You may have heard the expression “that guy is a despot!”. Generally, this expression is used to qualify someone as authoritarian, controlling and arbitrary. Well, originally, the term despot referred to the type of ruler who wielded power without need for popular acclaim, that is, without the existence of elections to place him in the exercise of power. Furthermore, the despot incarnated in his person the source of all power, whether executive, legislative or judiciary. That's what happened in the absolutist state, which lasted in Western Europe from the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th century.
The call Enlightened Despotism developed from the second half of the 18th century in countries such as Prussia, Austria, Spain and Portugal that sought to adjust its political structure to new demands arising from the pressure exerted by the bourgeoisie. It is necessary to understand that the bourgeoisie, in the 18th century, was already an expressive political class that claimed political representation. The experience of France, from 1789, with the French Revolution, came later to demonstrate that the absolutist model of government was doomed to finitude.
In this sense, some kings tried to convey to their subjects the image that they were willing to absorb the ideas illuminists, especially those of thefrench enlightenment, like Voltaire's ideas, who advocated a series of reforms to meet bourgeois demands. One of the most notable examples was that of Catherine the Great, Tsarina (Queen) of Russia. For this reason, this type of posture was called “enlightened” or “enlightened”, since it was associated with the Enlightenment, the philosophy of “lights”.
However, not all proposals for adapting to Enlightenment ideals were instituted by the so-called enlightened despots. In most cases, the reforms only partially favored the interests of the bourgeois, while the absolutist power structure remained intact. This was the case, for example, of the Marquês de Pombal, in Portugal. Pombal sought to stimulate economic activities linked to the manufacturing and mercantile bourgeoisie of Portugal, thus articulating the mercantilist economic model with the liberal proposals arising from the enlightenment.
Religious tolerance policies (such as receiving Protestant refugees from civil wars were also typical of enlightened despots such as Frederick II the Great of Prussia and Catherine, from Russia.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes