jan 1, 1725 - "The Enlightenment"

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By this point in time, the intelligentsia of much of England and France, and parts of Germany, were thoroughly convinced of the failures of the Catholic Church and of the perceived backwardness of the Medieval Period. For this reason the era in which many great scientific discoveries were made and political theories organised, were branded an "Enlightenment" in which intelligent, white, European men were revolutionising the world. The truth is as always more complex but nonetheless the thinkers of this time would be deeply influential.

Men such as Leibnitz, Newton, Locke, Bentham, Kant, Descartes, Rousseau and Voltaire are all icons of this era.

The idea of "Whig History", that the world was constantly improving and becoming a more realised, liberal place was a prevalent one at this time and afterwards, and would skew many narratives regarding history.

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