Enlightenment's Impact on 18th-Century Europe & America

Enlightenment's Influence on 18th-Century Reforms

1. Enlightenment-Era Reforms

Influenced by the Enlightenment, 18th-century monarchs implemented reforms to improve the lives of their people. These included:

• The state promoting involvement in education, especially at the college level.
• Reform of town designs.
• Better water supply and food.
• Renewal of road and port networks.
• Building hospitals and engaging the state in charities.
• The first population censuses were conducted.
• Promotion of industry, trade, and navigation.

2. Economic Growth and Innovation in Europe

Alongside the centralization of political power, Europe experienced economic growth. Innovations during this process included:

• Innovations in agricultural production and manufacturing.
• Significant increase in trade, particularly by sea.
• Increased money supply, mainly due to gold and silver remittances from America.

3. British Taxes on North American Colonies

The British crown, as the sole winner of the North American colonies, had the English Parliament establish a series of taxes on:

• Leather
• Sugar
• Paper
• Tea

4. The Divine Right of Kings

The question of the legitimacy of the monarch's unlimited power was based on the theories of thinkers like Bossuet, who defended:

The divine origin of monarchy, so that no law or institution could be above the king.

5. Equality Before the Law

The sentence "equality before the law" means:

It is equivalent to the abolition of any class privilege based on race or sex.

6. Laissez-Faire, Laissez-Passer

The phrase "laissez-faire, laissez-passer" means:

Let it be, let it go.

7. Independence of the North American Colonies

The independence of the English colonists in North America, who rebelled against the mother country and chose to stop belonging to the British Empire, implemented:

Enlightenment ideas and the principles of liberalism.

8. Influence of the United States' Independence

The independence of the United States greatly influenced the French Revolution and the emancipation of the Spanish colonies. It placed the following in the foreground:

• The Constitution
• Federalism
• Separation of powers
• Personal freedoms
• Equality before the law

9. Economic Policies of Consolidated Monarchies

The newly consolidated monarchies began to implement their first economic policies in order to consolidate their power.

10. Political Revolutions in Europe and America

The political revolutions that took place in Europe and America were due to:

Starting with the French Revolution in 1789, political revolutions became a universal phenomenon, culminating in the liberal revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848. In America, nearly all Spanish colonies gained independence.

11. Enlightened Despotism

The monarchs of the 18th century were also influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. This led to a new form of government, enlightened despotism, by which the monarchs:

Applied enlightened ideas to their governments but did not allow the people to participate in political decisions.

12. Organization of the 13 Colonies

The first English settlers arrived on the Atlantic coast of North America in the early 17th century. By the middle of the century, the territory was organized:

Into 13 colonies.