The Enlightenment refers to a philosophical movement that stressed reason and logic. It defined itself against the alleged superstition of religious faith that many blamed for the violence of the 1600s and against oppressive, tyrannical forms of government and absolutist rule. The spearhead of the Enlightenment was a body of well-connected writers and thinkers from across Europe and North America. These thinkers became known as the philosophes, who developed ideas about proper forms of government and rulers while also developing new ideas in science, literature, math, and philosophy. For those living in this new modern age, it was an era of tremendous intellectual growth that pushed, improved and even refuted the orthodox ideas of the Greeks and Romans. It worked to give Europeans a greater sense of confidence, modernity, and their own identity.

With regard to government, various thinkers stressed different aspects that were designed to check the power of the government and absolute rule (even while often being supported by absolute rulers). John Locke ( 1632 – 1704) pushed ideas of equality, liberty, and natural rights. Locke argued that men were born free and possessed rights to life, liberty and property that could not be denied or taken way. Francois Arouet, also known as Voltaire (1706-1749), argued for religious freedom and attacked religious superstition. Charles-Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755), a member of the French nobility, argued that monarchies should be corrupted, republicans could lose their virtue, and despotism government’s repressive. He also argued for the separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) developed the idea of the “noble savage” and argued for the sovereignty of the people. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) led a passionate attack of hereditary monarchies and the importance of rule of law. The debates centered on the nature of humanity (good vs. bad) and the nature of human progress (almost infinite vs. civilization of degenerative).

People in History: Marie-Jeanne Bartonnet

One evening, Marie-Jeanne Bartonnet rose from bed and went to the bathroom, where she was heard screaming. Those in the house suspected that she was pregnant but when when others saw her, she was bleeding but no baby was found. The next morning Bartonnet was arrested and a baby found in the basement’s cesspool. Bartonnet was interrogated and brought to trial for the crime of infanticide. Three witnesses quoting Bartonnet as stating “I have come to deliver you” but what she was referring to was not clear and did not count as a confession and the evidence remained inconclusive. The legal system expected the truth to come out of Bartonnet, but many were questioning this assumption and Bartonnet refused to cooperate with the investigators. Bartonnet’s landlady testified that she saw Bartonnet on the toilet and other witnessed demonstrated that a baby was soon found in the basement’s cesspool. She was found innocent by a majority of the judges in the case who cited the lack of solid evidence, the possibility that Bartonnet did not know she was pregnant and the baby could have died from its fall. Bartonnet’s case represents one of the last of a long series of arrests of women for the crime of infanticide as founding hospitals were built and fathers’ were increasingly blamed for illegitimate births

Figure 6: The Title Page for the Encyclopedia Britannica

Initially supported by the Roman Catholic Church and especially the Jesuits, Europeans began changing their understanding of themselves and the world around them. A number of new advances caused European intellectuals to question the Greek and Roman advancements but also the views of the Roman Catholic Church. Nicolaus Copernicus noticed that the Sun, moons, and other planets did not revolve around the Earth, which was the dominant view of the Church, and also did not travel in perfect spheres as Ptolemy pointed out. He further argued that the Sun was at the center of the universe with the Earth rotating around it as just one of many planets. Johannes Kepler argued that the path of the planets was elliptical. Galileo found moons rotating around Jupiter, that the Sun seemed to rotate and that all objects fall at the same rate. Italian Andreas Vesalius (1514-64) studied cadavers to better understand the human body. In England, Isaac Newton (1642-1727) developed the idea of gravity and helped mathematically prove the ideas of Copernicus. William Harvey (1578-1657) figured out how blood circulates. These discoveries did not develop in separate vacuums: the European elite were writing to each other and were in constant contact. These men founded scientific societies to push learning and develop new ideas. They also pushed back against state and church censorship to publish and promote their ideas and pushed for greater rights. Universities from Italy to England also began using new methods of learning and the dissemination of new ideas.

Role of women and other limitations

For the vast majority of the populations in the center of the Enlightenment and increasing in Eastern Europe that was less influenced by the Enlightenment, life continued as before and continued to be a struggle (although diets did improve with the introductions of New World crops). Serfdom was codfied in Russia between 1649 and 1679 and would remain until 1861. Despite claims of progress, bloody games, the torture of animals and hangings remained quite popular, with the latter attracting large numbers of people. Women and the poor remained largely excluded from politics, possessed a limited education at best and remained excluded from the debates-although word reached many (including the slaves of Haiti) of these new rights.