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The Enlightenment - Timeline Extra Credit
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The Royal Academy in London is founded
This event is important to the Enlightenment because the Enlightenment was characterized by the spread of thoughts and the royal institutions allowed for this to happen in the scientific sphere. -
Newton published his "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"
The publication of this work was significant to the Enlightenment because many thinkers of that era expounded upon Newton's ideas, and some, like Voltaire, sought to make his works more widely known to the general population. -
John Locke publishes his Two Treatises on Government
This publication was significant because the contributions of Locke in the era preceding the Enlightenment became catalysts for changes made by Enlightenment thinkers such as Helvetius, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, -
Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister of England
This event was important to the Enlightenment because it signified a move toward a more democratic society and the more democratic society of Great Britain was one that was idolized by many Enlightenment philosophes. -
Creation of the Methodist Church
The creation of the Methodist church by John Wesley was significant to the Enlightenment, because it showcased the shift in religion away from relying on an organized church structure to achieve heavenly salvation to the principle that one could achieve salvation through personal spiritual consciousness. -
Voltaire publishes "Philosophical Letters on the English"
Voltaire's work to progress the perception of Great Britain in the minds of the people on the European Continent was characteristic of the Enlightenment period as it was a period wherein philosophes such as Voltaire and Montesquieu worked to spread the ideas of the British islands to the rest Europe and the world. -
Frederick the Great becomes king of Prussia
The ascension of Frederick the Great to the throne of Prussia was significant because he was one of the key enlightened despots and embodied what Voltaire described as the ideal "philosopher king." -
Montesquieu publishes "The Spirit of the Law"
This event is notable in the history of the Enlightenment because it shifted beliefs on the way a government should be run by introducing new concepts such as separate branches of government and checks and balances. -
The Encyclopedie is published in Paris
This event is important because it showcases an amalgamation of Enlightenment ideals in one work. It also showcases the common class which was a growing theme in the Enlightenment. -
Rousseau published "The Social Contract"
The publication of "The Social Contract" was important to the Enlightenment because it did not only outline the concept of rule in subordination to General Will,but it also embodied the spirit of the Enlightenment in that the goal was to achieve positive political reform. -
Catherine the Great begins her rule in Russia
Catherine the Great's rule was significant to the Enlightenment because it showcased an "enlightened despot" in action because she was a patron of the philosophes, she worked towards some forms of social reform, she was more tolerant (in some ways) than her predecessors, and she was an absolutist. -
Prussia, Russia, and Austria divide Poland in the First Partition
The partitions of Poland divided the Polish Empire into three sections controlled by Prussia, Russia, and Austria. It was significant to the Enlightenment because it signified a change in the balance of European powers as well as the end of the autonomous Polish Empire -
King Louis XVI's reign begins in France
The reign of Louis XVI was important to the era of the Enlightenment because not only was it a catalyst for the French Revolution but it was also a time in French history of growing social and political chaos and of new ideas developing (specifically with the philosophes and in the Parisian salon). -
"The Wealth of Nations'' is published by Adam Smith
The publication of the "Wealth of Nations" was important to the Enlightenment and the eras after it because it pioneered the the free trade economic system (as did the Physiocrats). -
Americans achieve independence from the British
The achievement of American independence from the British through the Revolutionary War was important to the age of Reason in Europe because it signified that concepts that were generally just hypothetical in Europe (checks and balances, freedom of religion and press, etc) could actually be achieved in a real, functioning government. -
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes "A Vindication of the Rights of Women"
The publication of this work was important to the Enlightenment because it showcased the ideals and progressive ideologies generally only applied to men of the Enlightenment were being applied to women (specifically women's right to education).