3
The Enlightenment Spreads
MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES
POWER AND AUTHORITY An “enlightened” problem- • salon • enlightened
Enlightenment ideas spread solving approach to government • baroque despot
through the Western world and and society prevails in modern • • Catherine
profoundly influenced the arts civilization today. neoclassical the Great
and government.
SETTI NG THE STAGE The philosophes’ views about society often got them
in trouble. In France it was illegal to criticize either the Catholic Church or the
gov-ernment. Many philosophes landed in jail or were exiled. Voltaire, for
example, experienced both punishments. Nevertheless, the Enlightenment
spread through-out Europe with the help of books, magazines, and word of
mouth. In time, Enlightenment ideas influenced everything from the artistic
world to the royal courts across the continent.
TAKING NOTES
Summarizing
A World of Ideas
Use a web In the 1700s, Paris was the cultural and intellectual capital of Europe.
diagram to list Young people from around Europe—and also from the Americas—came to
examples of study, phi-losophize, and enjoy the culture of the bustling city. The brightest
each concept
related to the
minds of the age gathered there. From their circles radiated the ideas of the
spread of Enlightenment.
ideas.
The buzz of Enlightenment ideas was most intense in the mansions of several
ar t and wealthy women of Paris. There, in their large drawing rooms, these hostesses
literature monarchy
held regular social gatherings called salons. At these events, philosophers, writers,
artists, scientists, and other great intellects met to discuss ideas.
Spread of
Enlightenment Ideas Diderot’s Encyclopedia The most influential of the salon hostesses in
Voltaire’s time was Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin (zhuh•frehn). She helped finance
circulation
the project of a leading philosophe named Denis Diderot (DEE•duh•ROH).
of ideas Diderot created a large set of books to which many leading scholars of Europe
contributed articles and essays. He called it Encyclopedia and began
publishing the first volumes in 1751.
The Enlightenment views expressed in the articles soon angered both the
French government and the Catholic Church. Their censors banned the
work. They said it undermined royal authority, encouraged a spirit of revolt,
and fos-tered “moral corruption, irreligion, and unbelief.” Nonetheless,
Diderot contin-ued publishing his Encyclopedia.
The salons and the Encyclopedia helped spread Enlightenment ideas to edu-
cated people all over Europe. Enlightenment ideas also eventually
spread through newspapers, pamphlets, and even political songs.
Enlightenment ideas about government and equality attracted the attention of a
growing literate mid-dle class, which could afford to buy many books and
support the work of artists.
636 Chapter 22
Cybercafés
These days, when people around the world
gather to explore new ideas and discuss
current events, many do so at Internet cafés.
These are coffee shops or restaurants that also
provide access to computers for a small fee.
While Internet cafés originated in the
United States, they are thought to be on the
decline in America as more people become
able to afford their own computers.
Overseas, however, Internet cafés continue
to boom. Observers estimate that some
200,000 operate in China. Most of them are
illegal. China’s Communist government has
little desire to give so many of its citizens
access to the kind of uncensored information
that the Internet provides. As was the case
with the Enlightenment, however, the spread
of new ideas is often too powerful to stop.
New Artistic Styles
The Enlightenment ideals of order and reason were reflected in the arts—music,
literature, painting, and architecture.
Neoclassical Style Emerges European art of the 1600s and early 1700s had been
dominated by the style called baroque, which was characterized by a grand,
ornate design. Baroque styles could be seen in elaborate palaces such as
Versailles (see page 600) and in numerous paintings.
Under the influence of the Enlightenment, styles began to change. Artists and
architects worked in a simple and elegant style that borrowed ideas and
themes from classical Greece and Rome. The artistic style of the late 1700s is
therefore called ne oclassical (“new classical”).
Changes in Music and Literature Music styles also changed to reflect
Enlightenment ideals. The music scene in Europe had been dominated by such
composers as Johann Sebastian Bach of Germany and George Friedrich Handel of
England. These artists wrote dramatic organ and choral music. During the
Enlightenment, a new, lighter, and more elegant style of music known as
classical emerged. Three composers in Vienna, Austria, rank among the greatest
figures of the classical period in music. They were Franz Joseph Haydn,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Writers in the 18th century also developed new styles and forms of literature.
A number of European authors began writing novels, which are lengthy works of
prose fiction. Their works had carefully crafted plots, used suspense, and explored
charac-ters’ thoughts and feelings. These books were popular with a wide middle-
class audi-ence, who liked the entertaining stories written in everyday
language. Writers, including many women, turned out a flood of popular novels in
the 1700s.
Samuel Richardson’s Pamela is often considered the first true English novel.
It tells the story of a young servant girl who refuses the advances of her
master. Another English masterpiece, Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding, tells the
story of an orphan who travels all over England to win the hand of his lady.
Enlightenment and Revolution 637
Enlightenment and Monarchy
From the salons, artists’ studios, and concert halls of Europe, the Enlightenment
spirit also swept through Europe’s royal courts. Many philosophes,
including Voltaire, believed that the best form of government was a monarchy in
which the ruler respected the people’s rights. The philosophes tried to convince
monarchs to rule justly. Some monarchs embraced the new ideas and made
reforms that reflected the Enlightenment spirit. They became known as
enlightened despots. Despot means “absolute ruler.”
The enlightened despots supported the philosophes’ ideas. But they also had
no intention of giving up any power. The changes they made were motivated by
two desires: they wanted to make their countries stronger and their own rule more
effec-tive. The foremost of Europe’s enlightened despots were Frederick II of Analyzing
Prussia, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine the Great of Motives Why
Russia. did the
enlightened
Frederick the Great Frederick II, the king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, com- despots
mitted himself to reforming Prussia. He granted many religious freedoms, reduced undertake
censorship, and improved education. He also reformed the justice system and reforms?
abol-ished the use of torture. However, Frederick’s changes only went so far. For
exam-ple, he believed that serfdom was wrong, but he did nothing to end it
since he needed the support of wealthy landowners. As a result, he never tried to Vocabulary
Serfdom was
change
a sys-tem in
the existing social order. which peas-
Perhaps Frederick’s most important contribution was his attitude ants were
toward being king. He called himself “the first servant of the state.” From forced to live
the begin-ning of his reign, he made it clear that his goal was to serve and and work on
a
strengthen landowner’s
his country. This attitude was clearly one that appealed to the philosophes. estate.
Joseph II The most radical royal reformer was Joseph II of Austria. The
son and successor of Maria Theresa, Joseph II ruled Austria from 1780 to
1790. He introduced legal reforms and freedom of the press. He also sup-
ported freedom of worship, even for Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and
Jews. In his most radical reform, Joseph abolished serfdom and ordered that
peasants be paid for their labor with cash. Not surprisingly, the nobles firmly
resisted this change. Like many of Joseph’s reforms, it was undone after his death.
Joseph II
Catherine the Great The ruler most admired by the philosophes was Catherine
II, known as Catherine the Great. She ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796. The
well-educated empress read the works of philosophes, and she exchanged many
letters with Voltaire. She ruled with absolute authority but also sought to reform
Russia.
In 1767, Catherine formed a commission to review Russia’s laws. She
presented it with a brilliant proposal for reforms based on the ideas of
Montesquieu and Beccaria. Among other changes, she recommended allowing
religious toleration and abolishing torture and capital punishment. Her
commission, however, accom-plished none of these lofty goals.
Catherine eventually put in place limited reforms, but she did little to improve
the life of the Russian peasants. Her views about enlightened ideas changed after a
mas-sive uprising of serfs in 1773. With great brutality, Catherine’s army
crushed the
Changing Idea: Relationship Between Ruler and State
Old Idea am the state.”
The state and its citizens exist to serve the
monarch. As Louis XIV reportedly said, “I 638 Chapter 22
New Idea
The monarch exists to serve the state and
support citizens’ welfare. As Frederick the
Great said, a ruler is only “the first servant
of the state.”
rebellion. Catherine had previously favored an end to
serf-dom. However, the revolt convinced her that she
needed the nobles’ support to keep her throne. Therefore,
Synthesizing she gave the nobles absolute power over the serfs. As a
How result, Russian serfs lost their last traces of freedom.
accurately
Catherine Expands Russia Peter the Great, who ruled
does the
term Russia in the early 1700s, had fought for years to win a
enlightened port on the Baltic Sea. Likewise, Catherine sought access
despot to the Black Sea. In two wars with the Ottoman Turks, her
describe
armies finally won control of the northern shore of the
Catherine
the Great? Black Sea. Russia also gained the right to send ships
Explain. through Ottoman-controlled straits leading from the
Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
Catherine also expanded her empire westward into Catherine the Great
Poland. In Poland, the king was relatively weak, and 1729–1796
inde-pendent nobles held the most power. The three The daughter of a minor German
neighboring powers—Russia, Prussia, and Austria—each prince, Catherine was 15 when she
tried to assert their influence over the country. In 1772, was handed over to marry the Grand
Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne.
these land-hungry neighbors each took a piece of Poland
Peter was mentally unstable.
in what is called the First Partition of Poland. In further Catherine viewed her husband’s
partitions in 1793 and 1795, they grabbed up the rest of weakness as her chance for power.
Poland’s territory. With these partitions, Poland She made important friends among
disappeared as an independent country for more than a Russia’s army officers and became
known as the most intelligent and
century.
best-informed person at court. In
By the end of her remarkable reign, Catherine had vastly 1762, only months after her husband
enlarged the Russian empire. Meanwhile, as Russia was became czar, Catherine had him
becoming an international power, another great arrested and confined. Soon
power, Britain, faced a challenge from its North afterward, Peter conveniently died,
American colonies. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, probably by murder.
colonial leaders decided to do the unthinkable: break away
from their ruling country and found an independent
republic.
SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• salon • baroque • neoclassical • enlightened despot • Catherine the Great
USI NG YOU R NOTES MAIN I DEAS CRITICAL TH I N KI NG & WRITING
2. What are two generalizations 3. What were the defining aspects 6. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS What advantages did salons have
you could make about the of neoclassical art? over earlier forms of communication in spreading ideas?
spread of Enlightenment ideas? 4. What new form of 7. ANALYZING ISSUES In what way were the enlightened
literature emerged during despots less than true reformers? Cite specific examples
l iterature the 18th from the text.
a r t and
monarchy century and what were its main 8. MAKING INFERENCES How did the Encyclopedia project
characteristics? reflect the age of Enlightenment?
Spread o f 5. Why were several rulers in 18th 9. WRITING ACTIVITY POWER AND AUTHORITY
Enlightenment Ideas
century Europe known as Imagine you are a public relations consultant for an
enlightened despots? enlightened despot. Write a press release explaining
circulation why your client is “Most Enlightened Despot of the
o f ideas
1700s.”
INTERNET ACTIVITY
Use the Internet to find out more about a composer or writer INTERNET KEYWORDS
mentioned in this section. Then write a brief character sketch on that biography European Enlightenment
artist, focusing on interesting pieces of information about his or her
life.
Enlightenment and Revolution 639
