Flashcards
Enlightened Despots
Cards in this deck (5)
- 1Frederick the GreatFrederick the Great was influenced by Voltaire as he invited him to his court and asked for advice on how to be an enlightened ruler.
- 2Peter the GreatPeter the Great could not technically be considered an enlightened despot, but he tried to make Russia part of Europe after centuries of Mongolian domination and introduced his country to Western ideas in science, education, military training and industry.
- 3Catherine the GreatCatherine the Great was influenced by Montesquieu and Voltaire, reading their works and thanks to this she imported Western culture to Russia. She also codified and modified Russian law, sponsored the arts, created hospitals and undertook other public welfare projects.
- 4Maria TheresaMaria Theresa, it does not say by whom she was influenced, but she established a national army, limited the power of the Catholic Church, overhauled the tax system and bureaucracy and reduced the power of the Lord over his servants.
- 5Joseph IIJoseph II did not go for the ideas of the Enlightened Thinkers, he pushed the reforms of his mother Maria Theresa, abolished servitude, granted religious tolerance to Calvinists and Lutherans and removed many of the restrictions imposed on Jews, among other things.
