September 1, 2014

The Enlightenment

How do the ideas of the Enlightenment effect the French Revolution?
Were the results always good or not? (midterm)
-Grain trades

18th century = the enlightenment/ age of reason/ era of optimism

civilization advances. Science evolutions applied to agriculture huge population declined in 17th century and raises dramatically in the 18th century
Coming out of the ice age so agriculture gets better
Mid 18th century= industrial evolution in England
With that comes commerce and wealth
Growing modern middle class (business merchant urban middle class)

Leaders of the enlightenment (group of writers) all about freedom of thought, expression, religion, arbitrary power (king can throw you in prison)

THE FRENCH PHILOSOPHS
1.Montesquieu
2. Diderot
3.Rosseau
4.Authour d’un buste
5.Volitare

The key idea is all things should be evaluated by reason and common sense with nature and promote human well-being

Expansion of the reading public Public reading room
The ideas of the philosophes and the enlightenment were able to spread quickly Books, magazines, news papers read in coffee shops and discuss
Huge demand for this new knowledge- dictionaries, encyclopedias
Everyone has a position in society

Denis Diderot and his encyclopedia The great encyclopedia was a great compendium of scientific and historical knowledge. It served to popularize the ideas and ideals of the enlightenment throughout Europe.

The king or the church has no one to take that away from you
The purpose of Government is to ensure these natural rights/ a king needs to
At the time Aristocrats don’t pay taxes yet they’re the richest in the society
Serfdom and slavery were not only immoral but not irrational
Serfdom- means aristocrats own the land and the people who live on that land belong to the land. And owe the landlord

Physiocrates- economists who believed in natural economic laws, favoring policies such as free trade, fiscal and tax reform to free the economy.

Mercantilism
Mercantilism is an economic theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation is dependant upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of international trade is “unchangeable”

Economic assests or capital, are represented by a billion )gold, silver, and trade value) held by the state, which is best increased through a positive balance of trade with other