How did Enlightenment ideas influence reforms in Italy, Spain, Russia, Portugal, and Denmark?

During the 18th century, the Enlightenment inspired a period of "enlightened despotism," where absolute monarchs and their ministers implemented legal, social, and administrative reforms to increase state efficiency and promote public welfare, while carefully preserving their own sovereignty.1

• Italy: Intellectuals like Ludovico Antonio Muratori and Pietro Giannone critiqued society and the church's power, seeking to reconcile politics with morality and limit clerical immunity from state laws.2
• Spain: Under Charles III, reformers attempted to modernize the economy and administration. They sought to reduce the influence of corporate property (like the church) and promote laissez-faire economic principles, though they faced significant resistance from traditional institutions.3
• Russia: Catherine the Great corresponded with leading thinkers and attempted to codify laws based on Enlightenment principles. She introduced provincial administrative reforms and charters for the nobility and burgesses, though she ultimately reinforced the power of the gentry over serfs.4
• Portugal: The Marquis de Pombal dominated Portuguese politics, enacting sweeping administrative, educational, and economic reforms, including the suppression of the Jesuits and the reconstruction of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake.5
• Denmark: Johann Friedrich, count von Struensee briefly wielded absolute power, introducing radical reforms such as freedom of the press, judicial reorganization, and the reduction of peasant labor service.6