The Spread of the Enlightenment KEY IDEA Enlightenment ideas spread through the Western world, and influenced the arts and government.

A World Of Ideas: The Paris Salons In the 1700s, Paris was the cultural center of Europe. People came there from other countries in Europe and from the Americas to hear the new ideas of the Enlightenment. Writers and artists gathered in the homes of wealthy people to talk about ideas.

Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin A woman named Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin became famous for hosting these discussions. She also supplied the money for one of the major projects of the Enlightenment. With her funds, Denis Diderot and other thinkers wrote and published a huge set of books called the Encyclopedia. Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin

Denis Diderot’s Encyclopedia In creating the encyclopedia, their aim was to gather together all that was known about the world. Denis Diderot’s

Reaction to Diderot’s Encyclopedia The French government and officials in the Catholic Church did not like many of the ideas that were published in the Encyclopedia. They banned the books at first, but later they revoked the ban.

The Middle Class Responds Through the meetings in homes and works like the Encyclopedia, the ideas of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe. The ideas also spread to the growing middle class. This group of people was becoming wealthy but had less social status than nobles and had very little political power. Ideas about equality sounded good to them.

The middle class was eager for news, ideas, and entertainment. They readily purchased popular magazines that began to circulate in the 18th century. One of the most famous of these publications The Spectator, offered essays on love, marriage and literature. Many of these publications were published for a female audience. By the 1780s, there were more than 150 magazines in publication.

The Enlightenment and the Arts Art moved in new directions, inspired by the Enlightenment ideas of order and reason. The Baroque style had dominated the art and architecture throughout Europe for two hundred years. Artists and architects worked to show balance and elegance by creating a refined style based on the classic Greek and Roman art and architecture. This style is called Neoclassicism.

Baroque Art and Architecture

Neo-classic Art and Architecture

Enlightenment and Music Composers wrote music of great appeal for their creative richness. Mozart Beethoven Haydn

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart began composing music at age 5 and gave concerts throughout Europe when he was only 12 years old. Mozart died at age 35 but in his short life, he had composed over 500 works. Some of his most famous works include: The Marriage of Figaro Don Giovanni The Magic Flute

Wolfgang van Beethoven A deaf Beethoven wrote piano music, string quartets and symphonies. He began his work in the classical style but later developed a more romantic style.

The Life and Times of Beethoven Beethoven became the first important composer to earn a successful living while forsaking employment in the church or court. Physically, he was short and unattractive, and he grew increasingly eccentric with age. His increasing deafness from about 1795 led to near-suicidal depression. From 1819 he was totally deaf. For his last 15 years he was unrivaled as the world's most famous composer.

Franz Joseph Haydn Haydn was important in developing new musical forms such as the Sonata and Symphony He spent most of his adult life as musical director for wealthy princes. A trip to England introduced him to a world where musicians wrote for public concerts rather than for wealthy patrons.

Art and Literature in the Age of Reason In this period, the novel became a popular form of literature. This new form told lengthy stories with many twists of plot that explored the thoughts and feelings of characters. These novels were written in everyday language so they appealed to the middle class.

Authors of the Enlightenment Samuel Richardson: Pamela- England’s first novel Henry Fielding: Tom Jones Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe

Enlightenment and Monarchy Some Enlightenment thinkers believed that the best form of government was a monarchy. In it, a ruler respected the rights of people. They tried to influence rulers to rule fairly. Rulers followed these ideas in part but were unwilling to give up much power.

Enlightened Despots Catherine The Great Frederick II Joseph II

The enlightened despots were motivated by two things. 1. They wanted to make their countries stronger. 2. They wanted to make their rule more effective. These monarchs supported the ideas of the despots because most of them advocated the need for a strong absolute monarchy, however, the despots had no real intention of giving up any of their power.

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick Implemented the following reforms: Granted religious freedom Reduced censorship Improved education Reformed the justice system Abolished torture

Frederick the Benevolent Servant Frederick had a unique attitude about his position as king. He called himself “the first servant of the state”. From the very beginning of his reign, he made it clear that his goal was to serve and strengthen his country.

Joseph II of Austria Joseph was the son of Maria Theresa. In 1765 he was appointed co-regent by his mother. In the beginning he had very little power and could do almost nothing without her approval.

Joseph’s Reforms While a co-regent, he composed a list of radical reforms that he wanted to implement including: mandatory military service for young nobles, religious toleration, an end to government spying on private affairs, limiting the power of the nobles and using the military for public works projects These reforms conflicted with his mother;’s conservative style. It was not until her death that he was able to put these reforms into affect.

Additional Reforms Other reforms implemented by Joseph II include: Legal reforms Freedom of the press Freedom of worship Abolished serfdom Ordered that peasants be paid for their work in cash After his death, most of his reforms were repealed.

Catherine the Great Catherine the Great of Russia was another of the rulers influenced by Enlightenment ideas. She tried to reform Russia’s laws but met resistance.

Catherine’s Reforms She based her reforms on the ideas of Montesquieu and Becarria. These proposals are as follows: Religious toleration Abolition of torture and capital punishment Improve the lives of peasants She hoped to end serfdom, but a bloody peasants’ revolt convinced her to change her mind. Instead, she gave the nobles even more power over serfs.

Catherine Expands Russia Catherine did manage to gain new land for Russia. Her armies gained control of a port on the Baltic Sea and gained control of the northern coast of the Black Sea from the Ottoman Turks. She also gained control of the Bosporus Straits that connected the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Partition of Poland Russia, Prussia, and Austria agreed to divide Poland among themselves. As a result, Poland disappeared as a separate nation for almost 150 years.

Partitions of Poland

The End