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May 22, 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
Copernicus, a mathmatician, thought that his heliocentric, or sun-centered, conception of the universe offered a more accuate explanation than did the Ptolemaic system. In his system, the sun, not Earth, was at the center of the universe. The planets revolved around the sun. The moon however, revolved around Earth. Moreover, according to Copernicus, the apparent movement of the sun around Earth was caused by the rotation of Earth on its axis and its journey around the sun. -
Galileo publishes The Starry Messenger
Did more to make the Europeans aware of the new view of the universe than did the works of Copernicus and Kepler. -
Rene Descartes writes Discourse on Method.
Descartes decided to set aside all that he had learned and to begin again. One fact seemed to him to be beyond doubt--his own existence. Descartes emphasized the importance of his own mind. He asserted that he would accept only those things that his reason were true. Descartes has rightly been called the father of modern rationalism. -
John Locke writes Essay concerning Human Understanding
Locke writes the first draft of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding From this year until 1675.Locke appears to have been the secretary to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Locke argued that every person was born with a tabula rasa, or blank mind. Locke's ideas suggested that people were molded by the experiences that came through their senses from the surrounding world. -
Isaac Newton publishes Principia
Newton defines the three laws of motion that govern the planetary bodies, as well as objects on Earth. Crucial to this argument was th universal law of gravitation. -
The first daily newspaper printed in London
An important aspect of the growth of publishing and reading in the 18th century was the development of magazines and newspapers for the general public. Newspapers were relatively cheap and were even provided free in many coffeehouses. -
Reign of Frederick William I
Frederick William I maintained a highly efficient bureaucracy of civil service workers. They observed and the supreme values of obedience, honor, and, above all, service to the king. Frederick William's other major concern was the army. By the end of his reign in 1740, he had doubled the army's size. -
Hanovers take British Crown.
THe first Hanoverian king, George I, did not speak English. Neither the first nor the second George knew the British system well, so their chief ministers were allowed to deal with Parliament. -
Maria Theresa inherits the Austrian throne.
She worked to centralize and strengthen the state. She was not open to the philosophes's calls for reform, but she worked to improve the condition of the serfs. -
War of Austrian succession.
Ended in 1748, was fought in three areas of the world. In Europe, Prussia seized Silesia while France occupied the Austrian Netherlands. In Asia, France took Madras (today called Chennai) in India from the British. In North America, the British captured the French fortress of Louisbourg at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. -
Beginning and End of the Seven Years' War.
The stage was set for the Seven Years' War, when, in 1740, a major war broke out in connecion with the succession to the Austrian throne. The war ended in 1747. -
Reign of Frederick II
He was one of the best educated and most cultured monarchs of the time. He was well versed in Enlightenment ideas and even invited the French philosophe Voltaire to live at his court for several years. He was also a dedicated ruler. -
Montesquieu writes the spirit of the laws.
A study of governments. In it, Montesquieu used the scientific method to try to find the natural laws that govern the social and political relationships of human beings. -
The years in which Diderot published the encyclopedia.
The last year that Diderot published the encyclopedia was in 1772. According to Diderot, the encyclopedia was to "change the general way of thinking". It became a weapon against the old French society. -
Rousseau writes Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of Mankind.
Rousseau argued that people had adopted laws and government in order to preserve their private property. -
Rousseau writes the social contract.
Through a social contract, an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will. Individuals who wish instead to follow their own self-interests must be forced to abide by the general will. "This means nothing less than that [they] will be forced to be free," said Rousseau. -
Catherine the Great rules Russia.
She was an intelligent woman who was familiar with the works of the philosophes and seemed to favor enlightened reforms. -
Voltaire writes Treatise on Toleration.
He reminded governments that "all men are brothers under God." -
On Crimes and Punishments written by Cesare Beccaria.
Beccaria argued that punishments should not be exercises in brutality. He also opposed capital punishment. He did not believe it stopped others from committing crimes. Moreover, it set an example of barbarism. -
Stamp Act imposed on colonies.
The act required certain printed materials, such as legal documents and newspapers, to carry a stamp showing that a tax had been paid to Britian. -
Adam Smith writes The Wealth of Nations.
Smith believed that the state should not interfere in economic matters. -
Treaty of Paris signed.
Recognized the independence of the American colonies. -
First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
They revised the Articles of Confederation. THe delegates decided to write a plan for an entirely new government. -
Mary Wollstonecraft writes A Vindication of the rights of Women.
She identifies two problems with the views of many Enlightenment thinkers. She noted that the same people who argued that women must obey men also said that government based on the arbitrary power of monarchs over their subjects was wrong. Wollstonecraft pointed out that the power of men over women was equally wrong. Wollstonecraft further argued that the Enlightenment was based on an ideal of reason in all human beings.
