes
and the fall of Quebec in 1759 and Montreal the following year. As the key to French holdings in North
America, Quebec's capture sealed the fate of French Canada. A year earlier, Ft. Duquesne fell giving the British
control of the upper Ohio River. By 1762 the British also held the French sugar islands in the West Indies
(except Saint Dominique) and had captured Havana, Cuba, from France's ally Spain.
4. The war in India resulted in the defeat of the French by the British in 1757 and 1761. Nevertheless, the peace
permitted the French to retain footholds at Pondicherry and Chandernagore. The British victory had the effect
of forcing the French to refocus their eastern interests on Southeast Asia.
5. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 placed Canada and the French lands east of the Mississippi River in British hands.
France's ally Spain also had to cede Florida to the British but in return Britain recognized the cession of France's
Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi River to the Spanish.
6. The recognition of Prussian occupation of Silesia by the Treaty of Paris marked the continued growth of
Brandenburg-Prussia since its creation as a single state in 1688. First seized in 1740, Silesia added to Prussia
population, industry, and natural resources. Further expansion of Prussia came in 1772 when it acquired West
Prussia. At the same time, Prussia joined Austria and Russia in carving up Poland.
Questions:
1. How was the Seven Years’ War a continuation of the War of Austrian Succession?
2. For the future, what were the implications of the territorial settlements of the Treaty of Paris?
– European Armies and Warfare
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Professional armies
Class division in the armies
Size of armies
Use of tactics to preserve armies
• Economic Expansion and Social Change
– Growth of the European Population
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Falling death rate
Improvements in diet
Lack of hygiene
Outbreaks of disease
– Family, Marriage, and Birthrate Patterns
• Treatment of Children
– Impact of Rousseau’s, Emile
– Infanticide
– Foundling institutions
• Nuclear family
• Late marriages
• Family economy
– Agricultural Revolution
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Increased land under cultivation
Increased livestock
Jethro Tull (1674-1741)
Potato and maize
Enclosure
– New Methods of Finance and Industry
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National Banks
National debt
Investment in colonial trading companies
Textile and cottage industry
Mechanized production
– Flying shuttle
– Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), “water frame”
– Mechanized looms, 1780s
– Global Economy: Mercantile Empires and
Worldwide Trade
• Colonial Empire
– Portuguese and Spanish decline
– British and French growth
– British and French rivalry in the East
• Global Trade
– Slavery and sugar factories
• Social Order of the Eighteenth Century
– Peasants
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Domination by wealthy landowners
Obligations
Village as center of culture
Diet
– The Nobility
• Military service
• Country house
• The Grand Tour
– Educational purpose
– Inhabitants of Towns and Cities
• Urban oligarchy
• Emergent middle class
– Petty bourgeoisie
• Laborers
• Poverty (St. Vincent de Paul Society & the Sisters of
Charity)
British Country Estate