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The Western Tradition
Season 1 • Episode 33 • The Enlightened Despots
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The Western Tradition Season 1, Episode 33: The Enlightened Despots
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power. Watch The Western Tradition Season 1, Episode 33 The Enlightened Despots in HD free online. Enjoy high-quality streaming of The Western Tradition Season 1, Episode 33 and share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Episodes
52 episodesThe Dawn of History
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
30 min
The Ancient Egyptians
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
30 min
Mesopotamia
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
30 min
From Bronze to Iron
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
30 min
The Rise of Greek Civilization
Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
30 min
Greek Thought
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
30 min
Alexander the Great
Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
30 min
The Hellenistic Age
Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
30 min
The Rise of Rome
Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
30 min
The Roman Empire
Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
30 min
Early Christianity
Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
30 min
The Rise of the Church
The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
30 min
The Decline of Rome
While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
30 min
The Fall of Rome
Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
30 min
The Byzantine Empire
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
30 min
The Fall of Byzantium
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
30 min
The Dark Ages
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
30 min
The Age of Charlemagne
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
30 min
The Middle Ages
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
30 min
The Feudal Order
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
30 min
Common Life in the Middle Ages
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
30 min
Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
30 min
The Late Middle Ages
Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
30 min
The National Monarchies
A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
30 min
Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
30 min
Renaissance & the New World
The discovery of America challenged Europe.
30 min
The Reformation
Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
30 min
The Rise of the Middle Class
As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
30 min
The Wars of Religion
For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
30 min
The Rise of the Trading Cities
Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
30 min
The Age of Absolutism
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
30 min
Absolutism and the Social Contract
Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
30 min
The Enlightened Despots
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
30 min
The Enlightenment
Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
30 min
The Enlightenment and Society
Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
30 min
The Modern Philosophers
Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
30 min
The American Revolution
The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
30 min
The American Republic
A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
30 min
The Death of the Old Regime
In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
30 min
The French Revolution
Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
30 min
The Industrial Revolution
Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
30 min
The Industrial World
A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
30 min
Revolution and Romantics
Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
30 min
The Age of the Nation-States
The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
30 min
A New Public
Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
30 min
Fin de Siècle
Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
30 min
The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
30 min
The Second World War
World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
30 min
The Cold War
The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
30 min
Europe and the Third World
Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
30 min
The Technological Revolution
Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
30 min
Toward the Future
Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.
30 min