Enlightened absolutism
E2314
Enlightened absolutism was a form of monarchy in 18th-century Europe in which rulers embraced certain Enlightenment ideas—such as legal reform, religious tolerance, and rational administration—while retaining absolute political power.
All labels observed (4)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Enlightened absolutism canonical | 6 |
| Josephinism | 3 |
| Age of Absolutism | 2 |
| Enlightened Absolutism | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
form of government
ⓘ
monarchy ⓘ political doctrine ⓘ |
| aimedAt |
economic development
ⓘ
modernization of the state ⓘ strengthening central power ⓘ |
| appliesToPeriod | 18th century ⓘ |
| appliesToRegion | Europe ⓘ |
| associatedWithPolicy |
abolition or limitation of torture
ⓘ
administrative centralization ⓘ economic liberalization measures ⓘ reform of serfdom ⓘ religious reforms reducing church privileges ⓘ religious toleration edicts ⓘ state-sponsored education reforms ⓘ |
| basedOn |
Age of Enlightenment
ⓘ
surface form:
Enlightenment
|
| characterizedBy |
absolute monarchy
ⓘ
bureaucratic reform ⓘ centralized authority ⓘ codification of laws ⓘ legal reform ⓘ promotion of education ⓘ rational administration ⓘ religious tolerance ⓘ state control over church ⓘ |
| contrastsWith |
constitutional monarchy
ⓘ
traditional absolutism ⓘ |
| critiquedBy |
liberal constitutionalists
ⓘ
republican thinkers ⓘ |
| declinedIn | early 19th century ⓘ |
| developedInContextOf | Age of Enlightenment ⓘ |
| emergedFrom | crisis of traditional absolutism ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
benevolent despotism
ⓘ
enlightened absolutist monarchy ⓘ enlightened despotism ⓘ |
| hasExample |
reign of Catherine II of Russia
ⓘ
reign of Charles III of Spain ⓘ reign of Frederick II of Prussia ⓘ reign of Gustav III of Sweden ⓘ reign of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor ⓘ reign of Maria Theresa of Austria ⓘ |
| hasGoal |
enhance welfare of subjects
ⓘ
increase state efficiency ⓘ |
| hasKeyConcept | “ruler as first servant of the state” ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
natural law theory
ⓘ
physiocracy ⓘ rationalism ⓘ social contract theory ⓘ |
| maintains | absolute political power of the monarch ⓘ |
Referenced by (12)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Bernhard von Galen
this entity surface form:
Age of Absolutism
this entity surface form:
Josephinism
this entity surface form:
Age of Absolutism
this entity surface form:
Josephinism
subject surface form:
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
this entity surface form:
Josephinism
this entity surface form:
Enlightened Absolutism