7 Days That Transformed the World

March 24, 1615: The Closing of the Estates General of 1614 and the Birth of the Modern World
by Michael Hayden

Wednesday, March 15, 6:00 p.m.
Hose and Hydrant Brewing Company
# 612 11th Street E.

The Estates General was a French institution, developed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which had the potential to become a representative national assembly similar to the English parliament. The Estates General of 1614, however, was the last meeting of that body before the French Revolution. The experience of the royal government with the deputies during the 1614-15 meeting convinced kings and their advisors never to call another meeting. This opened the way for the full development of absolutism in both state and church which led not only to the suppression of political, economic and religious dissent, but also to a reaction, known as the Enlightenment. In turn, this produced an attempt to revive the Estates General in 1789 which led directly to the French Revolution and its result, the birth of the modern world. Or not. We’ll see.

Bio: Dr. Michael Hayden B.A., M.A. (John Carroll), Fulbright Fellow (Sorbonne), Ph.D. (Loyola University Chicago). Teaching: University of Detroit (1961-66), University of Saskatchewan (1966-2001), Master Teacher Award 2000. Author of nine books and many articles. Major field of interest: the intersections of institutional, intellectual, social and religious history; especially in early modern France and 20^th century Canada.

For more information, please contact Keith Carlson

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