Enlightened Despotism: What it is and how it originated

We explain what enlightened despotism was and what its general characteristics were. Also, its consequences and the main enlightened monarchs.

Enlightened despotism favored cultural manifestations and modernization.

What was enlightened despotism?

Enlightened despotism (also called benevolent despotism either enlightened absolutism) was a model of government that emerged in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Its peculiarity was that It combined the absolutism of the Ancien Régime with the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment, such as faith in reason.

The political thought of enlightened despotism was summed up in the phrase “Everything for the people, but without the people”. This involved the implementation of reforms designed for the well-being of the population but led by the monarch and his ministers. Therefore, It was a model of paternalistic government. Some of the main enlightened monarchs were Frederick II of Prussia, Charles III of Spain, Catherine II of Russia, Gustav III of Sweden, and Maria Theresa and Joseph II of Austria.

The enlightened monarchs and their trusted ministers They promoted social and administrative reforms, encouraged the modernization of cities, sponsored art and science and they promoted the education of their subjects and religious tolerance. However, this did not mean a renunciation of aristocratic privileges or a lessening of social division. Nor did they contribute to the formation of a republican order, since the representatives of enlightened despotism were opposed to the idea that the people should govern themselves, as proposed by other enlightened philosophers.

See also: Neoclassicism

Origin of enlightened despotism

The enlightened monarchs surrounded themselves with thinkers and artists.

Enlightenment despotism began in Europe in the mid-18th century, as a consequence of the spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment. The enlightened ideas, which emerged at the end of the 17th century and were consolidated in the 18th century, They were based on faith in human reason to achieve knowledge and progress as a way to overcome the difficulties of society.

One of the foundations of the Enlightenment was the criticism of absolutism, that is, the monarchical regime in force in several European countries (such as France) in which the king concentrated power and governed “by divine right.” Many enlightened philosophers rejected aristocratic privileges, defended the existence of natural rights common to all human beings, and affirmed the centrality of reason in making decisions that promote the happiness of individuals.

However, these criticisms of the absolutist regime did not propose a violent and revolutionary change, but rather They pointed to a gradual change in social and administrative structures with the aim of building a more modern and rational society.

Some Enlightenment thinkers adopted constitutional or liberal positions, and Enlightenment ideas influenced processes of political change such as American independence in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789. However, the idea of ​​gradual progress that prevailed It influenced some monarchs and high European dignitaries, interested in promoting reforms guided by the use of reason..

Thus, during the second half of the 18th century, a series of regimes emerged that are today considered to be representative of enlightened despotism. The combination of absolutism and the enlightened character of the monarchs or the ministers who advised them was what motivated some 19th-century German historians to coin the term “enlightened despotism.”

See also: Illustration

Characteristics of enlightened despotism

Enlightened monarchs such as Catherine II patronized the sciences and arts.

While the Enlightenment was especially influential on the bourgeoisie, enlightened despotism It was the result of the adoption of enlightened ideas by some aristocrats and monarchsThe principles of enlightened despotism were implemented from the mid-18th century in several European monarchies, such as Prussia, Russia, Spain, Portugal and Austria.

In France, where Enlightenment ideas were particularly strong, the weakness of the monarchs of the time prevented Enlightenment measures from being applied. The survival of the absolutism of the Old Regime led in 1789 to the outbreak of the French Revolution, strongly influenced by Enlightenment thought.

Enlightened despotism consisted of a policy of reform and modernization aimed at ensuring the well-being of the people, which was considered an obligation of monarchs and aristocrats. It was a paternalistic vision of the political order, in which the king and his ministers had to make decisions to improve the conditions of existence of the subjects.

However, the enlightened reforms They also aimed to improve state administration to expand the availability of resources, to enlarge the State and turn it into a great power. The privileges of the nobility and the clergy were not eliminated either, although sometimes limitations were imposed on them.

In general terms, the modernization implemented by Enlightenment despotism in the second half of the 18th century consisted of:

• Promotion of arts and sciences.
• Strengthening the education of subjects.
• Religious tolerance.
• Greater respect for some civil liberties, such as freedom of the press.
• Creation of economic societies (to apply knowledge to economic development).
• Reforms in public administration.
• Limitation of privileges of the nobility and clergy (especially in matters of taxes).
• Creation of academies and scientific societies.
• Modernization of cities.

Consequences of enlightened despotism

Enlightened despotism helped modernize and consolidate the power of some monarchies and gave a major boost to science and the arts in Europe. In addition, contributed to spreading enlightened ideas that had begun to be stated at the end of the 17th century.

Enlightenment ideas were spread by philosophers and representatives of enlightened despotism. This promoted the adherence of aristocratic and, above all, bourgeois sectors to concepts derived from the Enlightenment and close to liberal and democratic thought, such as the sovereignty of the people, constitutional order and the end of privileges, and social inequality.

Enlightened despotism showed its limitations when some of the sectors least favored by the traditional monarchical order made use of the methods and intellectual foundations of the Enlightenment to promote political changes and ideas related to constitutionalism, republicanism and liberalism. In this way, a rejection of all kinds of absolutism or despotism was imposed.

The clearest example was the French Revolution of 1789, which was directed against the absolutist regime of Louis XVI (although its causes were multiple) and led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, inspired by Enlightenment principles.

On the other hand, The project of some enlightened monarchs was interrupted by the different interests or personalities of their successors and by the wars that followed the French Revolution, which pitted the revolutionary troops and Napoleon Bonaparte’s army against a series of coalitions of European monarchies.

Main enlightened monarchs

Charles III of Spain was one of the main enlightened despots.

The main enlightened monarchs were:

• Frederick II of Prussia (1740-1786)
• Joseph I of Portugal (1750-1777)
• Charles III of Spain (1759-1788)
• Catherine II of Russia (1762-1796)
• Gustav III of Sweden (1771-1792)
• Maria Teresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II of Austria (1780-1790)

In general, these monarchs They had ministers who also professed enlightened ideasAmong these, the Marquis of Esquilache, the Marquis of Ensenada, the Count of Campomanes and the Count of Floridablanca in Spain, and the Marquis of Pombal in Portugal stood out.

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References

• Beales, D. (2005). Enlightenment and Reform in 18th-Century Europe. Tauris.
• Domínguez Ortiz, A. (2005). Charles III and the Spain of the Enlightenment. Alliance.
• Duignan, B. (2023). Enlightenment. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Hunt, L., Martin, TR, Rosenwein, BH & Smith, BG (2016). The Making of the West. Peoples and Cultures. 5th edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s.