1714-1751

= ﻿ 1714-1751: Peace of Utrecht - Encyclopedia = By: Anna Szumiesz and Calvin Maldonado


 * Timeline of Important Events: **
 * 1698-1725** Tsar Peter the Great introduces "westernizing" reforms in Russia
 * 1711-1740** Hapsburg Charles VI builds the Austrian Empire
 * 1****713** The treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt end the War of the Spanish succession
 * 1713-1740** Frederick William I expands the army and wealth of the Prussian State
 * 1713** Pragmatic Sanction is issued by Charles VI
 * 1714-1727** King George I rules England
 * 1715-1774** King Louis XV rules France
 * 1720** "Mississippi Bubble" in France and the "South Sea Bubble" in Britain
 * 1722** The Witchcraft panic subsides, last known execution in Scotland
 * 1727** Sir Isaac Newton dies
 * 1727-1760** King George II rules England
 * 1733** Voltaire publishes //Philosophical Letters on the English//
 * 1740-1748** War of the Spanish Succession in Europe
 * 1740-1780** Queen Maria Theresa rules and expands the Austrian Empire
 * 1740-1786** Frederick II (the Great) rules and expands the Kingdom of Prussia
 * 1741** Montesquieu publishes //The Spirit of Laws//
 * 1751-1772** Publication of the //Encyclopedia// in Paris

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 * Rulers: **



**Political/Military:**


 * Peace of Utrecht and Rastadt end the War for the Spanish Succession in 1713
 * Partitioned Spain
 * Duke of Savoy; acquires Sardinia
 * Britain; retain Gibraltar, annex Minorca, receive Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (Acadia) from Spain, recognized sovereignty over American Northwest (Hudson Bay territory)
 * Austrian Habsburgs; Milan, Naples, Sicily, Spanish Netherlands (Belgium/Austrian Netherlands)
 * Spain; retain American holdings, conquests of Louis XIV in Alsace and the Franche Comté
 * Bourbon Philip V becomes king of Spain
 * French influence throughout Europe strengthens as French cross Pyrenese with Philip V
 * Applies methods of Louis XIV; revives Spanish monarchy
 * Consequences for France
 * Loss of strength due to poverty. misery, depression, depopulation
 * Famines and tax increases causes peasant uprisings
 * Opposition to the war brings about a revival of aristocratic and parliamentary opposition
 * Other Effects
 * French give up claims on Belgium
 * France ceases to recognize pretender Stuart as the King of England
 * Dutch guaranteed security through the right to garrison the "Dutch Barrier"
 * Savoy (Piedmont) and Brandenburg (Prussia) become kingdoms
 * Britain becomes a great power
 * England and Scotland united 1707 - Great Britain is formed
 * Gibraltar and Minorca give Mediterranean stance
 * Belgium in the hands of the Austrians ceases threat to GB
 * Granted the asiento from Spain - lucrative priviledge to provide Spanish America with slave
 * Assured line of Protestant kings and constitutional/parliamentary gov't
 * Recognition of sovereign states
 * France and Great Britain are the forerunners
 * Formation of Austria
 * Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Belgium, Italy
 * Nonnational state with a strong German influence
 * Aristocratic landlords ruled over peasants as long as they produced taxes and soldiers, and accepted foreign policy/wars of the ruling house
 * Pragmatic Sanction - 1713
 * All diets recognized Habsburg territories as indivisible and ruled only by Habsburgs
 * ensured the recognition of Maria Theresa
 * cost Austria it's attempted commercial revival in Belgium (to receive British agreement)
 * Formation of Prussia
 * King Frederick William I, 1713-1740
 * very militaristic - invented the canton system of recruiting (each regiment had a specific district in which to recruit soldiers)
 * King Frederick II the Great, 1740-1786
 * moved troops into Silesia (part of Bohemia) in confusion following Maria Theresa's rise to power doubled population and added industries - Prussia becomes a power
 * Westernizing of Russia
 * Tsar Peter the Great, 1682-1725
 * Great Northern War, 1700-1721, Sweden v Russia
 * Treaty of Nystadt grants Russia control of a piece of the Baltic Shore, giving them the warm water outlets needed for commerce
 * St Petersburg is founded at the head of the Gulf of Finland, symbol of new, westernized Russia[[image:summer_palace_elizabeth.jpg width="260" height="150" align="right" caption="Summer Palace at St Petersburg"]]
 * New administrative system is founded to oversee increased taxes (due to army, founding of St Petersburg, and new/expanding governments)
 * consisted of a "senate" dependent on Peter, 10 territories (gubernii) tsar is absolute, autocratic ruler, rule of hereditary succession is abolished
 * "State service" is enforced
 * all landowning/serfowning aristocrats must serve in the army or civil administration
 * birth means nothing, status depends on rank in Peter's state service
 * Legacy of Peter the Great
 * opposition to imposing reforms/increased presence of western foreigners
 * son Alexis desired to restore customs of Old Russia (reason for Peter's abolition of hereditary succession), Peter puts him to death
 * Effect of the Scientific Revolution
 * New sense of evidence leads to decreased witchcraft condemnations
 * Hearsay evidence is disregarded in English courts
 * Western Europe after the Peace of Utrecht
 * Britain
 * symbolizes constitutionalism
 * George I, Elector of Hanover, King of England 1714-1727
 * German, spoke no English
 * politically convenient at best, closest Protestant relative to Queen Anne
 * came to power following Stuart James I death in 1701
 * Jacobites - supporters for James III (the Pretender), son of James I
 * James III would be rightful heir to throne if he gave up Catholicism
 * Whigs support George I in order to preserve Glorious Revolution
 * Whig and Tory parties are redefined
 * Whigs - men and Anglican bishops close to the government
 * Tories - men remote from the central government/suspicious of it
 * Robert Walpole[[image:Robert-Walpole-756476.jpg width="181" height="226" align="right"]]
 * cabinet government - prime minister and ministers of cabinet departments are part of the legislative body, executive body
 * cabinet allowed Walpole to remain in power, ministers were only those aligned with him, maintained majority in Commons by avoiding issues which might disrupt it
 * France
 * Symbolizes absolutism
 * Louis XV, King of France 1715-1774
 * Five years old at the beginning of reign - Duke of Orleans governs
 * Lacked authority of a monarch, conceded power to aristocracy
 * Parlements reassert authority - ruled by nobles (judgeships were sold to raise money)
 * Right to assent to legislation and taxes - could refuse government measures considered in opposition to the unwritten constitution
 * Cardinal Fleury, 1726-1743[[image:fluery.jpg width="172" height="211" align="right" caption="Cardinal Fleury"]]
 * Did not initiate plans for the future; indolent Louis XV led to the growth of private wealth in the commercial classes especieally
 * War of the Austrian Succession, 1740-1748
 * Little national feeling; Prussians recruit largely outside of Prussia, British army consists of Hanoverians/other German regiments, French army also has German units
 * Frederick II the Great of Prussia, 1740-1786
 * conquered SIlesia (part of Bohemia and thus the Austrian Empire) on Dec 16, 1740
 * leads the opposition and disregard of the Pragmatic Sanction
 * France, Bavaria and Saxony, Prussia, and Spain v Austria, Britain, Holland
 * similar to previous struggles; league of German princes v monarchy of Vienna, Bourbons v Habsburgs
 * Austria's allies provide finances, but have inadequate land forces
 * 1742 Prussia awarded separate peace; temporarily given Silesia
 * French/Bavarians move into Bohemia and set up a puppet government
 * 1745 Battle of Fontenoy won by France, conquer Belgium
 * Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,1748
 * Britain and France return to prewar status quo
 * Frederick's annexation of Silesia is recognized
 * Maria Theresa must cede some Italian duchies to a Spanish Bourbon
 * Belgium is returned to Austria
 * Proved the weakness of the French (obligations in both Europe and the New World)
 * 1745 Francis I is elected Holy Roman Emperor (Maria Theresa's husband)
 * Diplomatic Revolution of 1756
 * Count Kaunitz of Austria proclaims the necessity of checking Prussia's growing power
 * Alliance of Austria and France; French can have Belgium if Austria is helped to destroy Prussia
 * consummated by the arranged marriage of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
 * Britain and Prussia; Britain must protect Hanover, Prussian military might is impressive to Brits

**Social/Economic:**

Trends towards mercantilism, more domestic industry and beginnings of capitalism become apparent

Foreign trade becomes even more important (more East India Companies, Dutch shipping, etc.)

Imported goods becoming more common (coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar)

Gold to Asia for goods, Europeans none too happy about the disparity in trade

Slave trade remains important to maintain productivity on plantations and other sites of foreign importance

Trade with Eastern Europe becomes more widespread

South Sea Company and Mississippi Company bubbles – boundless speculation and investment followed by massive crashes. Bank of France is no more and government pays off debts. British institutions preserved and debts payed off through funds. Property owners given influence in national credit

Standards of living gradually rising in Western Europe

Still little mobility between the upper and lower classes at all (elite and popular cultures, see below)

Greater specialization of work and skilled labor

**Cultural/Intellectual:**

Literacy increases & dictionaries & encyclopedias (Denis Diderot). Further Standardization of language.

Salons - places of meeting for intellectual discussion and free exchange of ideas

Philosophes - new thinkers producing many new and radical ideas

General intellectual trend is one of continuous progress - old vs. new

Confidence in reason and science over tradition and religion (trends towards deism)

Major thinkers include Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau

Montesquieu - anti-absolutism, Spirit of the Laws, balance of powers

Voltaire - ironic style, in favor of strong rulers, not a fan of Catholicism, enlightened despotism

Rousseau – nature is good, mankind isn't, Social Contract, General Will

Enlightened despotism grows out of these ideals - rules are justified via practical reasons of usefulness to the state and a secular viewpoint is taken on.

Elite and popular cultures form divisions throughout the period, before and after as well

Popular cultures are more poor and preserve their cultures through oral tradition and such, carnivals and milder superstitions in this time

Elite cultures partake in greater standardization of intellectual discourse and affluence, become more formal and widening the gaps between themselves and the popular