Westernization and Enlightened Absolutists

Westernization

• with the Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, and English thriving in western Europe, many of the Europeans further east began to take notice

• in Central and Eastern Europe, Prussia, Austria, and Russia would all attempt to become more “Western”, with varying amounts of success

• The leaders of these countries would all try different methods and reforms to bring the nobles and finances under their control

• at the time, to become more western meant four things:

  to make their governments more centralized
  To adopt Western economics (commercialization instead of the serfdom/peasant agr)
  to improve their military structure and technology
  To adopt Western culture and ideas, if possible

Peter the Great of Russia(1682-1721)

• Peter the Great of Russia also followed a western model of reform, however, he rejected Enlightenment ideals in favor of complete control

• Much like Louis XIV, Peter the Great had all of the nobles moved to him (this time by force) and forced them to be apart of his government

• He reformed his military under the model of the Prussians, using nobles as officers, and vastly expanded Russian territory to the East and against Poland

• He also attempted to mimic Louis XIV by building and entire City (St. Petersburg) and a lavish winter palace for himself

• Lastly, he used his conquest to open up ports in an attempt to open up trade and commercialization like the west

Frederick II of Prussia (1740-86)

• Of the four, Prussia was certainly the most successful at Westernizing under the ‘enlightened monarch’ Frederick the Great

• Frederick was an educated individual who read Western lit and was fond of the ideals of the Enlightenment of government and religion

• Frederick II believed that while a monarch should have complete control, he should use that power to protect and serve his people (consent of the governed)

• under Frederick I of Prussia, Prussia Westernized in the following ways:

  Nobles were used in the central bureaucracy, and able to keep their nobles right
  The military was reformed under the model of the French with appointed officers

  He initiated religious toleration

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

• Peter’s successor Catherine the Great continued to bring about reforms

  She enhanced education in Russia, and started state school for women

  She patronized Enlightenment art and writers

  She began to removed the Eastern Orthodox Church from the Russian state (sold lands)

Non-Western Aspects

• Gave nobles more freedom, and required less gov. participation

• She did, however, reinforce serfdom, and made the Russian economy dependent of it

Lastly, she continued to expand Russia massively to the East, and vs. the decaying Ottoman Empire and Poland