Upon reading the memoranda, essays, and letters from Catherine the Great, King Empress Maria Theresa, and Frederick the Great I believe that a certain degree of enlightenment has taken place. Although, each ruling despot at this time did not fully implement the i

Several monarchs of the eighteenth century made attempts to develop a relationship of enlightenment to their reigns. Of such monarchs, Catherine the Great – Empress of Russia, was an “admirer” of the enlightenment age. During the eighteenth century Catherine communicated with two philosophes, Diderot and Voltaire. In a correspondence (1773, 1778) with both Diderot and Voltaire, Catherine has expressed her gratitude to the enlightenment. Although the “enlightened absolutist” such as Catherine the Great, and many despots of this era, still found a way to manipulate the enlightenment to her own personal ruling. Catherine the Great and Joseph II believed that the Enlightenment principles had to coincide with military and social polices because it was impossible for one to exist without the other. Catherine promoted the enlightenment, but only to her own will. Still Catherine the Great executed a censorship for freedom of speech in the papers published in Russia. This is in total contradiction to the “enlightenment” and what it stands for.

The Enlightenment and its ideas paved a way for new technologies and knowledge on how to build, construct an efficient and well organized military system. The new technologies gave way to new weapons which in turn in aided the efficient position of armies and navies. The social class, with the less barb

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