History of the Enlightenment, Revolutions, and the Industrial Age

The Foundations and Principles of the Enlightenment

• Definition of the Enlightenment: The Enlightenment is defined as the movement to investigate humanity and society through the use of reason ($ratio$) and the scientific method.

• Rational Optimism: This was a core belief held by most Enlightenment philosophers. It is the conviction that if individuals engage in independent thought and use their reason sufficiently, the society as a whole will inevitably progress. This is characterized as a "glass half full" perspective, emphasizing positivity and the potential for human improvement.

• Scientific Revolution Context: The Enlightenment emerged from the Scientific Revolution. There was immense optimism regarding the possibility of understanding, explaining, and improving the world through human intellect and research.

• Universal Application of Science: A key characteristic was the application of scientific methods and reason to all areas of society (religion, politics, economy, social relations), rather than just the physical sciences.

• Rationalism and Empiricism: Enlightenment thought utilized two primary epistemological approaches:

  • Rationalism: Relying on the $ratio$ or human reason.

  • Empiricism: Relying on experience and sensory perception (seeing, smelling, feeling, hearing).

• Critique of Tradition: Proponents believed that tradition, religious practices, and existing power structures must be tested against "criteria of reasonableness." They questioned if current religious and political systems were still logical or justifiable.

• Belief in Progress: Through the combination of social criticism and ideas regarding education, upbringing, and the dissemination of knowledge, there was a profound belief in continuous societal progress.

Key Philosophers of the Enlightenment

• Voltaire:

  • Religious Tolerance: He advocated for tolerance, questioning, "Who says one faith is right and the other is not?"

  • Deism: He believed that God created the world like a "clockmaker" ($klokkenmaker$). In this view, God designed and started the world but no longer interferes in its daily operations.

  • View of the Common People: He viewed the ordinary masses as ignorant and untrustworthy, stating that "the common people are stupid and not to be trusted."

  • Political Preference: He supported "Enlightened Absolute Monarchy," where a king retains total decision-making power but utilizes reason and Enlightenment principles to help the people.

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

  • Natural Rights: He posited that all people are naturally equal ($natuurrechten$).

  • Social Merit: He argued that differences between people should be based on their achievements and performance, not on their birth or ancestry.

  • Popular Sovereignty ($Volkssoevereiniteit$): He maintained that power resides with the people. He viewed "the people" as a unified body where everyone is equal. His views were considered more radical than those of his contemporaries.

• John Locke:

  • Rejection of Droit Divin: He dismissed the concept of "Divine Right" ($goddelijk recht$) as nonsense.

  • The Rule of Law ($Rechtsstaat$): He advocated for a system where the government is not above the law but must adhere to rules.

  • Right to Revolt: He argued that citizens have the right to depose rulers or kings if necessary.

  • Social Contract: He proposed a contract between the people and the government. In this arrangement, citizens surrender part of their freedom in exchange for the government's guarantee of their fundamental rights: life, property, and liberty ($leven, bezit, vrijheid$).

  • Definition of "The People": Unlike Rousseau, Locke's concept of "the people" was limited to the nobility and wealthy citizens.

• Charles Montesquieu:

  • Separation of Powers ($Trias Politica$): He is famous for the division of government into three distinct branches to prevent tyranny:

  • Legislative Power: The Parliament ($parlement$).

  • Executive Power: The Government ($regering$).

  • Judicial Power: Independent judges ($onafhankelijke rechters$).

  • View on Monarchy: He was not opposed to monarchy in principle but believed the king's power must be strictly limited.

  • View on Governance: He believed the common people were not capable of participating intelligently in discussions regarding laws and administration.

• Adam Smith:

  • Economic Liberalism: A Scottish economist who advocated for a free economy. He believed that workers in trade, agriculture, and industry should be left as free as possible.

  • Minimal Government Intervention: He argued the government should interfere as little as possible with the economy.

  • Opposition to Mercantilism: He campaigned against mercantilism, a system where the government plays a protective role and intervenes in market dynamics.

Social and Political Structures: The Ancien Régime

• The Three Estates ($Standenmaatschappij$):

  • First Estate: The Clergy ($geestelijken$). Represented approximately $1\%$ of the population and owned $10\%$ of the land.

  • Second Estate: The Nobility ($edelen$). Represented approximately $1.5\%$ of the population and owned $20\%$ of the land.

  • Third Estate: Peasants and Bourgeoisie ($boeren \& burgers$). Represented approximately $97\%$ of the population.

• Privileges of the Elites: The first and second estates enjoyed massive privileges, including access to specific high-level jobs, exemption from taxes, ownership of large tracts of land, and the right to demand labor services ($herendiensten$) such as crop delivery or road maintenance from the peasantry.

• Struggles of the Third Estate: These individuals were largely without rights and bore the entire heavy burden of taxation.

• Absolutism in France: The French King justified his total power through $droit divin$ (power given by God). In the $18^{th}$ century, centralisation increased, and royal censorship ($koninklijke censuur$) was strict, leading to books being banned or burned. Thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire had to flee France; however, their works were still printed in Amsterdam and smuggled back.

• Enlightened Absolutism: This was a system where monarchs adopted Enlightenment ideas but maintained absolute power. A primary example is Frederik the Great of Prussia.

  • What stayed the same: The monarch remained the head of the army and appointed all officials.

  • What was new: The monarch viewed their power as coming from the people rather than God. They aimed to account for the needs of the population and introduced partial freedom of the press.

  • Motto: "Everything for the people! Nothing by the people…"

The American Revolution

• Historical Context: By $1700$, most small colonies had vanished, leaving three major powers in America. By $1775$, there were $13$ colonies with a population of $2.5 \times 10^{6}$ inhabitants who identified as "Americans."

• Conflict with the British Crown: The English king sought more revenue and imposed taxes on the colonies without giving them political representation.

• Taxation Acts:

  • $1764$: Sugar Act.

  • $1765$: Stamp Act.

  • $1773$: Tea Act.

• Political Slogan: "No taxation without representation."

• Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father, politician, and scientist who admired Montesquieu and maintained extensive correspondence regarding Enlightenment ideas.

• Independence and War:

  • In $1776$, the $13$ colonies declared independence.

  • The War of Independence followed, led by George Washington with assistance from France against the British army.

  • In $1783$, Great Britain formally recognized American independence.

• The Declaration of Independence: Contained core Enlightenment principles:

  • All men are created equal.

  • They are endowed with unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ($leven, vrijheid en het nastreven van geluk$).

  • Governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed.

  • The people have the right to change or abolish an oppressive government.

• The American Constitution ($1787$): Established a system based on the Trias Politica:

  • Legislative: The Congress (Senate and House of Representatives).

  • Executive: The President (first being George Washington).

  • Judicial: The Supreme Court ($Hooggerechtshof$).

The French Revolution

• Financial Crisis: Several factors led to the state going bankrupt:

  • Only the Third Estate paid taxes, leading to low revenue.

  • First and Second estates owned the most land but paid no tax.

  • Expensive military support for the American War of Independence.

  • Severe crop failures ($misoogsten$).

• The Hunger Crisis ($1789$): By the summer of $1789$, the cost of a single loaf of bread was approximately $80\%$ of an average laborer's daily wage.

• Marie Antoinette: Nicknamed "Madame Deficit" ($Mevrouw Staatsschuld$). She is famously (though perhaps apocryphally) associated with the quote: "If the people have no bread, let them eat cake."

• The Estates-General: King Louis XVI ($Lodewijk XVI$) called the Estates-General together to propose that the first and second estates also pay taxes. Each estate had only one vote, leading to a stalemate.

• The National Assembly: Members of the Third Estate and enlightened members of the first and second estates formed their own "National Assembly" ($Nationale Vergadering$) where every individual had one vote.

• Tennis Court Oath ($Eed op de kaatsbaan$): A pledge not to leave until a constitution was drafted to limit the king's power.

• Fall of the Bastille: On July $14$, $1789$, the people stormed the Bastille prison, marking a turning point.

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ($1789$):

  • People are born free and equal in rights.

  • Rights include freedom, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

  • Sovereignty resides with the people.

• Constitution of $1791$: France became a constitutional monarchy.

  • It introduced Census Suffrage ($censuskiesrecht$), where the right to vote was determined by the amount of tax paid. This meant only approximately $13\%$ of the population (the wealthy) had the vote.

  • Standen (Estates) privileges were abolished.

• The Second French Revolution ($1792-1794$) and the Terror:

  • Characterized by the "Reign of Terror" with approximately $40.000$ victims and $500.000$ prisoners.

  • Use of the guillotine was widespread.

  • $70\%$ of the victims were actually from the lower classes, farmers, and workers.

• The Jacobins: Led by Robespierre. Their motto was "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" ($Vrijheid, gelijkheid, broederschap$).

  • Radicals who wanted to abolish the monarchy in favor of a Republic.

  • Wanted universal male suffrage instead of census suffrage.

  • Accomplishments: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed for high treason for fear they would restore the monarchy via foreign aid. Achieved more economic equality.

• Rise of Napoleon:

  • Robespierre was executed by his own guillotine in $1794$.

  • In $1799$, Napoleon Bonaparte seized absolute power. The public accepted his rule because the chaos of the Terror made a single strong ruler seem preferable.

  • In $1804$, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor and established a vast empire.

The Batavian Revolution and the Netherlands

• Dutch Enlightenment: Pamphleteers argued that the House of Orange treated the people as hereditary property, even though all people were naturally equal.

• The Patriots: Desired equal power for every Dutchman, opposing the monopoly on power held by the House of Orange and the wealthy Regents ($regenten$).

• Patriot Uprising: In $1786$, Patriots drove out regents and took over cities. In $1787$, the Prussian army crushed the uprising, forcing many Patriots to flee to France.

• Batavian Republic ($1795$): The Patriots returned with the French army. Stadtholder William V ($Willem V$) fled. The Batavian Republic was declared.

  • Human rights were established, including freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

  • The Unitary State ($Eenheidsstaat$) was established, making provinces subordinate to the national government.

• Transformation to Monarchy:

  • $1805$: Louis Napoleon ($Lodewijk Napoleon$) became King of Holland.

  • $1810$: The Netherlands was annexed as part of France.

  • $1813$: The Netherlands became a monarchy and a unitary state.

Colonialism, Slavery, and Abolitionism

• Growth of the Slave Trade: After King Charles V ($Karel V$) of Spain prohibited the enslavement of Native Americans, the trans-Atlantic slave trade grew. Approximately $11 \times 10^{6}$ African slaves were brought to America.

• Triangular Trade ($Driehoekshandel$):

  • Europe to Africa: Fabrics, weapons, tools.

  • Africa to America: Slaves.

  • America to Europe: Sugar, tobacco, cotton.

• Dutch Involvement: In $1623$, the sentiment was that "Christians do not practice human trafficking," yet the WIC transported $550.000$ slaves to America, and the VOC transported hundreds of thousands of slaves in Asia.

• Abolitionism: The movement for the abolition of slavery. Inspiration came from:

  • Christianity.

  • The Enlightenment: Seeing slavery as being in conflict with natural human equality.

• Key Organizations: The "Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade" in Great Britain.

The Industrial Revolution

• Origins in Great Britain: The Industrial Revolution began in GB due to several factors:

  • Colonial Dominance: Particularly India, providing cheap raw materials like cotton.

  • Entrepreneurship: Businessmen used cheap Indian cotton and employed rural spinners and weavers.

  • Inventions: When rural home-production could no longer meet demand, entrepreneurs invested in technology.

• The Steam Engine: The critical breakthrough. It allowed for:

  • Scaling up production (faster production).

  • Better quality products.

  • Steam trains: Allowing for mass transport of raw materials and finished products.

• Machine Labor: Handiwork was replaced by laborers working with machines in mass-built factories.

• Industrial Society: A new type of society emerged centered around urban factory work.

  • Urbanization: People moved near factories, causing villages to grow into cities and the countryside to depopulate.

  • The Three New Social Classes: The Working Class ($arbeidersklasse$), the Middle Class ($middenklasse$), and the Capitalist Class ($kapitalistenklasse$).