Deck 10: The Eighteenth-Century State System

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-Charter of the Nobility:

Answer 1

1785 document issued by Russian Empress Catherine the Great that gave nobles virtually unlimited power over their serfs, freed them from all taxation, and released them from state service.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-Fleury, Cardinal:

Answer 2

chief minister of Louis XV of France

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-General Directory of Revenues, Wars, and Domains:

Answer 3

the supreme administrative body of Brandenburg-Prussia, created by Frederick William I.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-Jacobites:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-Maupeou, René de:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-Nakaz (Instruction):

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-Pombal, Marquis de:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-Pragmatic Sanction:

Question 9

What is the definition of the following term:
-Pugachev, Emilian:

Question 10

What is the definition of the following term:
-Silesia:

Question 11

What is the definition of the following term:
-Struensee, Johann:

Question 12

What is the definition of the following term:
-Vingtième (twentieth):

Question 13

What is the definition of the following term:
-Wilkes, John:

Question 14

Why were Joseph II's reforming ambitions ultimately not realized?

Question 15

In what ways might "Enlightened Despots" have unintentionally undermined the foundations of monarchy?

Question 16

Was Catherine the Great's reputation as an enlightened ruler deserved? Why or why not?

Question 17

In what ways does the shifting diplomacy of the eighteenth century illustrate the emergence of an impersonal state from the shadow of dynastic monarchy?

Question 18

What were the major issues confronting the royal government in France? Might more assertive royal leadership have succeeded in reforming the government and fiscal system, thereby preventing an eventual revolution?

Question 19

Discuss the growth of political consciousness among ordinary people and its impact in the eighteenth century.

Question 20

Compare and contrast the reigns of Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany and Charles III of Naples and Spain as exemplars of Enlightened Despotism.

Question 21

Compare and contrast the reigns of Frederick William I and Frederick the Great of Prussia. To what extent does the program of Enlightened Despotism help to explain any differences?

Question 22

Why was Jansenism such a divisive issue in eighteenth-century France?

Question 23

Were party politics in England under George III more matters of principle or of factional difference and personal ambition?

Question 24

Compare and contrast government finances in eighteenth-century France and Britain. Why was the British government able to sustain massive debts while the debts of the French government resulted in impending bankruptcy?