Explains the Enlightened Absolutism in the XVIII century, the War of Austrian Sucession and The 7 years' war.

1. XVIII Century

2. Enlightment philosophes believed in natural rights for
all people, these laws included:
 Equalitiy before the law
 Freedom of religious worship
 Freedom of speach
 Freedom of the press
 The right to assemble, hold property
 Pursue happiness

3.  Philosophe believed that people needed to be
governed by enlighted rulers. Only strong enlightened
monarch could reform society. This type of monarchy
was called ENLIGHTENED ABSOLUTISM.
 Rulers tried to govern by enlightment principles while
maintaining their royal powers.
 Did the european rulers actually follow the advice of
the philosophes and become enligthened?

4. PRUSSIA
 Frederick William I  Frederick II: The Great
 The supreme values of  Invited Voltaire to live at
the bureaucracy were his court.
obedience, honor and  He made enlightened
service to the king. He reforms: he abolished
also had the 4th largest the use of torture. He
granted limited freedom
army in Europe. of speech and press, as
greater religious
toleration.
 However he kept
Prussias serfdom and
rigid social structure.

5. Maria Theresa of Hasburg
She was not open to the philosophes calls
for reform but she worked hard to alleviate
the conditions of the serfs.
 Her son Joseph II abolished serfdom,
eliminated the death penalty and
established the principle of equality of all
before the law and promoted religious
tolerance. But his reform program failed.

6.  Catherine the Great seemed to favor enlightened reforms.
 She invited the french philosophe Denis Diderot to Russia
and urged him to speak frankly.
 He outilined an ambitious program
of political and financial reform
that would recognize the principle
of equality of all people but she said
“It would have turned everything in my
kingdom upside down”.
So she did nothing because she knew
her success depended on the support Philosophe that came up with the
of the Russian nobility. encyclopedia

7.  When Charles VI died he was succeeded by
his Daughter Maria Theresa.
 King Frederick II of Prussia took advantage
of this succession of a woman to the throne
and invaded austrian SILESIA (where today
is Poland).
 France then entered the war against
Austria, it’s traditional enemy.
 In turn Maria Theresa made
an alliance with Great Britain.

10.  War broke out between France and Great Britain in
1756.
 In three major areas of conflict:
 EUROPE
 INDIA
 NORTH AMERICA

11.  Alliances:
British and Prussians
vs
 Austrians, Russians and French.
 With his great army and military skill Frederick the Great
of Prussia was able for some time to defeat the Austrian,
French and Russian armies. However they were gradually
worn down.
 Frederick faced disaster until Peter III a russian Czar
withdrew Russian troops from the conflict and this lead to
peace.

12.  Britain vs France
 Known as the Great War for
Empire, fought in India and
North America.
 The french had returned
Madras to Britain after the
War of the Austrian
Sucession, but the struggle in
India continued.

13.  Britain vs France
 The british ultimately won
out, not because they had
better forces but because the
were more persistant.
 With the Treaty of Paris in
1763, the french withdrew and
left India to the British.

14.  It was were the greatest
conflicts took place.
 British vs French.
 French in up north (today
Canada and Louisiana)
 British had 13 prosperous
colonies on the eastern
coast of the US.
 Fought over two areas: Gulf
of St. Lawrence and the
Ohio River Valley.

15.  French had the support of the indians as traders not
settlers.
 French had more troops in North America but not
enough naval support.
 British won and the french were forced to make peace
by the Treaty of Paris.