The Dawn of Enlightened Absolutism

The second half of the 18th century witnessed a remarkable historical phenomenon: rulers across Europe attempting to implement Enlightenment ideals through absolute monarchy. This period of “enlightened absolutism” saw monarchs like Prussia’s Frederick the Great (1740–1786), Austria’s Joseph II (1765–1790), Spain’s Charles III (1759–1788), and Sweden’s Gustav III (1771–1792) positioning themselves as reformist autocrats. These rulers maintained their divine right to rule while justifying their authority through secular arguments about serving the public good.

This movement emerged in nations where neither constitutionalism (as in Britain) nor republicanism (as in the Netherlands) had taken root. The enlightened despots saw themselves as modernizers, collecting and systematizing laws, fighting against feudal privileges, and challenging traditional power structures including representative estates and, in Catholic countries, the Jesuit order.

The Faces of Reform: Monarchs and Ministers

The enlightened absolutists pursued reform through different approaches. Some rulers personally drove changes, while others relied on visionary ministers. Portugal’s Marquis of Pombal (1750–1777) became famous for his anti-Jesuit campaigns and economic modernization. Denmark’s Johann Friedrich Struensee (1770–1772) implemented radical reforms including press freedom and peasant rights before his dramatic fall.

Frederick the Great of Prussia embodied the paradoxes of enlightened absolutism. He abolished torture, limited capital punishment, and advanced legal codification while simultaneously reinforcing noble privileges. His legal reforms produced the Prussian General State Laws (1791), a compromise between Enlightenment ideals and feudal realities that Alexis de Tocqueville would later describe as “a very modern head upon a very Gothic body.”

The Limits of Enlightenment from Above

Not all reform attempts succeeded. Russia’s Catherine the Great (1762–1796), despite her correspondence with Voltaire and Diderot, failed to implement meaningful Enlightenment reforms. France, the heart of the Enlightenment itself, proved inhospitable to enlightened absolutism as its civil society had developed beyond top-down reform.

The most dramatic failures came when reforms threatened noble interests too aggressively. Sweden’s Gustav III paid with his life for his anti-aristocratic measures, assassinated in 1792. Denmark’s Struensee was overthrown and executed in 1772 after just two years of reform. These cases revealed the delicate balance enlightened monarchs had to maintain between modernization and maintaining elite support.

Religious Reforms and the Church-State Struggle

Enlightened absolutists frequently clashed with religious institutions. The Jesuit order became a particular target, expelled from Portugal (1759), France (1762), and Spain (1767) before Pope Clement XIV dissolved it in 1773. Joseph II of Austria pursued the most radical religious reforms, dissolving monasteries, placing clergy under state control, and issuing Tolerance Patents (1781–1789) that granted rights to Protestants and Jews.

These religious policies often proved controversial. While Frederick the Great maintained religious tolerance in Prussia, Joseph II’s reforms alienated both the Catholic Church and traditional elites, contributing to the failure of many of his initiatives.

Social and Legal Transformations

The enlightened despots made significant, if uneven, progress in social reform. Joseph II abolished serfdom in Austria and Bohemia (1781–1782), while Denmark eliminated restrictions on peasant movement in 1788. Legal systems were modernized across enlightened states, with Prussia’s legal reforms being particularly influential.

However, these reforms often stopped short of true social transformation. Frederick the Great actually reinforced noble privileges in Prussia, restricting commoners from purchasing noble lands. The watermill case of 1779–1780, where Frederick intervened to overturn court decisions, revealed both his commitment to justice and his willingness to undermine judicial independence.

The Paradox of Enlightened Absolutism

The movement contained inherent contradictions. As Immanuel Kant recognized, true Enlightenment required intellectual freedom, yet these rulers sought to impose progress from above. The British model of constitutional government and the French revolutionary approach both represented alternatives to this top-down Enlightenment.

By the 1790s, enlightened absolutism was fading. The French Revolution demonstrated the dangers of maintaining absolute power while promoting Enlightenment ideals. Joseph II died in 1790 with many reforms reversed, while Gustav III’s assassination showed the risks of challenging noble privilege too aggressively.

Legacy of the Enlightened Despots

Despite their limitations, the enlightened absolutists left enduring marks. Their legal codes influenced modern legal systems. Their religious tolerance policies paved the way for pluralism. Their administrative reforms created more efficient states. Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrated that even absolute rulers felt compelled to justify their power through service to the public good—a revolutionary idea that would eventually undermine absolutism itself.

The age of enlightened absolutism remains a fascinating chapter in Europe’s transition from traditional monarchy to modern governance, showing both the possibilities and limits of reform from above. These rulers’ attempts to reconcile Enlightenment ideals with absolute power created a distinctive moment in history when philosophy met statecraft with mixed, but historically significant, results.