House Of Commons

In England in the 18th century, the government was ran by men that were considered wealthy. During these times a wealthy man was hard to come by so if

Most of the military factors that led to the rise of Prussia came from Fredrick William ‘The Elector’. He was the first leader in Prussia to create and

In “‘Twelve Articles’ of the Peasants during the German Peasants’ Revolt”, the peasants address to their indefinite ruler that they “are ready and willing to pay the fair tithe of grain” (1), and they “will let [lords] demand only what is just and proper” (1). The peasants were aware of the greedy, clerical abuses of power by pastors, but they were unwilling to accept paying more than fair to support “a decent and sufficient maintenance” (1) for the pastor. This is similar to the “Manifesto of the Peasants of Angoumois,” that showed that the peasants were aware that the burden of taxation from the centralizing France state was put onto the poor peasantry, rather than the richer Middle Class. The peasants in this developing absolutist monarchy attempted to state that “those with sufficient property” (3) should pay the taille, “without regard to personal connections and without fear of the power of the rich” (3). In both these documents, neither state’s peasantry refused taxation or had a desire to change the system. This reactionary idea is also present in the “‘Twenty-Nine Demands’ of Kett’s Rebellion” from England in 1549. This direct list of demands to the definite monarch from the peasantry, was in a request “to redress and

Reports to Duke Albert of Prussia stated how the “authorities have torn out the hair of their subjects,” suggesting that the authoritative response to the revolt was violent, and gives reason as to why the nobility came out victorious in the end (Doc 9). The princes felt the right to serfdom, having “purchased this right for a considerable sum of money,” so the sense of entitlement felt by the nobility to put the peasants under serfdom provided reason for their violent rebuttal (Doc

This can be seen the reports Leonhard Von Eck, Chancellor of Bavaria gave to Duke Ludwig of Bavaria. His thoughts of the peasants were “The peasants are blinded, led astray, and made witless.” He is clearly against the revolt and his undermining of the peasants was obvious as he believed he was far above them. He also wanted to remain at his position of authority and he wanted to keep serfs without compensation. Lords also attempted to justify their social status by displaying the idea of serfs as a fair economic transaction. This can be seen in document 3 we’re it is stated that “we, your lords, purchased this right for a considerable sum of money, and the serfdom of a Christian is no hindrance to the salvation of his soul.” The lords are attempting to convince the peasants that they are not justified in the decisions since it is a simple and “fair” economic transaction and they also manipulate their own idea of everyone being equal in the eyes of God. They state that no matter if one is a serf or a lord everyone has the opportunity for salvation. Eventually the noble’s massacre the serfs and in order justify their counterattacks to the revolts the noble’s act that the revolts were unacceptable and that the nobles were in the right to murder all those peasants. This can be shown in in the Decree of the Imperial Diet of Speyer by referring to the revolts as “unchristian” and “The common man… acted violently against his authorities.” Overall, the lords responses to the peasants was meeting them with force and justifying their actions by calling the revolts and peasants unchristian and witless, manipulating Lutheran ideas and, acting as if serfs are a fair economic

Throughout history there has always been revolutions, change, and reforms. In 1832, England experienced the death of George IV and accession of William IV in 1830 ,that resulted in a general parliamentary election in which the opposition political party, the Whigs, scored major gains with their platform calling for parliamentary reform. With the Tory party divided, the king asked the leader of the Whigs, Earl Grey, to form a government. Immediately, the Whigs introduced a major reform bill designed to increase the number of voters by 50 percent and to eliminate underpopulated electoral districts (“rotten boroughs”) and replace them with representatives for previously unrepresented manufacturing districts and cities, especially in the industrial

The peasant's rebellion in the German states was an even that took place between 1524 and 1526, when the peasants rose up and attacked authoritative figures like churches and nobles. The revolt was eventually crushed and suppresed by the German Princes, and over a hundred thousand rebels were killed in the process, The revolt was ultimately caused by poor economic status for the peasants and Martin luther's anit-authoritiative ideas. After it had begun, the responses to the revolt were mostly negative to the people with high economic status- Martin Luther and other lords despised it.

Frederick the Great exhibited his greatness as a ruler by winning all 3 of the Silesian Wars and the Seven Years’ War against Austria. He improved domestic affairs by making Prussia a world power by increasing their rankings, and by strengthening the arts and literature. Frederick the Great also succeeded in foreign affairs by creating the German League of Princes and forced the Holy Roman Empire to abandon all ideas of acquiring Bavaria. Historians can debate otherwise but Frederick II is truly deserving of his title of “the great.” His entire reign justifies and proves he is in fact Frederick the

Most of the general British public were not able to vote meaning they had no control over MPs and the laws that effected their lives. The MPs in the running for elections were part of Britain’s richest families so they didn’t have much of an idea of what life was like for the average Britain;

The Acts impact on political power in Aristocracy was that it increased the prestige and power of the House of Commons relative to the House of Lords, especially as it was more representative to the people. However aristocracy still retained its overall domination of politics even if its extent had been decreased somewhat. Also with removing many hard-to-control urban areas from county constituencies the domination of aristocracy was further cemented resulting in the system being very undemocratic. For the middle class as a result of the Act, more men became MP’s for new urban and industrial constituencies and it made the urban middle classes more politically powerful and influential than ever before.

Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great served as the king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. Although he used his power to control people, he was an interesting man. One fact about Frederick II was that he liked the French language and even built a Rococo palace known as Sanssouci located in Berlin. Frederick praised the works of Voltaire, who was a French philosopher and writer. He also invited French intellectuals from the Enlightenment to Prussia.

Frederick II was an enlightened ruler of Prussia. The enlightenment was a period of time in which the government ran by an absolute ruler. Rulers made significant changes that affected religious, social, educational, and legal reforms. Frederick II was the son of King Frederick William I who had ruled over Germany. He would later become a king himself. He became king in 1740 and ruled for over forty years. It was he who drastically changed Prussia into a powerful force. Frederick II would become to be known by Frederick the Great based on the many positive things he did during his rule. Two of the biggest achievements, he was able to make was his military skill and religious tolerance. Since almost everyone liked him, he was able to institute reforms in his country. His enlightenment rule would bring major efforts for both reform and war.

The Revolution brought with it numerous reforms with regards to what freedom entails. During this period,

McKenzie R.T., 1958. Parties, Pressure Groups and the British Political Process. Vol. 29 ( 1 ), pp. xx.

"English Social Structure in the Early 18th Century." English Social Structure in the Early 18th Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.