A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

Enlightened Absolutism 337

Beccaria opposed torture to extract confessions or render punishment.
Barbarous punishment, instead of protecting society, seemed only to
encourage disrespect for the law and more awful crimes. This led him to
object to capital punishment, lamenting the enthusiastic crowds that were
attracted to public executions. Leopold II of Tuscany (who admired Becca­
ria), Gustavus III of Sweden, and Frederick the Great of Prussia banned
torture—clear examples of the influence of enlightened thought on con­
temporary rulers.

Educational Reform

Education in the widest sense was central to the program of the philosophes.
The Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (ruled 1762-1796) admired and
read Montesquieu and Voltaire, hosted Diderot, and purchased the latter’s
library for a handsome price. Born a German princess, she was contemptu­
ous of Russian culture and preferred French. She seemed to heed the advice
she had received from Diderot: “To instruct a nation is to civilize it.” Cather­

ine established a school for the daughters of nobles. Without eliminating
censorship, she authorized the first private printing presses and encouraged
the publication of more books.
A few other monarchs implemented educational reforms, but they did so
at least partially to assure a supply of able civil servants. In 1774, Joseph II
(1741-1790) established a structured, centralized system of education from
primary school to university, which
doubled the number of elementary
schools in Bohemia. In Poland, the
Seym created the Commission for
National Education in 1773 to serve
as a ministry for education, oversee­
ing Poland’s universities in Krakow
and Vilnius, as well as all secondary
and parish schools. During this
period in Central and Eastern
Europe, textbooks appeared in
the Magyar, German, Croatian, Slo­
vak, Ukrainian, and Romanian
languages.

Religious Toleration

Although the eighteenth century was

a period of relative religious peace,

intolerance could still be intense. In

England, Catholics, in particular,

suffered legal discrimination (see Empress Catherine the Great.