Peter III is over in Russia. He is the guy who turned his troops over to Frederick the Great. He became czar in 1762. He is only important because he is married to a Prussian princess named Catherine. He dressed his army similarly to Prussia's army. He aggravated other countries as well as his own. His army overthrew him in 1762 and put in his wife, Catherine the Great. She was supposed to be an enlightened despot. She wasn't Russian or Catholic; actually she was German and Lutheran and her real name was Sophie. She didn't get along well with her husband, Peter, either. She began to read and to educate herself after they married in 1745. Peter died mysteriously after assuming the throne in 1762, and Catherine put her lovers in as generals of the army. It didn't matter cuz 95% of Russia were serfs (like slaves), so they didn't know the difference. She talked like an enlightened despot. Actually, she was only a despot, because she did nothing for the good of her people. She got a port from the Turks on the Black Sea. She ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796.
Joseph II was the son of Maria Theresa of Austria. She was disappointed in him. He, too, was bent towards philosophy. He was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. He waited for Maria Theresa to die to put through lots of changes in the final ten years of his reign (Maria Theresa died in 1780). He passed too many laws as somebody trying to be enlightened. He even tolerated the Jews! He thought maybe they'd become Christians by contact. He freed the serfs of Hungary but the serfs rebelled cuz the nobles convinced them that Joseph had taken away their right to be serfs. Joseph let them go back to their former positions. He confiscated monasteries to make schools and hospitals of them. He said to take the 2nd step 1st. (I don't understand it either.) He died in 1790. Actually, of the three enlightened despots, only 1 really was–Frederick the Great. Catherine was too despotic, and Joseph was only enlightened.
Poland was out there somewhere in 1700. It was the 3rd largest country in Europe. The Polish kings kept getting weaker and the nobles kept getting stronger. Finally, the nobles were running the country by committee. They all had a Liberium Veto (means "I forbid") which meant that any noble could veto any law and stop all progress. Every single noble has this veto power. No real laws can be passed in Poland due to this. They passed a law that the king could only get 24,000 men for troops no matter what. Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, and Maria Theresa just kept lopping sections of Poland off until in 1794, Poland ceased to exist.
The music of this period includes names you may have heard before. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a German-born composer who worked under the King Georges of England. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) knew Frederick the Great of Prussia. Bach was the greatest organist of the day. A man named Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was considered the greatest composer of Bach's day. Bach didn't come into composing fame til after his death. Bach was a Lutheran who had an orderly world which shows through his music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) came a little later and was a child prodigy.
England: Queen Anne dies in 1714. She was the last of the Stuart monarchs (James I - Anne). Now, where do we go for a ruler? Next in line was a guy from the Hanover part of modern-day Germany. These rulers will be called Hanoverians after this region. The first Hanoverian king of Great Britain was George I. He was thoroughly German (in fact, he has been the Elector of Hanover since 1698 and remains so until his death). He was called "German George." He is the great grandson of James I (one of James I's granddaughters, Sophia, married the Elector of Hanover, Ernest Augustus–George is their son and the heir to the British throne through the Act of Settlement which made sure that no Catholics could become monarch of England). He never learned to speak English. He was in his 50's when he became king. He was very practical. He realized he didn't know what he was doing with English government so he did nothing at all. The kings of England didn't really have all that much power left. The king was supposed to give suggestions to the major officials (Cabinet members) of what he wanted passed, but Parliament ultimately decided. George I went to Cabinet meetings and fell asleep cuz he didn't understand what they were saying. George I eventually quit going to the meetings. He was more interested in Hanover than in Great Britain. The most powerful member, the Prime Minister, guided the Cabinet. Sir Robert Walpole was the first Prime Minister (1721-1742). George I was king from 1714 to 1727.
Next came George II. He ruled Great Britain from 1727 to 1760 (he is also Elector of Hanover). He knew a little more English than his father had, but he was like his father in that he was also more interested in Hanover. He was stubborn and wanted to have his say. Walpole kept the peace for 20 years. Walpole worked with George II's wife, Caroline of Ansbach. Walpole would tell Caroline what policies to mention to George II who would give the commands to Walpole to carry out. Walpole bribed people, etc. and had enemies. His enemies started a war with Spain (War of Jenkins's Ear–trade war beginning in 1739) and Walpole resigned in 1742. Soon, bigger wars evolved: War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and 7 Years' War (1756-1763), which was the French and Indian War (1754-1763) in North America in which England and France traded sides. In America, Canada was captured by the English in the French and Indian War.
The next in line is George III. He understood that his father and grandfather had fumbled away the only power the kings had left. George III rules as king of the United Kingdom from 1760 to 1820 (again he is also the elector of Hanover–in fact, he becomes king of Hanover in 1815!). He wanted the power back from the Prime Ministers, so he put in weak prime ministers!
About the American Revolution (1775-1783)–the name, George III, should ring a few bells!! Actually, England didn't pay much attention to the 13 colonies cuz we didn't produce what they wanted (i.e., sugar and neat things that come from exotic islands). But England needed new tax revenue cuz they had spent so much in the French and Indian War defending their North American colonies. We had refused to defend ourselves. The Americans protested every tax just cuz they didn't want to pay. There was a stamp tax on luxuries (newspapers, magazines) that only the rich bought anyway, but it caused lots of commotion. The Americans thought their protesting was doing lots of good cuz every time they protested, a prime minister fell. Actually, George III was knocking them out to try and get his power back. We won the American Revolution cuz we had more room to retreat into. The Revolution wasn't that important to most Englishmen. Everybody saw George III lose the colonies though, and he lost the last of his powers along with them. Now kings started becoming figureheads without any real power at all.
The Industrial Revolution came soon after (or right around the time of) the American Revolution. Things were converted from handmade to machine-made. Machines were faster, better, and cheaper. But wooden machines didn't last. Iron machines were needed which meant iron ore had to be taken out of rocks and melted out with charcoal. England was running out of trees to be used for charcoal. After 1700, somebody made coal burn. To make thing work, you needed: 1. Iron and coal in close proximity, 2. A need for the goods made (i.e., a market), and 3. Clever inventors–all of which could be found in England.
The first big machines came in the clothing industry. They used water power. The capitalist would buy raw wool, take it to the farmer who didn't have much to do in the fall and winter and would play with spinning wheels and weavers. After machines, the capitalist had a big machine by a stream. The farmers had to go to the factories for work. The machines had skill and speed which people didn't so there were low wages. First, a spinning machine was built, then automatic weavers. England produced the best and cheapest cloth in the world. The only trouble was that there weren't too many fast streams. So, the steam engine was invented. James Watt (1736-1819), a Scottish inventor, had been messing with a model of an old steam engine which required lots of time to use at the University of Glasgow. He made some minor adjustments and the piston could then go both ways with steam power!! He patented his improvements on the Newcomen Engine (an earlier, less effective version of the steam engine made by English inventor Thomas Newcomen) in 1769.