1. The Enlightenment- “The Age of Reason”
“Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.”
-Voltaire

2. What was it?
The Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, began in Europe in the 1700s and spread to many parts of the world. The thinkers of the Enlightenment objected to the absolute power of the royal rulers and of the Roman Catholic church. They used reason, or logical thinking, and science to attack this power. Their ideas helped cause political revolutions all over the world.
"Enlightenment." Britannica Junior Encyclopedia Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 16  Dec.  2008  <

3. Impact of the Enlightenment
Fueled democratic revolutions around the world
a. The American Revolution
b. The French Revolution
c. Latin America- Toussaint L’Ouverture, Simon Bolivar
Inspired famous people and documents to be written.
a. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
b. The U.S. Constitution with the Bill of Rights
Stimulated religious tolerance.

4. Inspired artists, philosophers, and writers
a. Composers
Bach, Mozart, Handel
b. Writers
Cervantes (the novel, Don Quixote)
c. Painters
Delacroix (portraits, natural scenes, public events)
d. Philosophers
Voltaire, Hobbes, Montesquieu, Locke, Woolstonecraft, Rousseau

5. Technologies All-weather roads improved year-round transport and trade
New designs in farms tools increased productivity
Improvements in ship design lowered the cost of transport.