HISTORY
ABSOLUTISM AND REVOLUTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Joseph II
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Frederick
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Catherine
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -Catherine the Great considered herself an enlightened despot. She read the most prominent philosophes of the day, including Montesquieu and Voltaire and tried to adhere to Enlightenment ideas.
Detailed explanation-2: -Catherine is one of the final examples of, so called, ‘enlightened absolutism’ or ‘enlightened despotism’. A system of rule, wherein the monarch retains absolute autocratic power over their subjects, whilst at the same time applying the principles of the Enlightenment to the task of governance.
Detailed explanation-3: -Catherine’s vision of progress shared the commitment of the broader Enlightenment to the principles of reason as well as ‘toleration’ and ‘curbing religious fanaticism’.
Detailed explanation-4: -Historians consider Catherine the Great (r. 1762–96) and Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740–86) the quintessential practitioners of the doctrine of enlightened absolutism because of their solid record of widespread reform and their flair for rule.
Detailed explanation-5: -Among the most prominent enlightened despots were Frederick II (the Great), Peter I (the Great), Catherine II (the Great), Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Leopold II.