Enlightenment and Revolutions Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Prep

Enlightened despotism is when an absolute ruler uses centralized power to pursue reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas—promoting education, rational legal changes, and tolerance, while keeping firm control of the state. Catherine the Great of Russia fits this description. She welcomed Western ideas, corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot, and pushed for legal reform and modernization through efforts like the Nakaz and the Legislative Commission, as well as promoting education and cultural development. She also issued a Charter to the Nobility to codify privileges and tighten governance, all while maintaining autocratic authority. Yet she did not end serfdom, illustrating how Enlightened Despots often balanced reform with preserved autocracy. The other figures aren’t rulers who attempted such reforms: Mary Wollstonecraft was a writer advocating women’s rights, Voltaire was an influential philosopher, and Queen Elizabeth I predates the Enlightenment and was not an Enlightened Despot.