Storiascopio · Era 10 of 12 · lower secondary year 2
The European Enlightenment
about 1720 · Paris, France (and many cities in Europe, Milan included)
In short
In the 18th century a group of European thinkers, known as the philosophers of the Enlightenment, argued that reason is like a light able to drive away ignorance and superstition. Voltaire defended religious tolerance and freedom of thought, and Montesquieu proposed dividing the powers of the state so that no one held them all. In Milan Cesare Beccaria wrote On Crimes and Punishments in 1764, a book against torture and the death penalty. Their ideas were discussed in drawing rooms and coffee houses.
Why it matters Many rights we take for granted today, such as freedom of speech, grew out of Enlightenment ideas.
Source: Treccani, entry “Illuminismo”
Where we are in the era “Age of revolutions”
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1712Event 2 of 251895
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-european-enlightenment/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class