Enlightenment Spreads

Salons  A social gathering of intellectuals and artists  Like those held in homes of wealthy women in Paris and other European cities during the Enlightenment

Denis Diderot  Created large set of books called Encyclopedia –many leading scholars contributed articles and essays Marie-Therese Geoffrin- most influential hostess of salons of her time

Artistic Styles  Baroque- a grand ornate design –Could be seen in elaborate places like the Palace at Versailles  Neoclassical- new classical –Borrowed ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome

Enlightenment & Monarchy  Enlightenment swept through royal courts  Most philisophes believed best form of government was absolute monarchy –Tried to convince monarchs to rule justly

Enlightened Despots  18 th century European monarchs who were inspired by enlightenment ideas to rule justly and respect the rights of subjects  Wanted to make their countries stronger and their own rule more effective

Frederick the Great  Granted religious freedoms  Reduced censorship  Improved education  Reformed justice system- abolished torture  Called himself the “first servant of the state”

Joseph II  Introduce legal reforms and freedom of press  Supported freedom of worship  Abolished serfdom and ordered that peasants be paid for their labor with cash  Most radical of enlightened despots

Catherine the Great  Recommended: –Reformed Russian laws –Allowing religious toleration –Abolishment of torture and capital murder  None of reforms ever put into action  Expand Russia –Black Sea port from Ottoman Turks

Influenced of Enlightenment  Colonial leaders used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence  Colonists asked for political rights like others in Britain had and were refused  King George III broke social contract so colonists were justified to rebel

Thomas Jefferson  Enlightenment ideas influenced Jefferson when writing the Declaration of Independence  Author of Declaration of Independence, author of the Statute of Virginia Religious Freedom, founder of University of Virginia, designed Virginia’s state capital building and many buildings at U. of Virginia