Sample Essay – French revolution and Italy
Duke Leopold of Tuscany reformed the system of governance in Tuscany and attempted to do the same when he became the Austrian Emperor. He abolished the capital punishment after being influenced by Beccaria’s work. In his small estate he made many administrative reforms which made industrial growth easier and also increased personal freedoms of the populace. These reforms and his attempts to implement similar ones in Austria (these were hampered by the instability in France and the threat on the Prussian border) make him out to be an enlightened monarch.
Although initially the French revolution initiated some positive reactions in Italy its later souring and failure disappointed many. After the French revolution Italy became more unstable and was plagued with many coalition wars which modified its map. The eventual impact of the wars following the revolution to Italy were that it reduced the Spanish influence and resulted in British and Austrian influence in deciding Italy’s future.
If we sum up the influence that the French Revolution and Enlightenment had on the revolution were both political and social. The Duke of Tuscany was clearly influenced by Enlightenment thinkers and brought out many reforms in his small kingdom before becoming Emperor of Austria[1]. In the social sphere many Italian thinkers like Beccaria were influenced by the Enlightenment movement. All in all both the Enlightenment and the French Revolution affected all of Europe, and were a powerful influence on Italy’s political and social sphere
[1] As emperor of Austria he would have had influence in Italian governance.
These are just excerpts of essays please access the order form for custom essays, research papers, term papers, thesis, dissertations, book reports and case studies.
