Age of Absolutism & Enlightenment: Key Concepts & Major Monarchs

Absolute Monarchy

A government where one person has total control.

Autocrat

A person who rules through an absolute monarchy.

Divine Right

The belief that an absolute monarch's authority to rule came directly from God.

Louis XIV of France

Known as the 'Sun King,' ruled for 72 years and believed in divine right: 'I am the state.'

Intendants

Royal Officials who collected taxes and carried out Louis's policies.

Versailles Palace

A massive, opulent palace built to glorify the king and show off his wealth/power.

Peter the Great of Russia

Ruled from 1682-1725 with the goal of westernization to modernize Russian society.

St. Petersburg

Nicknamed 'Peter's window to the west,' located near bodies of water for easier access to Europe.

Beard Tax

A tax imposed by Peter the Great on men who did not shave their long beards.

Scientific Revolution

Developed new ideas based on using logic/reason in science, government, and politics.

Natural Law

Rules discoverable by reason.

Protestant Reformation

Encouraged people to read the Bible and develop their own opinions about church teaching.

Separation of church and state

A core concept of the Enlightenment emphasizing the distinction between religious and governmental authority.

Liberty

A fundamental principle of the Enlightenment advocating for individual freedom.

State of Nature

How people would behave if they were not taught 'right or wrong,' or lived without consequences.

Equality

A principle of the Enlightenment advocating for equal rights and treatment.

Freedom of Speech and Religion

Core concepts of the Enlightenment advocating for the rights to express beliefs and opinions.

Challenging Monarchs

A key idea of the Enlightenment encouraging questioning of absolute rulers.

Economic Ideas

New concepts developed during the Enlightenment regarding economics and governance.

Legacy of Louis XIV

Successes included making France one of the strongest nations; failures included overspending and financial weakness.

Legacy of Peter the Great

Successes included expanding Russian territory and modernizing Russia; failures included using terror to achieve goals.

Social Contract

A belief held by John Locke and others: an agreement between a government and its people. People give up a certain amount of their freedom in return for the government protecting its citizens. If the government fails to protect, people can overthrow it.

Growth of Democracy

Enlightenment ideas inspired a form of government where citizens exercise power through elections.

Impact of Enlightenment

Caused people to question their leadership and challenge Divine Right. Sparked social justice movements (Women's Rights, Abolition of Slavery) and major revolutions (American, French, Latin American).

Enlightened Despots

Absolute rulers who embraced some Enlightenment ideas to prevent people from rebelling and to keep their power.

Catherine the Great

An example of an Enlightened Despot who brought religious freedom into Russia but was still a brutal leader.

The Renaissance

A period of cultural, artistic, intellectual, and scientific revival throughout Europe, marked by the rediscovery of Greek and Roman ideas.

The Reformation

A major religious, political, and social upheaval that challenged the practices and authority of the Catholic Church, leading to the rise of Protestantism.

Thomas Hobbes

An early English philosopher known for his pessimistic view of human nature and the influential work, The Leviathan.

Hobbes' Social Contract

In Hobbes' view, it meant individuals must consent to surrender some of their freedoms to a ruler in exchange for protection and stability.

John Locke

A later English philosopher who wrote the Two Treatises on Gov (1690) and argued that people are born naturally free with inherent natural rights: life, liberty, and property.

Blank State Theory (Tabula Rasa)

Locke's theory that people are born without any innate knowledge, and their minds are instead formed entirely by experience.

Charles De Montesquieu

A French baron and philosopher who wrote The Spirit of Laws and contributed the concept of a government structured with 3 branches.

Separation of Powers

Montesquieu's principle ensuring that the branches of government are split up so no single one can gain too much power.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A philosopher who believed that people are naturally smart, kind, and good, and that only society and a few bad people corrupt them.

Rousseau's The Social Contract

Argued that people should have as much individual freedom as possible and advocated for a government formed by a Social Contract resulting in a direct democracy.

Voltaire

A French writer, philosopher, and historian whose work laid significant groundwork for political revolutions and democratic systems.

Voltaire's Core Beliefs

Included Freedom of Speech, Religious Tolerance, a strong critique of Absolute Monarchy, and passionate support for Reason and Justice.