Enlightened Monarchs: Crash Course European History #19

Summary

The episode examines how European monarchs adopted Enlightenment ideas while trying to preserve their authority. “Enlightened monarchs” supported some reforms and intellectual projects, but their actions often remained absolutist and served the interests of the state—or the ruler—more than the broader population.

Enlightenment critiques of power

Enlightenment thinkers criticized rulers and aristocrats for practices such as torture, censorship, arbitrary imprisonment, and the assumption that inherited status made them fit to govern.

In The Spirit of Laws (1748), Montesquieu argued that forms of government varied with circumstances such as geography and climate. He rejected the idea that divine right provided a universal justification for monarchy.

Many philosophes admired Britain’s post-Glorious Revolution system, in which a parliament, courts, and a Bill of Rights limited royal power. They viewed its religious diversity and divided institutions as safeguards against despotism, while recognizing that distributed power could also produce conflict and gridlock.

Frederick the Great of Prussia

Frederick cultivated an image of refinement and intellectual openness. He valued the arts, welcomed religious exiles, and described himself as “a servant of the people.”

His policies also strengthened the state and entrenched aristocratic power:

• He expanded the standing army from about 80,000 to 200,000 men.
• He required aristocrats to serve in the army or government.
• He eased obligations for serfs on his own estates but increased aristocratic control over serfs elsewhere.
• He blocked talented commoners from reaching senior military and bureaucratic roles.

The result was a stronger Junker aristocracy whose political and military influence lasted long after Frederick’s reign.

Catherine the Great of Russia

Catherine corresponded with Voltaire and supported Enlightenment-associated projects, including education, roads, trade, and the creation of Russia’s first dictionary. She also founded schools for girls and appointed a woman to lead the dictionary project.

She summoned representatives of different social groups to discuss law and policy, but they largely pursued their own interests. Catherine did not manage to make them prioritize the empire as a whole.

Her reforms also aimed to consolidate royal authority. She strengthened aristocratic privileges, while her stated concern for serfs did not prevent policies—such as taxes—that burdened ordinary people.

Government efficiency, taxation, and toleration

Monarchs often pursued rational administration less from philosophical conviction than because efficient government helped them collect taxes and maintain costly standing armies.

In 1770, Maria Theresa’s officials standardized urban addresses and counted inhabitants across the Habsburg Empire. They also collected information about people’s health and well-being, increasing the state’s contact with its diverse population.

Joseph II’s reforms went further:

• He moved to emancipate Jews and condemned prejudice and mistreatment. At the same time, he restricted the use of Jewish languages outside religious services as a way to integrate Jews into the imperial workforce.
• He reduced aristocratic control over serfs, ended their obligation to provide personal service, and allowed them to leave estates for work in crafts or trade.
• He encouraged agricultural experimentation and a freer workforce.

Joseph claimed to have made philosophy the lawmaker of his empire. Aristocratic resistance followed, and after his death his successor reversed some of his reforms.

France and Spain: limits and tensions of reform

In France, Louis XV’s government attempted to reform taxation and streamline administration by abolishing the Parlements, which registered royal decrees and whose members could sell their offices. The Parlements appealed to public fears of royal tyranny, and the king backed down.

A minister’s effort to reduce grain-market regulations in the name of free trade disrupted food supplies and provoked public anger. These examples show how reforms could destabilize daily life and threaten established interests, even when they were intended to improve the system.

Spain’s Bourbon reforms sought more effective administration and higher tax revenue. They opened some colonial bureaucratic and military positions to people of Spanish descent born in the colonies, but excluded them from the highest ranks and continued to exclude Indigenous people.

The Spanish administration also expelled the Jesuits from the colonies, viewing the order as a rival source of loyalty and a drain on royal funds.

Overall consequences

Enlightenment reforms were uneven and often met resistance from aristocrats, urban residents, and others who faced new taxes, rising prices, food shortages, or the loss of privilege. Aristocrats, by contrast, often continued to enjoy growing wealth and luxury, supported by inexpensive labor and elaborate estates.

Poverty also grew alongside European productivity and knowledge. The contrast between elite wealth and hardship—such as bread adulterated with sawdust—contributed to mounting discontent.

As governments expanded their administrations and fought repeated wars, pressure on the poor increased. The episode concludes that these tensions helped set the stage for revolt, beginning in France, and that change would eventually exceed monarchs’ ability to manage it.

Speakers and sources featured

• John Green — narrator and host.
• Thought Bubble — animated explanatory segment about Frederick the Great.
• Historical thinkers and texts discussed: Montesquieu and The Spirit of Laws; Voltaire; Diderot and the Encyclopedia.
• Historical quotation attributed to Joseph II:

“I have made philosophy the lawmaker of my empire.”

• Sources cited in the subtitles: T. C. W. Blanning, Joseph II and Enlightened Despotism; Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization.