General History X Summary Notes

Contents' ! Enlightenment' Absolutism' Parlements' French'Finance' Jansenism' The'Terror' Poland' International'Relations' Population' Prices' Urbanisation' Agriculture' Industry' Commerce' Society' Jesuits' Jansenists'v.'Jesuits' Women' Childhood'and'Family' Education' The'Ottoman'Empire' Ottoman'Military' Other' ! Timeline Enlightenment' ! Roy$Porter$)$Enlightenment$was$'necessarily$rather$amorphous$+$diverse'$ *> Liberation$of$human$mind$from$prevalent$dogmatic$state$of$ignorance$ *> Radicalism$=>$break$from$Biblical$understanding$of$man,$society$+$nature$ *> Yet$wider$Enlightenment$)$part$of$ancien$regime$+$less$radical$ ! Porter$)$2$tier$religion$ *> 'simple,$pure,$rational$religion$for$the$elite$+$a$$melodramatic$faith$to$regulate$ the$minds$+$hearts$of$the$plebs'$ ! Isaiah$Berlin$)$popularised$concept$of$the$Counter)Enlightenment$ *> Associated$with$Germany$)$relativist,$anti)rationalist,$vitalist$+$organic$ ! Jonathan$Israel$)$ideas$caused$changes$=>$revolutions$ *> Rejects$view$of$revolutionary$ideas$as$a$by)product$of$social$+$economic$ transformations$ - Only$an$intellectual$interpretation$can$adequately$explain$the$radical$ break$with$ancien®ime$society$ *> Until$the$1650s$)$Western$civilisation$'was$based$on$a$largely$shared$core$of$ faith,$tradition$+$authority'$ *> 2/2$C17th$)$'a$general$process$of$rationalisation$+$secularisation$set$in$which$ rapidly$overthrew$theology's$age)old$hegemony$in$the$world$of$study'$=>$ 'escalating$contest$between$faith$+$incredulity'$ ! Israel$)$political$form$of$the$radical$Enlightenment$ *> 'democracy;$racial$+$sexual$equality:$individual$liberty$of$lifestyle;$full$freedom$ of$thought,$expression$+$the$press;$eradication$of$religious$authority$from$the$ legislative$process$+$education;$+$a$full$separation$of$church$+$state'$ *> Moderate$mainstream$was$inherently$undemocratic,$anti)egalitarian$+$ reluctant$to$concede$full$toleration$ ! Israel$)$1650)1750$Spinoza$was$'the$chief$challenger$of$the$fundamentals$of$revealed$ religion,$received$ideas,$tradition,$morality$+$what$was$everywhere$regarded,$in$ absolutists$+$non$absolutists$states$alike,$as$divinely$constituted$political$authority'$ *> 'Compared$to$Spinoza$+$Bayle,$no$other$writer$had$an$even$remotely$ comparable$importance$as$a$perceived$originator$+$author$of$radical$ideas'$ ! Dorinda$Outram$)$comprised$'many$different$paths,$varying$in$time$+$geography,$to$the$ common$goals$of$progress,$of$tolerance$+$the$removal$of$abuses$in$Church$+$state$ *> 'Enlightenment$was$a$desire$for$human$affairs$to$be$guided$by$rationality$ rather$than$by$faith,$superstition$or$revelation;$a$belief$in$the$power$of$human$ reason$to$change$society$+$liberate$the$individual$from$the$restraints$of$custom$ or$arbitrary$authority;$all$backed$up$by$a$world$view$increasingly$validated$by$ science$rather$than$by$religion$or$tradition'$ ! Jurgen$Habermas$)$social$conditions$for$Enlightenment$to$be$spread$ *> 'bourgeois$public$sphere'$)$'realm$of$communication$marked$by$new$arenas$of$ debate,$more$open$+$accessible$forms$of$urban$public$space$+$sociability$+$an$ explosion$of$print$culture'$ *> Egalitarian$ *> Discussed$the$domain$of$'common$concern'$ *> Argument$founded$on$reason$ *> Rise$of$modern$nation$state$+$capitalism$ ! ! ! ! Robert$Darnton$)$literacy$rates$in$France$doubled$over$the$C18th$ Rolf$Engelsing$)$Reading$Revolution$after$1750$ Dena$Goodman$)$women$were$salonnieres$in$French$salons$ Peter$Gay$)$only$one$Enlightenment$=>$group$who$knew$each$other$ *> High$Enlightenment$critical$of$religion$etc$ *> Yet$what$of$a$'Low$Enlightenment'?$)$Enlightenment$mood$ - Still$religion$ - Smaller$leadership$=>$radicalism$ - Wider$Enlightenment$=>$less$radical$)$part$of$ancien$regime$rather$than$ against$it$ ! Liberation$of$human$mind$v.$arrogant$rationalism$undermining$society$ ! Thomas$Munck$)$not$just$enlightenment$but$conditions$for$widespread$enlightening$ *> Enlightenment$is$an$attitude$of$the$mind$rather$than$a$coherent$set$of$beliefs$ *> Religion$+$enlightenment$are$not$mutually$exclusive$ ! ! *> Jansenists$were$largely$independent$of$the$philosophes$)$yet$were$at$least$as$ influential$in$political$terms$ ! Paris$1751)72$)$Encylopedie$=>$28$volumes$ *> Philosophe$)$one$who$'trampling$on$prejudice,$tradition,$universal$consent,$ authority,$in$a$word$all$that$enslaves$most$minds,$dares$to$think$for$himself'& ! Frederick$the$Great$(Prussia$1740)86)$ *> Invited$Voltaire$to$live$in$his$palace$ *> 'My$principal$occupation$is$to$combat$ignorance$+$prejudice$.$.$.$to$enlighten$ minds,$cultivate$morality$+$to$make$people$as$happy$as$it$suits$human$nature,$+$ as$the$means$at$my$disposal$permit'$ ! Marquis$de$Condorcet$)$rights$of$women$+$racial$equality$ ! Fontanelle$+$Beverland$)$gendered$nature$of$society$+$intellectual$capacities$of$women$ ! William$Godwin$)$Inquiry&Concerning&Political&Justice$(1793)$ *> Marriage$)$form$of$legal$prostitution$ *> Orchestras$+$theatre$)$enforced$conformity$+$compromised$individuality$ ! Rousseau$)$sexual$division$of$labour$=>$C19th$'separate$spheres'$ ! Spinoza$+$Bayle$)$sexual$pleasure$in$men$+$women$is$a$good$thing$ ! Voltaire$)$most$prefer$direction$by$authority$=>$~90%$do$not$deserve$to$be$enlightened$ *> Condemned$'le$materialisme'$or$'le$Spinosisme'$ *> Ridiculed$Bible$+$sacraments$+$favoured$Muslims$+$pagans$against$Christians$ *> Not$interested$in$enlightening$the$man$in$the$street,$the$coachman$or$other$ 'servants'$ ! Turgot$)$limited$toleration$+$economic$development$within$the$existing$order$ ! Boulainvilliers$)$aristocratic$republicanism$ ! Du$Marsais$+$Meslier$)$democratic$republicanism$based$on$Spinozist$premises$ *> Du$Marsais$)$civil$society$is$the$only$divinity$on$earth$ *> Yet$Spinoza$was$against$any$form$of$revolution$=>$tyranny$ - Although$he$was$against$divine$right$monarchy$ ! Spinoza,$Bayle,$Rousseau$+$Diderot$)$'common$good'$as$the$basis$for$secular$society$ ! Montesquieu$+$Ferguson$)$aristocracy$+$hierarchy$as$a$necessity$ *> Montesquieu$)$independent$nobility$=>$good$public$service$ ! Voltaire$)$'I$value$poetry$only$insofar$as$it$is$the$ornament$of$reason'$ ! ! ! ! ! ! *> Against$later$ideas$of$the$'sublime'$ Voltaire$)$famous$campaign$for$Jean$Calas$in$1762$for$murder$of$Catholic)convert$son$ Mid)18th$century$appearance$of$the$word$'citizen'$)$polemical$ *> Citizenship$)$participation$in$civil$society$=>$did$not$need$to$be$a$good$Catholic$ to$be$a$virtuous$citizen$ - Affected$Jansenists$+$Huguenots$ Montesquieu$)$Persian&Letters&(1721)$ *> Interest$in$other$nations$and$cultures$ Voltaire$)$enormous$network$of$famous$correspondents$ ! Pierre$Bayle$)$separation$between$science$+$religion$ ! Spinoza$)$'God$is,$in$relation$to$his$effects$or$creatures$no$other$than$an$immanent$cause'$ *> Divine$Providence$is$'nothing$but$the$striving$we$find$both$in$Nature$as$a$whole$ +$in$particular$things'$ *> Israel$)$one$substance,$body$+$soul$=>$society$would$be$less$manipulated$by$ religion$ - Allied$with$Socinianism$+$Unitarianism$)$spread$dramatically$ - 2$substance$)$balance$between$reason$+$tradition$=>$less$radical$ Reason$is$a$gift$of$God$ - Enlighten$everyone$v.$enlighten$few$(Voltaire$+$Frederick$the$Great)$ ! Baron$d'Holbach$)$Systeme&de&la&nature$(1770)$=>$materialistic$pantheism$ *> Kings$were$the$'cause$of$the$ill$education$of$their$subjects'$ ! Voltaire$attacked$Spinoza,$d'Holbach$+$Diderot$ *> Israel$)$war$after$1770$=>$open$+$irreparable$split$in$the$Enlightenment$ *> Lack$of$court$advocates$for$radical$=>$flooded$the$new$reading$public$with$ clandestine$publications$ ! Bayle$)$'paradox$of$the$virtuous$atheist'$=>$could$form$a$society$ *> Montesquieu$+$Voltaire$)$did$not$support$this$yet$argued$for$religious$toleration$ - Liberty$of$conscience$as$a$natural$right$ ! 1775$)$National$Assembly$of$the$Clergy$ *> 'the$unbelievers$from$a$sect$.$.$.$united$in$the$revolt$against$the$authority$of$ divine$revelation'$ ! Rousseau's$Emile$(1762)$)$'Profession$of$faith$of$a$Savoyard$vicar'$ *> Formally$condemned$in$Geneva$+$burned$ *> Yet$saw$in$nature$an$external$intelligence$ ! Marquis$de$Sade$)$Dialogue&between&a&Priest&and&a&Dying&Man$(1782)$ ! La$Mettrie$)$l'Homme&machine$ *> Explains$man's$nature$+$behaviour$in$purely$materialist$terms$ *> Morality$from$political$sphere$)$no$supernatural$basis$ - Sometimes$seen$as$most$extreme$materialist$ ! d'Holbach$)$chains$of$error$+$ignorance$=>$science,$reason$+$truth$ ! Hume$(1751)$)$Enquiry&Concerning&the&Principles&of&Morals$ *> Importance$of$duty$+$virtue$ ! Deism$+$secular$approach$to$morality$ ! Rousseau$)$'sensibility'$+$'inner$sentiment'$ *> La$Novelle$Heloise$)$70$editions$in$France$by$1789$ *> Goethe$)$The&Sorrows&of&Young&Werther$(1774)$=>$themes$of$alienation,$self) expression$+$the$sublime$ *> The&Social&Contract$)$society$was$a$moral$entity$=>$virtue$ - Influenced$Robespierre$=>$Terror$ ! 1787$)$Louis$XVI$gave$limited$civil$status$to$French$Huguenots$=>$seen$by$many$Catholics$ as$$joint$Protestant)philosophe$plot$ *> Idea$of$philosophes$destroying$spiritual$basis$of$monarchy$ ! Locke$)$tabula$rasa$ ! Some$philosophes$advocated$a$civil$religion$to$keep$society$in$order$e.g.$Rousseau$ ! ! *> Merely$outward$conformity& ! Encylopedie$)$only$~4,000$subscribers& ! Bibliothequre&Bleue$)$cheaply$produced$books$in$Troyes,$France$ *> Lower$class$participation$in$Enlightenment$sociability& ! Newly$discovered$Tahiti$ *> 1768$)$Louis$Bougainville$=>$lack$of$private$property$+$Christian$sexual$taboos$ *> Diderot$)$free$of$despotism$+$private$property$ - 'Noble$savages'$who$had$'no$king,$no$magistrate,$no$priest,$no$laws,$no$ 'mine'$+$'thine''$ *> Captain$Cook$)$imputed$primitivism$=>$similar$society$+$morality$ - Still$Enlightenment$values$)$Montesquieu$=>$seek$to$understand$others$ in$context$of$their$circumstances$ - How$far$is$everything$in$the$18th$century$Enlightenment?$ ! Voltaire$+$Hume$)$universality$of$human$nature$ ! Pornographic$novels$of$Marquis$de$Sade$)$are$there$rules$of$conduct?$ ! Daniel$Defoe's$Robinson&Crusoe$)$man$having$to$reinvent$civilisation$ ! Raynal$)$Histoire&Philosophique$(1770)$ *> Culminating$literary$blow$to$the$ancien®ime& ! Rousseau$(1746)$)$'Everything$I$observe$is$sowing$the$seeds$of$a$revolution$that$will$ inevitably$come$to$pass$.$.$.$enlightenment$has$spread$so$widely$that$it$will$burst$forth$at$ the$first$opportunity$+$then$there$will$be$a$grand$commotion'$ ! Pombal$)$officially)sanctioned$'enlightenment'$in$Portugal$+$Brazil$ *> Fundamental$administrative,$educational,$economic$+$ecclesiastical$reforms$ *> Reason$+$secularisation$ *> Yet$mainly$for$enhancing$autocracy$ ! ! ! ! Adam$Smith$)$Wealth&of&Nations$(1776)$ Comparisons$to$England$+$Dutch$tolerance$ Joseph$II's$abolition$of$serfdom$in$the$Austrian$Empire$ Frederick$the$Great$was$an$unbeliever$)$encouraged$toleration$in$Prussia$=>$'everyone$ must$be$allowed$to$choose$his$own$road$to$salvation'$ ! Lack$of$toleration$in$France$)$revocation$of$Edict$of$Nantes$in$1685$ ! Prize$essay$competitions$)$2,000$contests$=>$50$won$by$women Absolutism' ! Bodin$)$established$idea$of$sovereignty$=>$not$guided$by$laws$but$by$morality$ *> Montesquieu$)$English$separation$of$legislative,$executive$+$judiciary$powers$ - France$does$not$have$this$=>$despotism$ - Also$lacks$intermediary$power$of$the$nobles$ ! Best$selling$book$in$18th$century$France$)$The&Adventures&of&Telemachus& *> Treatise$on$how$to$be$a$good$king$ ! Louis$XIV$had$presented$himself$as$controlling$the$Church$ ! Another$source$for$kingly$authority$is$Machiavelli$)$reason$of$state$ *> Louis$XIV$combined$this$with$divine$right$ *> 'L'etat,$c'est$moi'$ *> Loyalty$of$ministers$)$only$had$to$disgrace$3$over$54$years$ *> Never$appointed$members$of$Court$aristocracy$to$secretary$of$state$ - Yet$after$1750$)$Louis$XV$regularly$appointed$them$=>$factionalism$ ! Pays$d'etats$(local$estates$e.g.$Burgundy$+$Languedoc)$v.$pays$d'elections$ ! 18th$century$)$neither$Louis$XV$or$Louis$XVI$made$more$than$a$handful$of$trips$beyond$ the$lIe)de)France$=>$failed$to$cultivate$public$affection$ ! Estates$General$of$1614$was$the$last$to$meet$before$1789$ *> Ability$to$govern$without$a$national$representative$body$was$a$defining$feature$ of$absolute$monarchy$ ! Legislation$followed$by$'for$such$is$our$pleasure'$ ! 1660)1789$golden$age$of$the$intendants$)$commissioners$appointed$by$the$king$ ! Regent$Duke$de$Choiseul$died$prematurely$in$December$1723$ *> Most$trouble)free$regency$in$France's$history$ ! Fleury$died$in$1743$)$Louis$was$32$ *> Chose$not$to$replace$Fleury$)$precedent$of$1661$)>$announced$that$he$would$ rule$as$his$own$first$minister$ ! Louis$XV$(1766)$)$'in$my$person$alone$resides$sovereign$power$.$.$.$I$alone$possess$ complete$and$untrammelled$legislative$authority'$ ! ! Decade$of$conflict$in$1750s$had$changed$public$perceptions$ $ Ministers$and$policies$frequently$changed$ ~$Lack$of$confidence$and$respect$from$elites$ ! ! Loss$of$public$esteem$for$the$king$)$insults$and$graffiti$)>$some$regicidal$ $ ~$Political$crisis$provoked$by$bed$of$justice$the$previous$December$ $ ~$Damiens,$a$deranged$domestic$servant,$tried$to$assassinate$the$king$ ! ! ! ! Still$not$prepared$for$the$shock$of$5$January$1757$ Disastrous$Seven$Years$War$)$peace$in$1763$ Enthusiasm$for$accession$of$Louis$XV$)$depleted$by$1774$ J.$Swann$)$Louis$XV$reigned$but$never$ruled$=>$drift,$discord$+$instability$ M.$Price$)$major$loss$in$confidence$of$monarchy$after$coup$of$1771$=>$Louis$XVI$had$to$ deal$with$this$ 

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