Revolution and Enlightenment C H A P T E R 1 7

Revolution and Enlightenment C H A P T E R 1 7

The Scientific Revolution 1 7. 1

A Revolution in Astronomy Ptolemaic system: (geocentric) 2 nd century A.D.; Earth at center of Universe Copernicus: (heliocentric) 16 th century; sun-centered Kepler: orbits were elliptical not circular

A Revolution in Astronomy Galileo: discovered, using a telescope, that heavenly bodies were made of substance just like Earth Newton: explained the law of gravity (every object in the universe is attracted to every other object); explained why the planets did not go off orbit.

The Scientific Method Francis Bacon: invented the scientific method for collecting & analyzing evidence.

The Enlightenment 1 7. 2

Path to Enlightenment Enlightenment: 18 th century movement based on reason Newton: natural laws governed the physical world (Enlightenment philosophers thought that the natural laws governed human society) John Locke: people were molded by their experiences

Toward a New Social Science The state should not interfere in the economy Laissez-faire: Let the people do what they want Adam Smith: Government had 3 responsibilities: 1) protect society from invasion (the army), 2) protect citizens from injustice (the police), 3) keep up certain public works (i.e. canals and roads)

The Impact of the Enlightenment 1 7. 3

Enlightenment and Enlightened Absolutism Enlightened Absolutism: rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their royal powers. Did Europe s rulers follow the Enlightenment principles?

Prussia: Army and Bureaucracy Frederick William I: One must serve the king with life and limb, and surrender all except salvation. The latter is reserved for God. But everything else must be mine. He built Prussian s army to be the 4 th largest in Europe (behind France, Russia, and Austria) Prussian nobles were the officers in the army.

Prussia: Army and Bureaucracy Frederick II (Frederick the Great): abolished torture except in treason & murder cases, granted limited freedom of speech and press and more religious toleration. He kept serfdom & the rigid social structure

The Austrian Empire Empress Maria Theresa: inherited the throne in 1740; tried to centralize Austria, not opened to Enlightenment but tried to lesson the conditions of the serfs Joseph II: I have made Philosophy the lawmaker of my empire. He abolished serfdom, the death penalty, established the principle of equality before the law, tolerated all religions. He failed because he alienated the nobles by freeing the serfs, alienated the catholic Church by tolerating other religions, and made the serfs unhappy because they couldn t figure out the new reforms.

Russia under Catherine the Great Ruled Russia from 1762-1796 Said she favored enlightened reforms but would not implement them because her success depended on the Russian nobility Russia expanded southward to the Black Sea and conquered about 50% of Poland s territory

Enlightened Absolutism? Joseph II sought radical changes Heightened state power in Prussia, Austria, & Russia was used to collect more taxes to create larger armies to wage more wars to gain more power. Frederick the Great: The fundamental rule of governments is the principle of extending their territories.

War of the Austrian Succession Maria Theresa succeeded to the Austrian throne King Frederick II tried to take advantage of a woman on the throne He invaded Austria France attacked Austria Great Britain allied with Austria Prussia seized Silesia, Austria France occupied Austrian Netherlands Great Britain captured a French fortress in North America

War of the Austrian Succession War (1740-1748) Ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle Treaty guaranteed the return of all occupied territories except Silesia to their original owners

The Seven Years War Maria Theresa would not accept the loss of Silesia She built an army while diplomatically separating Prussia from France France, Austria, & Russia allied together Great Britain & Prussia allied together

The Seven Years War War 1756-1763 Frederick the Great defeated the Austrians, French, & Russians for a while but his army wore out. Peter III, admirer of Frederick the Great, became czar & withdrew Russian troops. Their was a stalemate in 1763, the war ended, and all territories were returned to their owners. Austria recognized Prussia s permanent control of Silesia.

The Seven Years War British & French fought for control of India The French withdrew with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 In North America, The French territories (Canada & Louisiana) were thinly populated but the British 13 colonies had a much greater population. The French and British wanted to settle the Ohio River Valley The French had more of the Native American allies (seen as traders and not settlers)

The Seven Years War The British won most of the major naval battles & it gave them an advantage. Treaty of Paris gave Canada & most of the land east of the Mississippi to the British. Spain gave Florida to the British Great Britain was now the world s greatest colonial power

Colonial Empires and the American Revolution 1 7. 4

Colonial Empires in Latin America By the 16 th century, Spain controlled parts of North, Central, and South America Portugal controlled Brazil Those lands were known as Latin America Mestizos: offspring of Europeans & Native Americans Mulattoes: offspring of Africans and Europeans

Colonial Empires in Latin America Farming: long-lasting & rewarding; Spanish & Portuguese large land owners employed poor native American workers Spanish and Portuguese wanted to Christianize the Native Americans (Catholicism) The Catholic Church built hospitals, churches, and schools Native Americans were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Britain and British North America Queen Anne died in 1714 w/o an heir. George I, an Hanoverian king from Germany, became king. George I did not speak English and George I nor George II knew the English system well. Parliament mostly left the 13 colonies alone & they governed themselves.

The American Revolution King George III came to the throne in 1760 He imposed taxes on the colonies to help pay for the Seven Years War The Stamp Act was forced on the colonists to pay for certain printed materials (i.e. legal documents and newspapers) The colonists rebelled against the Stamp Act & it was repealed Tensions continued to grow

The American Revolution 1 st Continental Congress (1774): many colonists wanted war April, 1775 Battles of Lexington & Concord Three weeks later the 2 nd Continental Congress met and formed an army They place General George Washing as Commanderin-Chief of the Continental Army July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence The War for American Independence officially began

The American Revolution The French supplied arms, money, and soldiers to the Continental Army After the Continental Army defeated the British at the Battle of Sarasota, the French officially recognized the American state. Spain and the Dutch Republic entered the war against Great Britain The British surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 (the last battle of the war) They signed the Treaty of Paris ending the war in 1783

The Birth of a New Nation States did not want to create an united nation at first Articles of Confederation (1781): no strong central government; states were independent of each other; no power to tax Constitutional Convention (1787): Created the Constitution (written by James Madison); created a federal system (power shared between the national government & state governments; created taxes & raised an army; created 3 branches of government w/ checks & balances

The Birth of a New Nation Bill of Rights promised to be added to the Constitution (1 st ten amendments) Many European intellectuals saw the American Revolution as the embodiment of the Enlightenment s political dreams