From the late 1700s to the late 1800s, there was a period of intellectual change. It became known as the Enlightenment. Thinkers, writers, artists, political leaders, and others drove this movement. They believed they were shining the “light” of reason on the world.

The Enlightenment impacted the entire world. Enlightenment ideas emerged from ongoing discussions among many people. These thinkers were particularly active in Europe and European colonies. They were connected to networks that moved around the globe. This allowed Enlightenment ideas to inspire major change.

What was so enlightening about the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment started as a scientific movement. It soon became a political movement. Enlightenment thinkers were devoted to studying and talking about topics that had previously been ignored.

The Enlightenment had roots in the Scientific Revolution. In 1687, Isaac Newton presented new laws in astronomy and mathematics. Enlightenment thinkers followed Newton. They believed that a “natural law” could be discovered for all aspects of the world by examining it.

Enlightenment politics can be traced to the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688. A constitutional monarchy was established in Britain. This was a new form of government. Although Britain still had a king and queen, it also had a Parliament to represent the people. The English philosopher John Locke presented new ideas about government. He argued that a government should be formed through a contract between people and their ruler.

The Enlightenment impacted people’s views on economics and morals. Locke owned stock in the Royal African Company. The Company profited from trading slaves. Locke argued that slavery was acceptable under some conditions. Yet Locke rejected the idea that there were underlying differences between people of different races. Most Enlightenment thinkers took Locke’s lead. They emphasized that all people had value as humans.

For many Enlightenment thinkers and artists, slavery became not only an ethical issue, but also a metaphor for different sorts of oppression and liberation. Radical artist William Blake used the theme frequently in his work.

Even so, slavery kept growing. Many Europeans become wealthy from its profits. Enlightenment thinkers struggled with the fact that “progress” depended on slavery. Locke’s position became harder to maintain. Some religious groups and Enlightenment thinkers called for the end of slavery.

The Enlightenment and historical “progress”

Not everyone had an equal voice in the Enlightenment. Almost no Enlightenment thinkers believed women should have political rights. Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought the goal of women’s education should be to please men. The English intellectual Mary Wollstonecraft challenged Rousseau’s ideas. Yet she did not go so far as to say that men and women should have the same jobs. She pointed out that educated women made better mothers.

Ideas about human development were also popular at the time. Scottish Enlightenment philosophers like Adam Smith believed that societies progressed. First a society had to move through one stage of development and then another. The final stage of human development was a society based in business and trade. This looked much like Western Europe. Smith’s ideas became critical for modern capitalism.

So was the Enlightenment really that revolutionary?

Historians disagree about whether the Enlightenment was truly revolutionary. It provided new tools for examining the world and ideas, but inequality remained. European Enlightenment thinkers were typically well-off white men. They did not want to completely change social institutions. Other people had less to lose. Over time, more people saw the gap between Enlightenment ideas and the world’s problems. This led to people asking for bigger changes to society.

Who were the rebels pushing the Enlightenment to go further? Historians say they were multi-racial, multi-national, and working class. One example was Olaudah Equiano. Equaino was enslaved man and a sailor who became a leading voice in the abolitionist movement.

French playwright Olympe de Gouges was also an abolitionist. She wrote about women’s rights in 1791. She criticized women’s exclusion from the new French government.

Latin America also had Enlightenment thinkers. José Antonio de Alzate criticized European Enlightenment ideas. He was especially concerned with European ideas about Native Americans. He said Europeans did not understand native societies.

Yet social elites continued to hold power. In some ways, modern states actually gained more power over people’s everyday lives. “Citizenship” was a powerful rallying cry for political participation. At the same time, it left people out.

The effects of the Enlightenment are complicated. Although it was liberating, changes had limits. Perhaps it is best to think of the Enlightenment as a process, not a single thing. You engage in the enlightenment process today. When you use a microscope, write a novel, or carry a protest sign, you are part of the Enlightenment’s legacy.