Enlightenment and Beginning of French Revolution

10th Grade

How did the world change from the 1400’s to the 1700’s?

• “Non-Western” world has established strong, powerful empires (Ottomans, Ming/Qing Dynasty, Mughals, Tokugawa)

• “Western” World (Europe) is emerging as they begin to explore, acquire colonies, and establish trade

Why did the world change from the 1400’s - 1700’s?

• Renaissance - Humanism

• Age of Exploration - Gold, God, Glory

• Absolutism - Monarchs see overseas trade as a way to make themselves richer

• Mercantilism

How will the world change post 1750?

• Challenges to existing empires (internal and external)

• Non-Europeans Empires begin to “interact” with Europeans who want access to resources and imperialism

• Enlightenment challenges Absolutism in Europe and abroad (French Revolution)

Historical Context to the Enlightenment

• Printing Press

• Protestant Reformation

• Scientific Revolution

• Age of Absolutism

Printing Press

• Increase in literacy rate

• More people can read

• Spread of new ideas

• Challenges to accepted knowledge

Protestant Reformation

• Luther and others challenge the practices/teachings of the Catholic Church

• Question the authority of the Church

Scientific Revolution

• Use of reasoning, logic, experimentation (No more blind faith)

• Scientific Method

• Challenges to accepted knowledge and theories - Heliocentrism

• Natural Laws of the Universe

Age of Absolutism

• People question if absolutism is the best form of government

• What is the role of government?

Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan:

• Man is naturally evil, competitive, nasty, selfish

• Ideal form of Government - absolutism, government must keep order and stability, and government with strong to keep order from killing each other

• Very limited individual rights

John Locke

Two Treatises on Government

• Man is born free, with natural rights (including life, liberty, and property)

• Best form of Government - democracy, government that respects and preserves individual’s natural rights, government of and by the people, and people have the right and responsibility to overthrow government that doesn’t respect natural rights

Baron de Montesquieu

The Spirit of the Laws:

• Believed in separate branches of government to prevent the abuse of power by one man and to check the power of other branches

• Executive, legislative, and judicial branches

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The Social Contract:

• Individuals are born-free, but have been”chained” by society’s institutions, norms, and private property, restricting this natural liberty

• Described the “social contract” - the relationship between the people and the government

• General Will - People surrender some rights in exchange for equality and securtiy to benefit larger society

Voltaire

• Freedom of speech

• Freedom of religion

• Against slavery

Mary Wollstonecraft

• Promoted the ideas of the equality of women

• One of the earliest thinkers to call for women’s suffrage

The Enlightenment

• Happened in the 17th and 18th Century

• Known as the “Age of Reason”

• Is defined as an intellectual and cultural movement in the eighteenth century that emphasized reason over superstition and science over blind faith

Causes of the French Revolution

• Debt

• Inequality

• Monarchy

• Enlightenment

D - Debt

• Massive debt from foreign wars and overseas expansion - going back to 1600’s

• Failed tax collection system (only 1st (a little) and 3rd estate was taxed)

• Money was being spent by and on the King: Versailles  

I - Inequality

• Social Inequality (Estates System): Unequal land ownership, unfair tax system, and unfair access to the King

• Food shortages (bad harvests in 1770s and 1780s)     

• “Let them eat cake” - Marie Antoinette 

M - Monarchy

• Divine Right under Louis XIV/14th (1643-1715) and Louis XVI/16th (1774-92)

• Construction of the Palace of Versailles 

• “Let them eat cake” - Marie Antoinette - disconnect from the people who were starving 

“I am the State/The State, it is me” - Louis XIV was known as the Sun King as the image and name suggested that the universe revolves around him 

E - Enlightenment

Enlightenment Ideas in the 1700’s

• Natural Rights

• Government responsive to the “general will”

• The Social Contract/General Will

• Separation of Powers

• Government that abuses natural rights must be overthrown 

Desire to get rid of Absolutism/Divine Rule

American Revolution in the 1770s

First Estate

The Roman Catholic Clergy

Second Estate

Consisted of the nobles about 2% of the population and owned about 20% of the land

Third Estate

They had little rights and paid half of their income in taxes:

• Bourgeois

• City Workers

• Peasants (farmers)

Build Up to 1789

• Abuses of Absolutism - Louis XIV and Louis XVI

• D.I.M.E.

• Poor harvests/Bread riots (1780s)

• Failure of the Estates System to solve problems (1780s)