What was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment describes diverse intellectual currents, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, concerning reason, evidence and authority.
Historical context and developments
Scientific societies, salons, print and colonial networks circulated ideas. Thinkers disagreed about religion, education, rights and government. Women and colonized peoples are often missing from standard accounts.
Consequences and interpreting sources
Claims about freedom coexisted with slavery and empire. Study the Enlightenment as debates and critiques across places, not one uniform European idea.
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