FCPS World II SOL Standards: WHII 6d FCPS HS Social Studies © 2014 The Age of Enlightenment (1700-1800 C.E.) You Mean that People Didn’t Always Believe in Democracy? Map of Europe in 1700. e majority of people were ruled by absolute monarchs. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment#mediaviewer/File:Europe,_1700_-_1714.png Power to the People From the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 19th centuries many Europeans wanted progress in society. Using ideas from the scientific revolution, Europeans applied knowledge and reason to society and politics. They questioned the power leaders had and examined different types of political systems. These ideas began a revolution in thinking that we call the European Enlightenment. These thinkers questioned many traditional ideas established by the Catholic Church and the ruling kings and queens. One central idea that was attacked was divine right. This is the idea that a king or queen ruled with the will of God on their side. However, people wanted to control their own lives and talked about their natural rights, or the The Move Away from Absolute Monarchs Absolute monarchs ruled with complete control and often claimed that they had the authority of God on their side. Louis XIV of France was one example. He claimed that he was the government and had total power in France. The symbol of Louis XIV’s power was the Palace of Versailles. Taxes on the people of France paid for this beautiful and expensive palace that was built outside of Paris. Louis XIV demanded that all French nobles live in the palace, increasing his control e Palace of Versailles Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles#mediaviewer/ File:Zuidgevel_Corps_de_logis_rond_1675_Anonieme_schilder.jpg rights to live freely and fairly. Philosophers said that the government needed to protect the rights of the people and govern according to fair laws. If it did not, they said the people had the right to change the government, even by force. These ideas were essential to the American Revolution in 1776, the French Revolution in 1789, the Haitian Revolution in 1791, and other uprisings in the 1800s. over the country. In the 17th and 18th centuries these kinds of monarchs were common in Europe. But, writers and thinkers wanted to know what gave rulers their power. There were many important thinkers from this era. Some of them include: 1) Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan. He wrote that humans were naturally primitive and violent and that they needed a government to protect them from themselves. 2) John Locke, author of Two Treatises on Government. He wrote that people were sovereign (that is, they ruled themselves) and that they gave their consent to the government for the protection of their natural rights of life, liberty and property. He said these rights existed for all people and were not given to them by the government. 3) Montesquieu, author of The Spirit of Laws. He wrote that the best form of government had a separation of powers. The three branches he identified were legislative, executive and judicial. 4) Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of The Social Contract. He wrote that government was a contract between the rulers and the people. He also stressed equality for all people. 5) Voltaire, an author who focused on religious tolerance and the separation of church (religion) and state (government). Through his writings, like the novel Candide, Voltaire criticized political and religious leaders.