Chapter Four

The Enlightenment 1700-1789

European Society in the Eighteenth Century

Population Growth

· Steady rise in population

o Fewer wars and epidemics, increase in hygiene and sanitation

o Improved food supply

· Increase population à higher demands for food, jobs, goods and services

· Many people migrated from the country side

· Huge pop boom – disadvantaged/discontent people

Land Use and Agriculture

· Southern Euro was dry with sparse rain – northern coast more rain, more agriculture

· Used natural fertilizers and crop rotation – yields still low

· Many farmed owned by aristocrats, farms owned by residents were managed better

· Agriculture became commercialized – landlords wanted to make more profit

· England, Italy, Netherlands – used dykes and drainage canals

· Jethro Tull – introduced steel plow, seed drill

· Charles Townsend – method of crop rotation to ensure no field was left fallow

· Above known as the agricultural revolution – gradually extended through Euro

· Some landlords exercised right to control land – reclaimed common land and rented out strips

o Known as “enclosure” – Parliament passed acts in favour of landlords

o Lead to riots by displaced peasants & social conflict

· Agricultural revolution most prevalent in parts of Euro, Britain, Netherlands

· France and northern Italy had agric improvements but used little enclosure

The Beginning of the Industrial Revolution

· Came in the 1750s – gradual series of changes in agriculture, trade, industry

· John Kay invented flying shuttle – cut cotton weaving time in half

· Richard Arkwright – spinning jenny and water-power frame

o Both increased productivity, lead to urbanization and ↑consumerism

Luxury and Consumerism in the Eighteenth Century

· Voltaire – “the superfluous is necessary” à consumerism creates jobs and stimulates commerce

· Br. Francois Quesnay – believed rural economy was root of national wealth

o Coined phrase laissez faire (no interference) – more open market

· Spread of commercial capitalism throughout Western Euro

· Joint-stock companies increased volume of trade, merchant banking became more widespread

o Money flowed into hands of new middle/merchant class and out of hands of monarchs and nobles

The Weakening of the Nobility

· Most land in Euro owned by nobles

o Nobles: members of privileged families that claim to be descendants of warriors

· Enjoyed profits and demanded obedience from those on farm

· Some people owned their farms, most paid rent to nobles, worked for wage on land owned by church/middle-class landowner

· Peasants couldn’t negotiate wages = serfs, obliged by law to provide labour

· 18^th century, social authority of nobility weakened in Euro and France

· Louis 14^th died – most of Euro governed by monarchs

o Kings and emperors often unhappy with nobility’s greed

Government in the Eighteenth Century

· Largely dictated by dynastic ambitions of powerful ruling families served by nobles

· Royal court – where nobility could get power and rewards

o Full of personal intrigue and scandal

· Rulers human and therefore fallible; could get sick/insane

· Monarchies constrained by tradition, religion, obedience to legal precedents

· After Louis 14^th died, Louis 15^th too young to rule and it became a time of novelty and change in French culture

Europe after Louis 14^th

· Families struggling to increase territory and wealth

o Spanish Bourbons, French Bourbons, Hanoverians in Britain, Hapsburgs in Central Euro, Romanovs in Russia, Hohenzollern Prussia

· Southeast Euro very cautious of Ottomans (large Islamic power)

o Overlords of Balkans, Middle East, North Africa

· Conflicts based on expanding territories, not religious/philosophy

· Military glory was focus for powerful groups, peace preparation for next war

· Wars occurred only in summer months and never far from supplies; battles avoided

· Foreign policy decisions made in England, France and Holland

o Other areas monarchs/aristocrats continues to decide how/when to have war

The Enlightenment

· Most people thought only of their needs and the needs of their loved ones

· Thinkers of Enlightenment in France were called philosophes

· Much debate over obedience to tradition and beliefs

· Thinkers praised action of the free market

· Thinkers promoted rationalism (faith in human reason); encouraged cultural optimism

· Some promoted return to state of nature, and return to “natural religion”

· Supported the need for human rights

o All of the above important changes in relationship b/w individual & society

Literacy and Book Production

· Many people hostile to change and literacy; people only need education sufficient to do its job

· 18^th century – government advisors convinced education was an advantage

o Portugal – primary schools ordered to be in every jurisdiction

· Pre-1456 people copied texts; 1500 more writers and readers – movable press

· Enlightenment – info passed through printed pages, newspapers, pamphlets

· Enlightened individuals held discussion groups called salons

The Encyclopedia

· Published in France starting in 1751, completed in 1765

o 300 writers, 72 000 articles, editors: d’Alemberrt and Diderot

· Condemned by the Pope because it used science to scorn Christianity

· Embodied ideals of the Enlightenment more than any other work

· France forbade further production at beginning of 7 Years War 1756; some protected the contents; war over and it was published

Freemasons and the Enlightenment

· Freemasons: members of fraternal order of free thinkers influential in 18^th century Euro

o Legend – founders “the Craft” were builders of ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem

· Many associate Freemasonry with the Templars

· Promoted freedom of speech, thought, belief

· 1789 most medium towns in Euro had at least on Masonic lodge

The Enlightenment Ideas

· Portugal, Spain, Italy – Enlightenment thinkers had to confront religious censorship and Inquisition

· German states and Austrian Empire had many barriers and new philosophical thought was frowned upon

· Britain, France, Holland, Denmark – fewer constraints on debates…

· Euro areas with Ottoman rule – tiny possibility of encountering works of Enlightenment

o Gaps in knowledge and different ideas among different groups

· Enlightened – changes and improvements vs. resistance from satisfied people

· Enlightenment criticized unquestioned obedience to authority (royal/religious)

· Rational optimism – Voltaire’s Candidate – hallmark of Enlightenment

· Deism: philosophical trend during Enlightenment, advocated simplification of religious rituals

o Believed God did not directly participate in human affairs

o God created the universe then just let it run

· Had many followers because it kept idea of a supreme power

· Some thinkers renewed moral, religious, artistic systems of “Golden Age”

· 18^th century intellectuals promoted religious tolerance, rejected miracles

· “My mind is my church” –belief in God w/o intolerance of earlier centuries

· Counter movements to rational religion – John Wesley: Wesleyans (Methodists) emphasized emotion over tradition, biggest appeal in poor and lower middle class

Foremost Enlightenment Thinkers

John Locke

· Essay Concerning Human Understanding – relationship of “innate ideas” to human thought, language, limits of human understanding

o Purpose: make reader critical of what is believed by virtue rather than evidence

· Discussed experiences that lead to elaboration of simple and complex ideas

· Defended right to own property, need for elected government

· Can leave state of nature to join ordered society where government acts on your behalf, if they do not act on your behalf the people can overthrow the government

· Theories seen in Canada and the United States

Baron de Montesquieu

· A judge in the Court of Appeal of Bordeaux (France), writer, amateur scientist

· The Persian Letters – never been to Persia, made factually incorrect statements

· Aim to make French readers look at their country the same way as a foreigner

· Coveys the idea that laws/social customs are products of conditions in society

· Spirit of the Laws – influential work on society policy

· Stated that laws are “the necessary relationships deriving from the nature of things”

o Nature of things in politics, aristocracy, monarchy

o Monarchy held in check by aristocracy – best form of government

· Showed good and bad of all political systems, pondered effects of climate/social/sexual customs

Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire

· Completed play Oedipus in Holland

· Wrote Philosophical Letters on the English – praised English law, science, philosophy, and religious tolerance

· Wrote The Century of Louis 14^th

· 1750 invited to German by Prussian king Frederick the Great; lasted two years until the philosophe clashed with the Prussian’s despotic temperament

· 1750-60s became involved in crusades on behalf of victims of injustice

· Signed all his letters with Ecrasez I’nfame (crush infamy)

· Wrote Essay on the Manners and Spirit of Nations

· Believed it was more important to study the recent past

Cesare Beccaria

· Had strong views on changing the criminal justices systems treatment of accused

· Enjoyed discussions in Le Café – people could discuss ideas here and drink coffee, no invitation require, casual atmosphere

· Wrote On Crimes and Punishments – called for end of judicial torture and capital punishment

· Many enlightened rulers showed desire to follow Beccaria’s book

· Facchini, a monk, wrote book denouncing him as enemy of religion…

· Many in Euro remained in favour of torturing and executing criminals

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

· Most concerned with the moral reform of society

· Could not accept the enlightenment notion that the world was improving

· In The Social Contract he stated “Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains”

· Converted to Catholicism as teenager; worldview had Protestant influence

o Looked down on luxury, strong sense of individual responsibility

· Music teacher – wrote about music for the Encyclopidia

· Praised the natural “savage” state over the civilized one

· Wrote Discourse on the Arts and Sciences – won competition; published; famous

· Published The Social Contract – condemned by Paris parliament

· Put forward new concepts of political authority he called “general will” and “the common good”

· Attracted by idea of childhood innocence corrupted by adulthood and sexuality

Adam Smith

· One of the most famous economists

· Proponent of free trade

· Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations – need for free trade, invisible hand should regulate through supply and demand

· Industrialist whose ideas were later used to legitimize exploitation of the working class

Immanuel Kant

· Studied ethics, logic, metaphysics, aesthetics which influenced later philosophy

· Saw religious matters at the heart of the enlightenment

Edmund Burke

· Presented conservative view of political situation – concern about French Revolution and consequences of widespread reforms (in book Reflections on the Revolution in France)

· Believed in importance of established institutions and traditions – throwing these out for new “natural” rights would result in chaos

· Society was a contract/partnership

Johann Gottfried von Herder

· In Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind – future of society lived with “the tireless, peaceful Slavs”

· Emphasized feelings, emotions, need for shared sentiments

· People without a common language was absurd

Marquis de Condorcet

· The last of the philosophes; marked end of Enlightenment

· Critic of ancient regime; welcomed 1789 revolution

· Wrote “the testament of enlightenment” : Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind; history of humanity

· Helpful in founding the Society of the Friends of the Blacks – anti-slavery

The Marquise du Chatelet

· Prominent and powerful general in the French army

· Translated Sophocles’ play, took algebra, studied law, learned Flemish, studied philosophy and scientific theories

· Translated Bernard Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees

The Enlightenment Embraced and Resisted

· Euro – more rational government, standardization, free markets, better training for officials, open justice, end to judicial torture

· Catholic countries – enlightenment was enemy of faith

· Many archbishops, bishops, parish priests – started looking down on traditional activities

· Enlightenment – weakened some traditional forms of belief

Enlightened Despotism

· Political literature, philosophy, art of French Enlightenment influenced new breeds of monarchs

· Students of new science of good government to mobilize human and material resources

Frederick the Great

· Defined new type of monarch: enlightened despot; one who is an absolute ruler but acts with reason

· Granted religious tolerance, freedom of press, established law code, enforced general educational reforms

· Personal beliefs described as humanist not Christian

o Seen in his Political Testament

Catherine the Great

· One of the most successful Euro monarchs

· Excelled at empire building, established first college of medicine, appointed woman as Director of the Academy of Science, doubled number of civil servants in Russia

· Commissioned building of theatres, palaces, wrote operas, donated books

· Provided money to farmers, encouraged immigration, increased number of factories, focused on silver mining and fur trade

· Liberated the millions of serfs in Russia

Art In The Early Eighteenth Century

· Continuation of style and aesthetics of 17^th century, strongly influenced by Louis 14^th

· Louis established Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture – so all “official” art met the standards set by the state (furthered by Palace of Versailles)

· Versailles prime example of 18^th century desire to subordinate nature of the power of human intellect

· All over Euro families tried to emulate architectural achievement of Versailles

Rococo

· Versailles was countered by the more sensuous style called rococo “loose stones”

o Meant to serve appartements being build in Paris

· Rococo interiors were smaller, lighter, people feel at ease

· Rococo salon became important part of society

o Influential women the dominant figures here & great minds of the age

· Antoine Watteau – show doomed society, pleasure seeking individuals conscious of the fact that pleasure is fleeting

· Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin – homage to life of the French middle class; shift of attention from aristocracy to growing middle class

Music In The Eighteenth Century

· Divided into two sections: first half dominated by baroque, second saw emergence of classicism

· Music reflected wealth and power of those who commissioned it

· Baroque masters – Bach, Handel experimented and made lasting achievements

· Baroque – meant to arouse emotions by complex logic, unifying themes and variations; typical forms – fugue, prelude, the cantata

· Handel master of opera; opera most popular entertainment for aristocrats and common people alike

o One of the directors of the Royal Academy of Music

· Four masters in development of classical style were – Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven

o During this time orchestra was developed, symphonies composed

· Smaller groups preformed chamber music – reflected private atmosphere of salons

o String quartets, woodwind octets, concerto

Literature In The Eighteenth Century

· England dominated literary scene in 18^th century

· Started with Restoration of the English monarchy after Puritan Revolution, ended with French Revolution

· England, being run by Walpole who had no interest in literature, forced writers to look to publishers to make a living

· Literature began to focus on the affairs of middle class; came to protest political and moral corruption of ruling bodies of church and state

· Satire born, literature powerful social tool

Literary Theory

· Restoration period starting in 1600 signaled start of neoclassical movement in literature

· Writers expressed ideas through classical ideals of order, simplicity, reason

· French literature had great impact on English society; English writers felt English literature should stay true to tradition – resisted influences

· English writers called neoclassical period the Augustan Age b/c literature strongly influenced by Roman writers Virgil & Horace

· Poetry of Augustan age strictly formal

· A very disciplined form was the heroic couplet; each contained pronouncement on nature, society, or humanity

· Alexander Pope Essay on Man – “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan. The proper study of mankind is Man”

· Blank verse and unrhymed iambic pentameter became popular

· A reaction to Puritanism resulted in genre of Restoration Comedy

· Ideas and opinions expressed in newspapers

· France had salon, England had coffeehouse

· Masters of social criticism – Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift

The Letters of Madame de Graffigny

· Body of work contained novels, plays, over 2500 letters – shows life of woman in Enlightenment

· Published Letters of a Peruvian Woman – bestseller

· Letters showed problems of travel, how it felt to be cold, ill, poorly housed, lacking money

The Eighteenth-Century Novel

· Rebirth of the novel

· Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders

· Samuel Richardson was master of the novel form with book Pamela

· Samuel Johnson – neoclassical humanist, defended ideals of Augustan Age; his death signaled end of Augustan Age and beginning of romantic period in English literature