Commentary on the Time Period-Part Four

A Glimpse of the Seven Years' War

Peter III of Russia

Frederick the Great is one of the most cultured enlightened rulers of the eighteenth century. Like his predecessors, he took a keen interest in military affairs. Frederick the Great enlarged the army size from 83,000 men to 200,000 men. By using the massive armies as an advantage, Frederick was able to intervene in a succession crisis of Austria, my beloved country. Before, I had looked up to Frederick as the most intelligent, mature, and decisive ruler there ever was. Now, I am embroiled with bitter hatred toward my once admired model. Frederick the Great aroused two major wars-The War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. In the War of the Austrian Succession, my mother, the Empress Maria Theresa, was ineligible to succeed in the Habsburg monarchy due to her gender. This, however, served as an excuse for Prussia to carpe diem during Austria's critical moment. Problems aroused when King Frederick the second of Prussia violates the Pragmatic Sanction-where European states would recognize the female successor as a legal  heir-and invades Silesia, a historical region centered mostly in Poland,but includes dividends from the Czech Republic and Germany. After a period of exasperated warfare, the parties agree to cease war with a peace treaty, the Aix-la-Chapelle, which promised the return of occupied territories except Silesia to their rightful owners. Prussia's defiance of returning Silesia initiates the Seven Years' War-a war that literally lasted for seven years. The Seven Years' War was a military conflict between Britain and Prussia against the Austrian, Russian, and French armies. This so called "first world war" occurred in three major areas: Europe, India, and North America. Prussia, at first, took the lead in the spectacular victory at the Battle of Rossbach in Saxony. Frederick II of Prussia's forces, however, were gradually worn down, but were rescued soon later when Peter III-the Emperor of Russia-withdrew with the Peace of Hubertusburg. Territories were returned and I, reluctantly recognized Prussia's permanent control of Silesia. The enterprise of the enlightened rulers and the different wars are some examples of the operations in my time period.

Commentary on the Time Period -Part Three

Frederick the Great of Prussia

Catherine the Great of Russia

In addition to the Enlightenment values, there are a variety of international wars, social changes,and distinct European states in the eighteenth century. New ideas and new practices emerge as the demographic, economic, and social patterns begin to change and reflect a new modern order. My policies, I discovered are the only avenues to true radical change based on the Enlightenment.Other Enlightened rulers such as Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great are known as the "disciples of the Enlightenment", whose policies were merely tangential in regards to the Enlightenment terms and their system based on the Enlightenment ideals had not truly reformed their states. Nevertheless, Frederick the Great of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia still pursued Enlightenment doctrines although not as significant as to what I have done as ruler of Austria. Frederick the Great, one of the best-educated and cultured monarchs of the eighteen century is extremely intelligent in Enlightenment thought and he pursued his intellectual activities despite his father's growing opposition of his pursuits. For some time, I heard, Frederick was willing to pursue reforms based on the Enlightenment ideals such as creating a single code of laws and eliminating the abuses of murder cases. Frederick the Great also issued decrees that limited freedom and speech and advocated complete religious toleration. Catherine the Great on the other hand was initially eager for reform and social,political change. She expressed her ideas in her Instruction that served as a guide or a code based on the Enlightenment principles. Catherine's work however, produced little to no change and eventually Catherine abandoned her pursuits and made equality an extinction. However, there were political and social realities that limited reform. One example of a political and social reality includes the eminent international wars that took places in the eighteenth century.

Commentary on the Time Period-Part Two

The Age of the Enlightenment

Baron de Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Law

As I mentioned before, the doctrines of the Enlightenment profoundly influenced society through the natural laws of reason,hope,and progress. The legacy of Locke and Newton paced the way to the discovery of a new,rational world based on the intellectual understandings. The intellectuals that construct this new world are known by the French term, philosophes. The philosophes were composed of a variety of social groups: the literary people, economists, journalists, professors, political scientists, and above all these distinctions, social refomers. These French philosophes created a movement that propagated to the entire Western world, including the British and Spanish colonies to America. The philosophes' call for freedom of expression reminds me that their appeals were done in censorship and tight regulation. Despite this censorship, a few intellectuals were able to dictate the multitude and establish themselves as "giants" of the Enlightenment-Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot. Montesquieu's political thought called for an intervention on traditional religion, the support for religious toleration, the denunciation of slavery, and the adoption of reason as the supreme "code of the land." Much of the foundation in Montesquieu's work reflected the ideals of the Enlightenment. I, Joshua II of Austria, ruled according to the Enlightenment ethics and the truth expressed in Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot's work. My call for the enforcement of religious toleration is evident in my Toleration Patent of 1781;the Lutherans, Calvinists, and Greek Orthodox retain the privilege of worshiping privately. All together, in my effort to reform Austria, I issued six thousand decrees and eleven thousand laws. Montesquieu's famous work, The Spirit of the Law, published in 1748 profoundly influenced my ability to issue a reform program in Austria. It attempted to apply the scientific method socially and politically. Montesquieu distinguished three distinct kinds of government: the republics, a political system where power rested in the hands of the people, a monarchy where middle-sized states were grounded in the principles of the law, and despotism, where the multitude is disciplined through fear as a means to inspire obedience. Montesquieu's contribution to political thought based on the distinct governments includes the separation of powers. The different executive, legislative, and judicial powers served to limit each other and provide freedom for the state. Montesquieu's principle of creating a balanced power and equality influenced me to create m own equality reforms before the law. Voltaire's principle of the freedom of speech is added to my reform program as well as Diderot's reinforcement of a more reasonable, tolerant, and cosmopolitan society. Indeed,the rational applications in my reform program is based on the principles of the Enlightenment as well as the conclusions of the philosophes.

Commentary on the Time Period

Joseph II of Austria, ruler of the Habsburg lands

The Principles of Natural Philosophy

Hi! I am Joseph II of Austria, the ruler of the Habsburg lands. During my era, new groups of intellectuals reasonably changed the different aspects of life throughout Europe in the eighteenth century. These groups of intellectuals known as philosophes popularized the ideas of the Scientific Revolution and discussed their reforms which included the application of reason and the scientific method to understand the concept of life itself. This scientific, cultural, and intellectual movement in the eighteenth century is known as the Enlightenment. In addition to the scientific principles, the Enlightenment brought many humanitarian reforms to achieve clarity of perception, reason,and knowledge. Immanuel Kant, and influential German philosopher in the eighteenth century, defined the Enlightenment as "man's leaving his self-caused immaturity." This quote is a prevalent concept of the Enlightenment-the ability to "think outside the box" and explore the rational, scientific approach to life. There are many paths to the Enlightenment that profoundly influenced revolutionary thinkers. The popularization of scientific principles, a growing skepticism where educated intellectuals began to question religious doctrines and attitudes, and the impact of the different accounts of literature helped created and configure a new developed avenue of reason, natural law, hope, and progress-the buzz words of the enlightened multitude. In addition to the diverse passages of rationalism, the legacy from extraordinary, capable, and brilliant minds serve as the truth which disentangles the threads of perplexity. These masterminds generate a grand design as the basis of the enlightenment period. The notorious conclusions from John Locke and Isaac Newton provide exceptional rules of reasoning. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment are convinced that the same principles from Isaac Newton's "Universal Law of Gravitation" govern the same principles in politics, economics, justice, religion, and the arts. John Locke's approach to rationalism endeavored to elucidate the idea that knowledge is derived from our environment, not from hereditary;from reason, not from faith. Ultimately, the principles from the Enlightenment influenced my perspective and I am determined to make amends based on these rational and logical applications.

The Life of Joshua II of Austria

Hi! My name is Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam, or known simply as Joseph II of Austria. I am placed and bestowed by heaven to be the eldest son of Maria Theresa and Francis I. I am a proponent of enlightened absolutism and I advocated religious toleration before the law among my dominions, the Habsburg lands. Out of all the offspring of my dear, beloved mother Maria Theresa, I was the most difficult to manage. During my childhood life, my mother attempted to frighten me with matters concerning the spiritual-world which ultimately brought a foundation to my religious skepticism as I matured. After the miserable death of my parents, I succeeded them as ruler of Austria. Before my coronation as ruler of Austria, an attempt to bolster the 1756 defensive pact was made through the union of Princess Isabella of Parma, the daughter of Philip, the Duke of Parma, and I, the ruler of the Habsburg lands. Unfortunately, my beloved child, Maria Theresa, at age seven, suddenly and dramatically died of pleurisy-an inflammation in the lungs. In addition, my wife, the lovely, intelligent, and beautiful Princess Isabella of Parma died a year before my coronation in Frankfurt on April 3, 1704. I was reluctant to re-marry after that sorrowful experience. For political reasons, however, I married Maria Josepha of Bavaria, the empress of the Holy Roman Empire, who unfortunately, died two years later from smallpox. One can clearly see the accounts of my tragic background concerning my family life. However, despite these circumstances, I was passionate and intensified by my belief in the power of the state directed by reason. In my reform system, I abolished brutal punishments and in most instances, the horrendous death penalty. In my reform system, I imposed a principle of complete equality of treatment and I ended censorship n the field of entertainment. As I endeavored to propose the greatest system of amends, I spectacularly extended the full legal freedom to serfs. However, the arrogant landlords who found their economic positions threatened, reversed my policy measures-the tax owed to a landlord were to be regulated by the authorities. I was discontent with the resistance from the landlords and issued the Imperial Patent that abolished serfdom. I viewed this proposal as the best solution despite the endurance of feudalism. In my effort to achieve a bonding relationship with the peasantry, I imposed a single-tax on the land and increased state revenues. Perplexed I was when my reforms were met with resistance from the nobility, peasantry, and some officials. As a proud supporter of the Enlightenment , I accomplished new economic principles-tax reforms and the Katastralgemeinde(tax districts for the larger residences)-that called for the destruction of the independent guilds. In the fields of education and medicine, I established schools for the Jews and other religious minorities and I constructed scholarships for the talented impoverished students. I reversed the country's language from Latin to German-considered a disputable step in my era. In addition to  my educational amends, I created an improved, single, and large hospital centered in Vienna, in response to the different physicians' requests for larger, advanced facilities. My reforms in the medical field, tragically, worsened the sanitary conditions and increased the mortality rate to 20 percent. Despite these unfortunate occurrences, my policy of religious toleration was the most advanced in Europe. My policies were exceptional, but many of my endeavors faced extreme opposition, especially from the traditional Catholic Church. I tried to make the Catholic Church a tool of the state by requiring the bishop to swear an oath of loyalty to the crown and depriving the clergy from the tithe. As a supporter of the Enlightenment, I reduced the number of nuns and monks in the monasteries from sixty-five thousand to twenty-seven thousand. Most of my reforms were met with unrest,opposition, and animosity. I could not comprehend why my amends were made with dissatisfaction and I expressed my sorrows and griefs in my message for my gravestone,"Here lies Joseph II, who failed in all he undertook."