Western Civilization HIS 102

1
Western CivilizationHIS 102

• Europe on the Threshold of Modernity,
• 1715-1789

2

• There were several revolutions that took place
  during this time period, and not all involved
  violence and bloodshed
• The first was a revolution in thought in
  politics, economics, social justice, and religion
• It was the notion that human beings, using
  rational thinking, could understand nature and be
  able to transform society

3
The Enlightenment

• These ideas appealed to the public and also to
  some rulers
• This revolution in thought was called The
  Enlightenment and it was responsible for sparking
  other revolutions economic, social, and
  political (American and French Revolutions)
• The Enlightenment took hold in the 18th century

4
The Enlightenment

• It was the result of Renaissance questioning,
  discoveries of the Scientific Revolution, and
  changes to agriculture
• It began in France
• Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire,
  inaugurated the European Enlightenment when he
  published his Philosophical Letters Concerning
  the English Nation

5
Voltaire
6
Age of Reason/ Enlightenment

• This time was also called the Age of Reason
• The Enlightenment began at the end of the17th
  century by those who wished to spread the ideas
  from the Scientific Revolution
• These ideas gained popularity in the 18th century
• Attempts were made to apply the scientific method
  to human behavior and social institutions to
  look at it more objectively

7

• The intellectuals tried to apply this scientific
  reasoning to ethics, politics, economics, and to
  society in general
• The thinkers of the Enlightenment were for
  reform, change, and progress
• The movement was centered in Western Europe
• Southern and Eastern Europe were relatively un
  affected

8

• It was initially limited to the elite of the
  urban aristocracy and the middle class
• The ideas of the Enlightenment came to dominate
  civilized thinking for the next 2 centuries

9
The Philosophes

• Intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known as
  Philosophes or thinkers
• They asked questions that required reasoning like
  How do we discover truth?
• The intellectuals were not usually formally
  trained
• They were more literary than scientifically
  trained

10

• Often they discussed, applied, and popularized
  the ideas of others rather than coming up with
  new ideas
• There were many who did write plays, histories,
  satires, novels, encyclopedia entries, or
  pamphlets
• Most attended discussion groups called salons
• The most famous was the salon of Madame Geoffrin

11
Salon of Madame Geoffrin
12
Madame Geoffrin
13

• The philosophes came up with the philosophy of
  the Enlightenment and popularized it in Western
  Europe and in the American colonies
• Voltaire was one of the leading philosophes
• Spent 2 years living in Britain after being
  released from a French jail for his ideas
• Wrote and spoke of the superiority of the British
  and their system of government

14

• Voltaire said the British
• practiced religious toleration
• were not directly under the thumb of the clergy
• valued their people for what they did, not for
  who they were by birth
• government controlled and limited the power of
  the King
• highly respected scientists, poets, and
  philosophers
• Voltaire also attacked the French clergy,
  nobility, and monarch

15

• Voltaires Philosophical Letters went through 5
  editions the very first year
• It went through 10 editions in 10 years
• It was officially banned and burned which helped
  its popularity
• And it started the Enlightenment
• There were other important philosophes

16
Other Enlightenment Figures

• Adam Smith (1723-1790)
• Scottish economist
• Wrote The Wealth of Nations
• Advocated a laissez-faire economy that meant no
  government intervention, leave it alone

17

• Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)
• Italian
• Legal reformer
• Said laws are to promote happiness in society
• Laws must be equitable for criminal and victim
• Punishment should act as a deterrent to crime,
  not revenge
• Advocated the end to torture to gain confessions,
  the end of capital punishment, and wanted
  rehabilitation of prisoners

18
Cesare Beccaria
19

• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
• German
• Philosopher
• Said, Have the courage to use your own
  intelligence.
• In other words, Question

20

• David Hume ( 1711-1776)
• Scottish
• Had a love of moral philosophy
• Wrote Treatise of Human Nature in 1739 and An
  Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding in 1748,
  his greatest work
• Said neither matter nor mind could be proven to
  exist with any certainty only perceptions
  existed
• Said if human understanding was based on
  perception rather than reason, then there could
  be no certainty in the universe

21

• Hume also attacked established religions saying,
  If things arent certain, then the Christian
  religion can have no basis.
• Religion grows out of hope and fear
• Hume was the most penetrating of all
  Enlightenment thinkers
• He was the greatest of all British philosophers

22
David Hume
23

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
• French
• One of the most original thinkers of his day
• Crusaded for a return to nature the pure, the
  beautiful, the simple
• Became popular with many who were tired of the
  strict rules of etiquette and corrupt
  bureaucracies
• Queen of France liked his ideas

24

• Some subjects he dealt with were
• free love and uninhibited emotion
• natural rearing and education of children
• let children do what they like and teach them
  practical knowledge

25

• Politically, Rousseau is seen as the father of
  the theory of modern democracy
• Said people are all equal
• He said to restore lost freedoms, people join in
  an agreement surrendering their individual
  liberty for the good of the whole
• He assumed the individual would be free by being
  part of the general will

26

• Rousseau broke with the philosophes in 1750s
  because he felt people should stay closer to
  nature and placed more faith in emotion, feeling,
  and intuition than in reason
• Baron de Montesquieu, also called Charles-Louis
  de Secondat
• Wrote Persian Letters in 1721 satirizing Parisian
  morals showing the absurdity of French customs

27
Baron de Montesquieu
28

• Analyzed political systems
• Admired the English government and its Glorious
  Revolution
• Said England was the only state in Europe where
  liberty could be found
• Wrote how liberty could be achieved and despotism
  avoided

29

• For Montesquieu, a successful government is one
  in which the powers are separated and have checks
  and balances
• He advocated law codes be reformed to mainly
  regulate crimes against persons and property
• He said the punishment should fit the crime
• He was for the abolition of torture

30

• John Locke (1632-1704)
• Died in 1704, but his ideas had a great impact on
  the Enlightenment
• Said the mind was blank at birth
• Said governments have a powerful tool to mold and
  shape its citizens
• Said 2 things shape humans
• Experiences what they get through their senses
• School and institutions teach ideas to citizens

31

• Locke described good and evil as pleasure and
  pain we do what is pleasurable and try to avoid
  pain
• He felt the natural rights of human beings are
  life, liberty, and property
• To safeguard rights, people gave some of their
  sovereignty to governments
• These governments were limited in power
• No government could violate an individuals rights

32

• If it does, the people have the right to
  overthrow it
• This thinking greatly influenced the American and
  French Revolutions
• These ideas are reflected in the Declaration of
  Independence written by Thomas Jefferson who had
  spent time in Paris during the Enlightenment and
  in the American Constitution

33
John Locke
34
Encyclopedia

• The Encyclopedia was a 17-volume compendium of
  knowledge, criticism, and philosophy from the
  Enlightenment
• Edited by Denis Diderot
• A collaborative effort of philosophes
• Summary of their thoughts and philosophy
• It expressed the critical, rational, and
  empirical views
• It showed the practicality of science and
  importance of knowledge in general

35

• Main Message Almost anything could be
  discovered, understood, or clarified through
  reason
• It was a threat to the status quo
• It was censored and its publication halted
• The first volume was a big hit and sold a lot of
  copies

36

• Philosophes attacked
• war and military values
• traditional aristocracies
• social distinctions
• Philosophes wanted freedom of the press, freedom
  of speech, freedom of religion, and science
  applied to economics

37

• By the end of the 1770s, philosophes were
  quarreling amongst themselves
• Their debates were about how far Enlightenment
  concepts could be taken
• Some philosophes began to specialize and laid the
  foundations for our present-day social sciences
  criminology, penology, economics, for example

38
The Social Context

• Paris was the heart of the Enlightenment
• Gatherings were held in salons like that of
  Madame Geoffrin
• They were attended by wealthy Parisians,
  aristocratic women, and those who wished to
  debate the new ideas
• The women who attended wrote to their friends in
  France or other countries about what they heard

39

• These women played an important role in the
  spread of these ideas
• For example, Madame Geoffrin corresponded with
  Catherine the Great of Russia
• During the Enlightenment, there was an increase
  in literacy rates and access to books
• This led to a more informed public

40

• Reading rooms cropped up for a small fee, one
  could enter and read the latest news or novels
• In France they were called salle de lecture
• These reading rooms were the forerunner to
  lending libraries
• Ideas from the Enlightenment enticed others to
  read, and this interest led to other areas of
  study art, music

41
Art, Literature, Theatre

• Theatres opened to the public
• Once a year there was an exhibition of art in one
  section of the Louvre Palace
• Art auctions began as did the art critic -- a
  new role for some to fulfill
• Some art remained religious
• Other art explored emotions (Baroque style or the
  cult of sensibility)
• Emotion was also looked at in literature

42
Novels

• Novels explored social problems and human
  relationships
• Example Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Published in 1717

43
Music and Architecture

• There was a revival in classical architecture
• This was especially true in the United States at
  the end of the 18th century
• Why?
• There was a classical movement in music, as well
  emotional music
• Franz Josef Haydn
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Wrote symphonies and sonatas

44
Haydn and Mozart
45
European States in the Age of Enlightenment

• Those of the Enlightenment hoped for education
  and social reform that would lead to change and
  progress
• Some rulers were affected by the Enlightenment,
  to varying degrees
• Wanted to govern more effectively
• Tried to reform laws, the economy, and government
• Many were beginning to see themselves as servants
  of their states. That was a big change for
  traditional elites

46
France

• Autocratic
• Educated elites
• For scientific research
• Cultured court life
• Intellectual curiosity
• International language
• Very Catholic with papal influence
• Problems facing France in 18th century were a
  huge debt from foreign wars and the strength of
  the privileged elite

47
France

• Parlements (courts) could object to royal policy
• Public opinion wished to remove privilege
• Louis XV, grandson of Louis XIV, took the throne
  in 1715 at the age of 5
• essentially lazy
• debt made him dissolve the parlement and create
  his own courts
• died in 1774
• his grandson, 20-year old Louis XVI, took over

48
Louis XV and Louis XVI
49
France

• Louis XVI restored the parlement and called the
  Estates General in 1788 because of money problems
• The Estates General had last been called in 1614
• There was mistrust of the Crown
• There was no significant change in France until
  the outbreak of revolution

50
England

• After William ( d. 1702) and Mary died (d. 1694)
  , Marys sister Anne took the throne of England
  (r. 1702-1714)
• The crown then passed to relatives in Hanover,
  Germany because Annes children did not outlive
  her
• George I of Hanover took the throne (1714-1727)
• George II followed (r. 1727-1760)
• George III (r. 1760-1820)

51
Queen Anne
52
George I and George II

• George I did not speak English
• He was considered mediocre
• His claim to the throne was challenged by the
  descendents of James II
• George remained
• George IIs claim to the throne was challenged by
  Bonnie Prince Charlie (James IIs family) in 1745
  -- failed effort

53
George I, George II, George III
54
Protestants Only

• The Act of Settlement passed in Parliament years
  earlier had settled Annes claim to the throne
• It said only Protestants could sit on the throne
  of England
• There seemed to be more cooperation between
  Parliament and the monarchy in the 18th century

55
Parliament

• Parliament was becoming stronger and more
  sophisticated
• There were 2 political parties
• Tories
• begun during the time of Charles II
• staunch Anglicans
• favored isolationism in foreign affairs
• honored Kings authority
• represented interests of gentry and traditional
  landholding concerns

56

• Whigs
• had resisted Charles IIs pro-French,
  pro-Catholic policies
• favored an aggressive foreign policy, especially
  against France
• represented the interests of the great
  aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and wealthy
  gentry
• were dominant in government in the 18th century
  up to 1770

57

• Prime Minister
• Robert Walpole established this position
• chose to keep peace abroad
• disengaged King George I
• Kings Privy Council became Cabinet
• Prime Minister headed Cabinet
• Prime Minister and cabinet are from dominant
  party in Parliament

58
Parliament

• Parliament was not representative of the British
  people
• Positions held by those of traditional, landed
  wealth
• 1760s reform pressed to bring in Professionals
  like doctors, lawyers, and merchants
• Many of the unrepresented felt a kinship with the
  Americans
• Most in Parliament did not wish to give civil
  rights to Catholics

59
Enlightened Despots

• Some European rulers learned from the
  Enlightenment and tried to make some reforms
• Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark
• 1784, he began to govern for mentally ill father
• Applied Enlightenment principles to Denmarks
  economic problems
• Encouraged free trade
• Tried to improve lives of peasants by allowing
  them to own land productivity increased

60

• Gustav III of Sweden (r. 1772-1796)
• Took crown in a coup in 1772 and overturned Diet
• Made reforms to government
• Torture abolished
• Trade restrictions eased
• Reformed law

61

• Frederick II of Prussia (r. 1740-1786)
• Also known as Frederick the Great
• Made military reforms
• Tried to modernize agriculture and improve lives
  of peasants
• Abolished serfdom
• Tried to stimulate economy
• Tried to codify law
• He said that a ruler has a moral obligation to
  work for the betterment of the state
• He saw himself as the first servant or steward
  of the state

62

• Maria Theresa of Austria (r. 1740-1780)
• Streamlined and centralized the administration,
  finances, and defense
• Set new tax laws
• Limited exploitation of serfs
• Made primary school universal and compulsory
  not fully implemented by time of her death

63

• Joseph II of Austria (r. 1780 -1790)
• Succeeded his mother, Maria Theresa
• Added freedom of the press, freedom of religion ,
  and the abolition of serfdom to a growing list of
  reforms

64

• Leopold II of Austria (r. 1790-1792)
• Enforced the reforms of his mother, Maria Theresa
  and his Brother, Joseph II

65

• Catherine the Great of Russia (r. 1762-1796)
• Empress of Russia
• She was Sophia of Germany until she married Peter
  III in 1745
• Peter III was brutal and quite possibly mentally
  ill
• Catherine engineered a coup which killed her
  husband
• She then reigned for 30 years
• She extended Russian territory
• She secularized church lands
• She set up publishing houses and allowed for a
  press
• She made legal reforms abolished torture and
  capital punishment

66

• Catherine had an educational system set up for
  both the sons and daughters of the elite
• Not much was done for the serfs and serf
  rebellions continued

67
Widening Scope of Commerce and Warfare

• Warfare continued and new states arose to
  dominate European politics in the 18th century
• England, France, and Austria in the West
• Prussia and Russia in the East
• They had effective armies and overseas trade,
  territories, or colonies
• Armies took volunteers but also drafted citizens
• Other were placed in army by courts criminals,
  the poor

68

• The treatment of soldiers was rough because many
  were criminals
• There were new types of guns which made war more
  brutal and easier to win for those with these new
  weapons
• Warfare was becoming more professional
• In the fight for the Baltic Coast Sweden vs.
  Russia with Russia winning

69

• In mid-18th century, Prussia was equal to Austria
  after Maria Theresa was placed on the throne of
  Austria
• In the Seven Years War, Frederick the Great was
  in an alliance with England who fought the French
  in alliance with Maria Theresa (gets complicated)

70
Trade

• Slave Trade, begun by the Portuguese who took
  slaves from West Africa to the New World
• Other European nations participated
• This involved the Triangular Trade Route
• Map, p. 627
• In the New World the French in Canada traded in
  furs while the English of the American colonies
  dealt in tobacco, rice, and indigo

71
Triangular Slave Trade
72
Triangular Slave Trade
73

• The British won out in North America over the
  French, Swedes, Dutch, and Spanish

74
(No Transcript)
75
Back to Europe

• The Urban Elites or Bourgeoisie
• As commerce and trade expanded, so did the
  bourgeoisie (middle class)
• Middle class increased in numbers and in power
• There economic activities centered on trade,
  exchange, and service
• The bourgeoisie was stronger in northern and
  western Europe than in the south and east
• Bourgeoisie was 15 of British population but
  less than 2 of those in Hungary and Russia

76

• The upper levels were involved in an
  ever-expanding international trade
• They made great profits
• They seemed to merge with the nobility because of
  their great wealth
• The lower levels the petit bourgeoisie- were
  the shopkeepers, craftsmen, and industrial
  employees and seemed to merge with the artisans
  and laborers

77

• Other members of the bourgeoisie were the
  professionals in medicine, law, education, and
  government bureaucracy
• The wish of many of these was to be seen as noble
• However, they were scorned by the aristocracy and
  envied by the lower class

78
Charm of the Bourgeoisie

• Eager to imitate the nobility
• So became actively involved in the culture of
  consumption, tourism, and commercialized leisure
• They paid for their entertainment patronized
  theatres, concert halls, and resort towns like
  Bath and Brighton in England
• Socializing was central to their culture salons
  or academies

79

• Tearooms, coffee houses, and clubs became the
  preserves of men who would sit, talk, and read
  together
• There were magazines and not all for men ladies
  had theirs
• The Ladies Diary (1704-1787)
• gave advise
• taught manners
• emphasized morality, sexual fidelity, and
  obedience
• Women were generally allowed to participate in
  intellectual endeavors

80
Family Life

• Domesticity transformed the values of noblemen
  and the bourgeoisie in the 18th century
• As always, economics held the family together
• All pitching in to make ends meet
• Or father as breadwinner with mother taking care
  of children and the home

81

• Something new had been added emotion
• Romance and sexual attraction had become
  important factors in choosing a marriage partner
• The role of parents and matchmaking had
  diminished
• Compatibility was the central goal of married life

82

• Desire for privacy followed a need for doors
  and hallways
• Family size was being limited
• Attitudes towards children changed as well more
  closeness allowed
• Childhood was being seen as a distinct stage of
  life that shaped the character of the individual
• Education became more important

83

• Books and games were now designed specifically
  for children
• There were shops designed just for children
• The affluent could afford such things
• Not so for the poor the new cult of domesticity
  was out of their reach

84
The Masses

• The 18th century saw an increase in both economic
  opportunity and economic problems for the lower
  classes, the masses
• Some benefited from the spread of literacy and
  new jobs in trade
• Others suffered from the misery associated with
  the explosion of population, poverty, and
  landlessness that marked the period

85

• There was a steady growth in population beginning
  in the 1740s
• And there was no crisis like war, famine, or
  disease to lower it
• No checks on population as outlined by clergyman
  Thomas Malthus with his preventive and positive
  checks
• Population rose from 120 million in 1700 to 180
  million a century later in Europe

86
(No Transcript)
87

• Fertility increased
• Earlier marriages by women
• Greater dependence on wet nurses
• Increased sexual activity outside of marriage
• Death rates decreased because there were fewer
  wars and epidemics
• Increased fertility and decreased death rates led
  to an increase in population

88
Food

• Even with an increase in size of population,
  famine was not prevalent in the 18th century
• New crops such as maize and potatoes added to the
  European diet
• There was slow starvation for some
• Improvements in agriculture helped European
  farmers produce more food
• 3-field crop rotation system
• Planting of clover for nutrients for the soil
• Planting of winter crops

89

• These changes were first adopted in Britain and
  Holland and more than doubled their yields
• Others couldnt participate because of the costs
• In Eastern Europe, most grains came from the
  cultivation of new lands rather than from new
  technologies
• They just kept taking down trees to make farmland

90

• Specialization of crops began
• Surplus sent to market
• Improvements made in the exchange of goods
  better transportation and communication
• There was also a moderate warming trend in
  Europes climate which helped agriculture

91
The Poor

• The most basic social fact of the 18th century in
  Europe was an explosion of poverty, concentrated
  in urban areas
• Chronically poor comprised 10 - 15 of the
  population or about 20 million
• Another 40 of the population either had no land
  or steady employment
• Population growth caused the cost of living to go
  up because of scarce goods and wages to fall

92

• In the late 18th century
• France cost of living rose 60 and wages rose
  only by 25
• Spain cost of living rose 100 and wages rose
  20
• Britain was almost even
• Landholdings shrank in size as land became more
  valuable and taxes rose
• Fewer people could make a living off the land

93

• People had to move to find jobs and work for
  wages
• Males were seen as more valuable than women
• There was female infanticide
• People moved from country to city looking for
  work
• Many worked in factories
• Some left their countries and went to America

94

• So many had moved to cities that poverty seemed
  extreme there
• Some sought out charity but there wasnt enough
  to go around
• Many gave up children to foundling hospitals
• In Paris, 15 of children survived their first
  year of life

95

• Distinctions were made among the poor by
  officials
• The deserving poor were those physically or
  mentally incapacitated
• The unworthy poor were those impoverished by
  social and economic circumstances
• Institutions like hospitals, work houses, and
  prisons were established to discipline and punish
  the rising numbers of rootless people flooding
  the cities

96
Popular Culture

• Even though times looked bleak at the end of the
  18th century, many agreed times were better than
  before
• Communities offered some outlets to alleviate the
  distress of its people
• Festivals
• Village fairs
• Religious holidays
• Books available for those who could read

97

• There were sporting events soccer matches
• There were blood sports dog and cat fights,
  bearbaiting, bull running, bull fights, fox
  hunting
• There were taverns and public houses
• Increased use of alcohol
• Increase in gambling

98

• Conclusion
• Although the 18th century saw new opportunities
  for social mobility, a class system still
  governed Europe
• The dividing line between paupers, the
  bourgeoisie, and the landed elite became sharper
  even with the Enlightenment challenging the old
  ways, both socially and politically