WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Enlightened despotism was defended in an essay by Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786. He was an enthusiast of French ideas and invited the prominent French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire to live at his palace.

Detailed explanation-2: -King Frederick II of Prussia – Frederick the Great 1740-1786) was an enlightened despot and close friend of Voltaire. In his youth, the German king excelled in the field of philosophy eventually incorporating philosophical idealism into his reign.

Detailed explanation-3: -Frederick gave his state a modern bureaucracy, reformed the judicial system, and made it possible for men not of noble stock to become judges and senior bureaucrats. He also allowed freedom of speech, the press, and literature, and abolished most uses of judicial torture.

Detailed explanation-4: -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.

Detailed explanation-5: -Frederick was a perfect example of an enlightened monarch in that, he created an environment of freedom and tolerance and encouraged all sorts of arts and sciences in his realm. His judicial reforms gave every citizen of Prussia equal individual rights without class distinction.