Enlightenment (1650-1700)

The enlightenment was a movement from the 18th century, that involved philosophers and their ideas which revolutionized England at a time of much moderation. These ideas where meant to reform England in the use of reason and advance knowledge through science. Prominent members of this movement are those who influenced the founding fathers of the u.s colonies and sparked the whole movement,John Locke his ideas where of freedom and rights,Baron de Montesquieu created the Seperation of 

branches, and Thomas Hobbes who did believe some restrictions in order to keep stability within the civilization are some of the copious involved in this movement.The revolution occurred because Charles II’s son, James II, was openly Catholic, which did not sit well with the predominantly Protestant public. The English people rallied behind James II’s Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, who led a nonviolent coup that dethroned James II and sent him to France. When William and Mary ascended the throne, they effectively ended the Catholic monarchy and the idea of divine right. In the years that followed, an English Bill of Rights was drafted, boosting parliamentary power and personal liberties. In this freer environment, science, the arts, and philosophy flourished all enhanced by the phillosophers. The Enlightenment expanded from England to Scottland,Russia,Spain, and Poland.