-
The first microscope was invented by a Dutch maker of eyeglasses, Zacharias Janssen. -
The Age of Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason) was a philosophical and intellectual revolution that began in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It influenced the world with the idea of putting human happiness and reason at the centre. The Age of Enlightenment put individual liberty and religious tolerance at the forefront.
-
Vesalius dissected human corpses and published his observations. His book, On the Structure of the Human Body, was filled with detailed drawings of human organs, bones, and muscles. -
Discovery of Planets made by Galileo. The idea that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun was introduced. -
Isaac Newton published the Mathematical principle of natural philosophy. Three basic laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation are introduced. -
John Locke completes two treatises on government. The doctrine of natural rights is discussed. -
The German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit made the first thermometer to use mercury in glass. Fahrenheit’s thermometer showed water freezing at 32°. -
Montesquieu publishes his book Persian letters. Introduces satirical criticism. -
Voltaire publishes lettres philisophiques. Speaking against established political and religious institutions. -
A Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius created another scale for the mercury thermometer. Celsius’s scale showed freezing at 0°. -
After the East India Company began to flourish, the Dutch expanded their port in South Africa which led to an increase in the slave trade. -
Encyclopedie (first vol.) is published. A collective work of philosophers, this was the first compilation of all human knowledge. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes The social Contract. This book challenged the order of society based on church rules. -
The American Revolutionary War began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, but gradually grew into a world war between Britain on one side and the newly formed United States, France, Netherlands, & Spain. -
Declaration of independence is approved. 13 North American British colonies are freed from the rule of Great Britain.
-
The Bill of Rights was signed by the delegates to be approved. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today's Americans' most valued freedoms. -
French regime tries to increase taxes and that resulted in a crisis. France was on the verge of bankruptcy due to its expensive involvement in the American Revolution, as well as its extravagant spending by King Louis XVI. Poor harvests, droughts, cattle diseases, and skyrocketing bread prices had not only depleted the royal coffers, but also created unrest among peasants and urban poor. -
Marquis de Condorcet publishes On the Admission of Women to Rights of Citizenship. Advocates for the equality and citizenship of women. -
The Estates-General was an assembly that King Louis XVI set up to come up with solutions to France's financial crisis. It was made up of three groups, which had representatives: The Clergy, the Nobility, and the Commons. They continued to have conflict until the Third Estate, the Commoners, started the French Revolution