The Enlightenment Research Paper

The Enlightenment was a period in the 17th and the 18th century in which people began to come up with practical solutions to fix society for the betterment of everyone. The Enlightenment was primarily caused by the crisis of the Medieval European mind and Scientific Revolution leading to a methodology of creating a better system for people. The new philosophies that emerged from the radical thinkers of the Enlightenment critiqued Europe's absolutist regimes and resulted in a loss of confidence in the status quo. The middling sort, or the populace began to turn away from the rule of king's and yearn for a regime ruled by the people, for a democracy or a republic. The Age of revolutions, springing from the Enlightenment caused volatile conditions …show more content…
Absolute monarchs had no limits in practical power as they were the ones who gave the law but they didn’t receive it, as they were the centralized state and they did what they wanted at their dispersal rather than let anyone tell them otherwise. However, in 1689 the Glorious Revolution, occurred which indoctrinated England as a constitutional monarchy in which the government would have a king but would be held in check in parliament according to the rule of law. Furthermore, Enlightenment ideas about social improvement and progress served the interests of European rulers and their kingdoms to grow. However, the establishment of inalienable rights by the English Bill of Rights gave the middling sort more power and eventually gave their class more of a status in society averring against the …show more content…
Throughout the 17th and 18th century, rivalries among colonial powers to control the trade in slaves and consumer goods was intense and often led to wars that were fought both in Europe and in contested colonies. However, even the most absolute monarchs could rule effectively only with the consent of their subjects when serious opposition erupted, even powerful kings had to back down. During this time of change merchants began to change the entire system to work for the people, and therefore it created more people to get off the land. As the logic of capitalism led people of the middling sort to question intolerable systems of government which would hinder their growth and profit. The middling sort no longer depended on the elites, and led to a more interconnected society and a better system of people all around the world, creating personal familiarity within the world and different cultures mixing within

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Research Paper On Enlightenment