The age of enlightenment in Europe dominated during the 17th and 19th Centuries, and the French were among the affected with these events of this era. The age of enlightenment sprung out of European scholarly and intellectual movement; this was based on the concepts of evidence of the sense considered as primary sources of an idea, reason sovereignty, and ideals of advancement such as separation of church and state, constitutional government, fraternity, progress, and liberty. Enlightenment-era had its ideologies building up over time among the French and overtime; it culminated in being among the influences for the French Revolution.
The era of French enlightenment philosophers reflected on many of the social aspects that criticized the apparent traditional institutions of the French monarchy. The philosopher John Locke coming from an English political climate, Locke’s belief in the right of the individual concerning the government and power of private property was a contributing factor to the French enlightenment.
Baron de Montesquieu dominated the French social and political in the first half of the eighteenth century. His Persian letters published in 1721 criticized the monarch institution, thus praising the antiquity republics along with a condemnation of the Monarch’s economic inequalities and religious intolerance. Montesquieu was seen to draw inspiration from the monarchial system in England. He explained the significance of power separation to minimize crown influence as with too much crown power, despotic situations would arise. Montesquieu’s writings greatly influenced the rise of the French Revolution as such.
Rousseau works on ideas of what a republic should be and his explanations on the relationships between an individual in a society and keeping one’s liberties. His works were studied and embraced by a multitude of persons as such his works influences contributed to the nascent rise of the French Revolution.
Conclusion
As from the above elements of enlightenment ranging from literature works by Rousseau, the Persian letters by Baron de Montesquieu, John Locke’s literary works, the attack of the privileged class by the literate ones, the broadening influence and the growing nascent literal and intellectual population due to the impact of these literature works all led to the rise of the French Revolution.
