ABSTRACT
Absolutism still reigned over most of the continent although in modified forms, and philosophes heaped praise upon the ‘enlightened despotism’ practised by monarchs who, they believed, were affected by philosophic propaganda. Nevertheless-and all together-the aristocracy criticized royalty for having displaced nobles; the bourgeoisie was annoyed at being denied a position in government; and rivalry between the two classes was intensified. France was not the first to settle this three-cornered conflict by revolution. A brief glance at enlightened despotism and the solutions adopted in Great Britain and the United States will aid our understanding of the place the French Revolution was to assume in world history.
