Deck 18: The Eighteenth Century: European States, International Wars, and Social Change

Question 1

What explains the relatively rapid growth of the Europe's population in the eighteenth century?

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

What role did cities and city dwellers play in shaping eighteenth-century culture?

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

To what degree was Prussia a militarized society by the end of the eighteenth century?

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

Discuss the connection between war and political centralization in eighteenth-century Europe during the eighteenth century.

Question 5

Compare the development of the two Atlantic seaboard states, France and Great Britain. How were they alike? How were they different?

Question 6

Industry became increasingly important during the eighteenth century. Choose one European industry and describe its key features and relationship to the economy and society in which it existed. How did industry influence economic development and social change?

Question 7

Why did the governments of Europe develop in such radically different ways during the eighteenth century, particularly when comparing east to west?

Question 8

What role did the nobility play in European politics in the eighteenth century?

Question 9

What were the characteristics of enlightened absolutism, and to what extent did the monarchies of eighteenth-century Prussia, Austria, and Russia meet the aims of enlightened absolutism? How did they fall short of employing enlightened ideals?

Question 10

What is meant by the phrases "balance of power" and "reason of state"? How did those concepts influence international relations in the eighteenth century?

Question 11

What was the nature of war and diplomacy in the eighteenth century? How would you compare the nature of war and diplomacy in the eighteenth century with that of the seventeenth century?

Question 12

Was there an agricultural revolution in the eighteenth century? Why or why not?

Question 13

How did European family structure and life change in the eighteenth century?

Question 14

In your opinion, how sincere were the enlightened absolutist monarchs in their commitment to Enlightenment ideals? What is the mark of that sincerity or lack thereof? Explain.

Question 15

What "advantages" did Britain have over the continental nations in the eighteenth century, politically and economically?

Question 16

What was life like for Europe's peasants in the eighteenth century? How did conditions vary depending on region?

Question 17

How and why did the nobility play a dominant role in the European society of the eighteenth century?

Question 18

Imagine that you are a philosophe in the service of Joseph II or Catherine the Great. What advice would you give him or her on the best way to rule Austria or Russia?

Question 19

What were the causes and consequences of the Seven Years' War? Could it have been avoided? Why or why not?

Question 20

Did the social order in Europe genuinely change during the eighteenth century, or were there simply alterations made to an ongoing system?

Question 21

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
the country house

Question 22

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Robert Walpole

Question 23

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
natural rights

Question 24

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Louis XVI

Question 25

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Frederick II the Great

Question 26

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Bank of England

Question 27

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Maria Theresa

Question 28

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
cottage industry

Question 29

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
William Pitt the Elder

Question 30

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
natural laws

Question 31

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
enlightened absolutism

Question 32

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Frederick William I

Question 33

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Seven Years' War

Question 34

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
"pocket boroughs"

Question 35

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Junkers

Question 36

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Marie Antoinette

Question 37

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
partitions of Poland

Question 38

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
"national debt"

Question 39

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Robert Clive

Question 40

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
War of the Austrian Succession

Question 41

At the heart of Prussian government was the bureaucracy and the

A)clergy.
B)army.
C)court.
D)judiciary.
E)diplomatic corp.

Question 42

Frederick William II invited ____ to live at his court for several years.

A)Tsar Alexander I
B)William Pitt
C)Richard Walpole
D)Robespierre
E)Voltaire

Question 43

Which group dominated the English House of Commons in the eighteenth century?

A)Aristocracy
B)Merchants
C)Landed gentry
D)Peasantry
E)Urban poor

Question 44

What was the name given to a legislative district in England that was controlled by one man or one family?

A)Good neighbor
B)Pocket borough
C)Sinecure
D)Tenured seat
E)Gerrymander

Question 45

Which statement best describes the Austrian Empire under Joseph II?

A)It reversed the enlightened reforms of Joseph's mother, Maria Theresa.
B)It rescinded all of Hungary's privileges.
C)It saw the nobility's power permanently stripped away.
D)It witnessed general discontent due to Joseph's enlightened but radical reforms.
E)It saw Austria turn away from any sort of Enlightened Despotism.

Question 46

Politically, the period from 1715 to 1789 witnessed

A)the rise of the masses in politics as advocated by the philosophes.
B)the waning of monarchical power.
C)the continuing process of centralization in the development of nation-states.
D)"enlightened absolutism" establish its deepest roots in France.
E)a decline in bureaucratic structures and more laissez-faire types of government.

Question 47

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
tithes

Question 48

A continuing trend in eighteenth-century Prussia was

A)the uncontrollable growth of the royal state bureaucracy.
B)the social and military dominance of the Junker nobility.
C)an avoidance of military entanglements, especially under Frederick the Great.
D)social mobility for the peasants through the civil service.
E)the emergence of the bourgeoisie as the dominant class of society.

Question 49

According to Enlightenment thinkers, what were the fundamental privileges that must not be withheld from any person?

A)Common laws
B)Noble duties
C)Natural rights
D)Basic laws
E)Human obligations

Question 50

Which document summarized the Enlightenment concept of rights in its opening paragraph?

A)Code of Common Law
B)English Bill of Rights
C)American Declaration of Independence
D)United States' Constitution
E)Estates General

Question 51

What statement best describes eighteenth-century France?

A)It thrived under the strong leadership of Louis XV and Louis XVI.
B)It suffered from severe economic depression throughout the century.
C)It was torn apart by a series of civil wars.
D)It lost an empire while acquiring a huge public debt.
E)It brought back the Estates General during the reign of Louis XV.

Question 52

What statement best describes the Dutch Republic by the eighteenth century?

A)It established a system of male democracy.
B)It saw the power of the oligarchy considerably reduced.
C)It continued its great economic prosperity of the sixteenth century.
D)It suffered a decline in economic prosperity.
E)It permanently expelled the House of Orange.

Question 53

Which statement best describes Catherine the Great of Russia?

A)She followed a successful policy of expansion against the Turks.
B)She instigated enlightened reforms for the peasantry after the revolt of Emelyn Pugachev.
C)She weakened the nobility with her extensive enlightened reforms.
D)She successfully eliminated the power of the Duma.
E)She established a permanent political and military alliance with revolutionary France.

Question 54

What did Austrian emperor Joseph II issue in his effort to reform his domains?

A)Three new court circulars on improved operations for the imperial bureaucracy
B)6,000 decrees and 11,000 new laws
C)150 new ranks of imperial bureaucrats
D)At least 350 imperial decrees for the reform of judicial practice in Hungary
E)An edict separating the Austrian government from any connection with the Catholic Church

Question 55

Who obtained the most important government offices in Prussia during the reign of Frederick II?

A)High-ranking Lutheran churchmen
B)Members of the nobility
C)University-educated bureaucrats
D)French philosophes
E)Commoners who showed outstanding ability

Question 56

The ____ dominated the English House of Lords in the eighteenth century.

A)aristocracy
B)merchants
C)landed gentry
D)peasantry
E)urban poor

Question 57

When Louis XIV left the throne, France faced all of the following conditions EXCEPT ____.

A)a five-year-old successor to the throne.
B)somber aristocracy.
C)more territorial holdings.
D)an unhappy citizenry.
E)massive debt.

Question 58

What was the result of the enlightened legal reforms expressed by Catherine the Great in her Instruction ?

A)They succeeded in abolishing serfdom in all of Russia.
B)They succeeded in establishing an equal system of law for all Russian citizens.
C)They instigated changes in Russian government that sapped the power of the old nobility.
D)They accomplished little due to heavy opposition and were soon forgotten.
E)They abolished three-fourths of the Russian army.

Question 59

The prime minister who furthered British imperial ambitions by acquiring Canada and India was

A)Robert Walpole.
B)William Pitt the Elder.
C)Lord Bute.
D)William Pitt the Younger.
E)Robert Clive.

Question 60

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
nobility

Question 61

Which English prime minster pursued imperial ambitions on behalf of the state in the eighteenth century?

A)William Pitt the Elder
B)Robert Clive
C)William Pitt the Younger
D)Robert Walpole
E)Lord Brute

Question 62

As a result of the French and Indian Wars, France

A)gained India.
B)lost California.
C)gained the Ohio River Valley.
D)gained Louisiana.
E)lost Canada.

Question 63

Who was the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain?

A)George I
B)William II
C)Edward VII
D)Henry X
E)Charles III

Question 64

Who was the Habsburg empress whose country was attacked in the War of the Austrian Succession?

A)Eleanor
B)Elizabeth
C)Marie Antoinette
D)Maria Theresa
E)Catherine

Question 65

By far the biggest conflicts of the Seven Years' War took place in

A)East Asia.
B)India.
C)North America.
D)Central Europe.
E)Eastern Europe.

Question 66

Which state gained the most territory as a result of the three partitions of Poland?

A)Austria
B)Prussia
C)England
D)Russia
E)France

Question 67

The dismemberment of Poland in the late eighteenth century

A)occurred after decades of warfare between its neighbors.
B)was reversed by the successful rebellion of General Kosciuszko.
C)showed the necessity of a strong, centralized monarchy to defend a state in the period.
D)resulted from the Polish king's repeated insults and attacks on his neighbors.
E)was reversed as the result of the Council of Berlin.

Question 68

What new dynasty was established in England in 1714?

A)The Stuarts
B)The Bourbons
C)The Hapsburgs
D)The Hanoverians
E)The Oranges

Question 69

Which statement best describes European population growth in the second half of the eighteenth century?

A)All of the great powers experienced population increases except Russia.
B)Growth occurred despite increased death and infant mortality rates.
C)The growth was due to the absence of famines and elimination of most major diseases.
D)The population grew at nearly double the rate of the first half of the century.
E)The population in fact declined because of increased urbanization, which resulted in increased unsanitary conditions.

Question 70

How did Catherine the Great come to the throne of Russia?

A)She was selected by the Russian Orthodox Church.
B)She was elected by the Duma.
C)She acceded to the throne after her husband was murdered.
D)She was named to the throne because her son died when he was very young.
E)She reached the throne after her husband died of old age.

Question 71

European warfare in the eighteenth century was characterized by

A)the continued reliance on mercenary armies on the mainland.
B)ideological fervor leading to bloody battles.
C)limited objectives and elaborate maneuvers.
D)massive direct confrontations and pitched battles.
E)extensive trench warfare and many military casualties.

Question 72

Pugachev's rebellion broke out after

A)a bad harvest caused massive starvation in Poland.
B)Prussia successfully invaded Russia and seized half of the Ukraine.
C)Catherine the Great's policies worsened conditions for the peasantry.
D)Catherine the Great reduced the power of the landed nobility.
E)Russia's defeat by the Ottoman Empire.

Question 73

A Prussian attack on which Habsburg province sparked the outbreak of the War of Austrian Succession in 1740?

A)Transylvania
B)Bavaria
C)Silesia
D)Bohemia
E)Prague

Question 74

What was the foundational rule of European governments during the eighteenth century, according to Frederick the Great?

A)Sea power was the basis of real power.
B)The government was responsible for expanding its territories.
C)A country's empire determined its greatness.
D)The charisma of a ruler determined a country's success in foreign policy.
E)The largest army always wins.

Question 75

Joseph II of Austria

A)went to war with Russia and France at the same time.
B)returned Galicia Prussia.
C)abolished serfdom.
D)abolished the nobility.
E)required all peasants to serve in the military.

Question 76

All of the following contributed to the growth of population in the second half of the eighteenth century EXCEPT

A)a decline in the death rate.
B)new crops from America such as corn and potatoes.
C)the eradication of typhus and smallpox.
D)the end of the bubonic plague.
E)an increase in women who married during their child-bearing years.

Question 77

Gustavus III of Sweden

A)established freedom of religion, speech, and press.
B)instituted a repressive new code of justice that reinforced the use of torture.
C)increased tariffs and tolls.
D)won the wholehearted support of his nobles for his new policies.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 78

Of the great European powers in the eighteenth century, the only one NOT to possess a standing army and to rely on mercenaries was

A)Prussia.
B)Austria.
C)Russia.
D)France.
E)Great Britain.

Question 79

Which European power gained the most from The Seven Years' War?

A)Prussia
B)Austria
C)Russia
D)France
E)Great Britain

Question 80

Which war do some historians regard as the first world war?

A)War of the Austrian Succession
B)The French and Indian War
C)The Seven Years' War
D)Queen Anne's War
E)The Crimean War