ove with a twenty-four year old who had been brought up in the palace with one of her sons. She was devastated when he died at a young age of diphtheria in 1784. To overcome his death, she studied various foreign languages spoken within Russia.In 1772, Catherine joined forces with Fredrick William II of Prussia, and Maria Theresa, empress of Austria. They divided Poland among their three states. This angered Turkey and led to a costly war known as the Seven Years War, starting in 1768 and ending in 1774 with a tremendous Russian victory. Russia gained crucial territory bordering the Black Sea. In 1780, Catherine issued the Armed Neutrality Act. This act granted freedom of navigation and trade to countries not at war. Five years later, in 1785, Catherine passed the Nobles Charter which gave ruling classes greater privileges and made sefts legal private property of nobility. At age 60, Catherine still had a beautiful complexion, sparkiling eyes, but she was heavy and was missing most of her teeth. Despite her appearance, she still sought company of young men. When Poland attacked Russia in 1793, foreign affairs were on top of the list. Inspired by the French Revolution, Catherine was horrified by the killing of Louis XVI by guillotine. The idea was worsened because it was the invention of her once beloved philosophers. In 1796, Catherine was still an effective ruler despite her bad health. Her death was very unexpected and tragic. She was found in her bathroom laying on the floor. 1/4/365 Her face was livid, her body completely inert. With difficulty they dragged her on a mattress back to her room. It was a sad end for a sovereign who had earned the title of the Great. (paraphrase pg 104 source 3)Catherine, born a German, died a true Russian. Her 34-year reign brought both great advances and great misery to her adoptive people. Her main interests were cultural and political. Detirmined to make the backward Russian so...
