Enlightened Despots 12/2/2012 AP European History Also known as benevolent despotism‚ the form of government in which absolute monarchs pursued legal‚ social‚ and educational reforms inspired by the ideals and philosophy of the Enlightenment‚ enlightened despotism spread throughout Europe during the 18th century. Monarchs ruled with the intent of improving the lives of their subjects in order to strengthen or reinforce their authority. Implicit in this philosophy was that the sovereign knew the
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Assignment: 1 • Critically examine the main features of Enlightened Despotism in 18th century Prussia. The Enlightenment refers to an important cultural and intellectual movement of the 18th century‚ whose goal was to establish knowledge based on an enlightened rationality. Enlightened Absolutism or Enlightened Despotism as it is more often called can be defined as a form of government strongly influenced by the wide propagation of ideas and the political philosophy of the Enlightenment. It is
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Enlightened despotism originated during the European Enlightenment‚ basically meaning that a ruler should rule with the characteristics of the Enlightenment. The most dominant of these characteristics was humanism‚ a trait evident in rulers such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. These rulers‚ along with Napoleon Bonaparte‚ all worked toward the betterment of society‚ at times using their absolute rule to enforce this system of improvement. Napoleon is the classic example of such a ruler
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Montesquieu holds that there are three types of governments: republican governments‚ which can take either democratic or aristocratic forms; monarchies; and despotisms. Unlike‚ for instance‚ Aristotle‚ Montesquieu does not distinguish forms of government on the basis of the virtue of the sovereign. The distinction between monarchy and despotism‚ for instance‚ depends not on the virtue of the monarch‚ but on whether or not he governs "by fixed and established laws" (SL 2.1). Each form of government
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escape the control and influence of external forces. What we can do is demand certain level of freedom. Just because we cannot create an absolutely freedom to ourselves‚ that does not mean we have to exist and live within constricting bounds or with despotism. We have the right to ask for certain level of freedom which includes freedom of speech‚ expression‚ religion... We cannot ignore the claim that we have freedom but modify it to state “We possess limited amount of Freedom”. Stephen Covey quotes on
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and social advancement‚ an era of optimism and freedom unheard of in earlier times. The era of absolutism is seen as a time of mounting liberty that contributed to the rise of democracy in the Americas and elsewhere. In reality‚ the "Enlightened Despotism" of the absolutist leaders was more in keeping with the tyrannical rulers of the pre-reformation Holy Roman Empire than with the democratic republic of modern America. Three of the most prominent absolutist leaders were Catherine the Great of Russia
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Thesis The enlightened despots indicated a belief in the equality of men and natural rights. They thought the people should be able to prosper‚ yet these “enlightened rulers” ruled in a despotic fashion. They believed that they had absolute power and that they were the state. Their words went above everybody’s no matter what. In some kind of sense it was kind of like a parent to child relationship. The parent has the right to rule over the child to keep them in line. In the social order group
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Be aware: two similar questions asked on the AP “Napoleon I is sometimes called the greatest enlightened despot. Evaluate this assessment in terms of Napoleon I’s policies and accomplishments. Be sure to include a definition of enlightened despotism in your answer.”(1981 - #4) “Napoleon was a child of the Enlightenment.” Assess the validity of the statement. Use examples referring to specific aspects of the enlightenment and to Napoleon’s policies and attitudes (1992#5) I. Intro Napoleon
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and social advancement‚ an era of optimism and freedom unheard of in earlier times. The era of absolutism is seen as a time of mounting liberty that contributed to the rise of democracy in the Americas and elsewhere. In reality‚ the "Enlightened Despotism" of the absolutist leaders was more in keeping with the tyrannical rulers of the pre-reformation Holy Roman Empire than with the democratic republic of modern America. Three of the most prominent absolutist leaders were Catherine the Great of Russia
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Matt VanDerMeid FRQ 3 Louis the XIV was king of France from 1693 to 1715. He was an example of how to rule for many of the political leaders of the 18th century. An absolute ruler is defined by seven traits. Pacify and subjugate nobles‚ and centralize power around oneself. Another is to make both money and war. Dominate culture‚ make religion and finally build something worthy of your glory. Two Enlightened despots that took after Louis were Joseph II of Austria and Peter the Great‚ Czar
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