Revolution / c. 1685-1815
Enlightenment Ideas
The intellectual toolkit behind several later political shocks.
What To Remember
- Reason and evidence challenged inherited authority.
- Natural rights and consent became language people could use against rulers.
- Ideas spread through print, salons, pamphlets, and education.
Revision Prompt
Explain how Enlightenment ideas could be both inspiring and threatening to eighteenth-century governments.