Key People

• John Locke: a seventeenth century Enlightenment thinker who preached ideas such as a contract government, or the "political theory that views government as stemming from the people, who agree to surrender a measure of personal freedom in return for a government that guarantees protection of citizens' rights and property" (Crossroads and Cultures). The certain rights that he believed in were the right to life, liberty, and property. Also, Locke held that if a government failed to serve its citizens properly, then they had to right to overthrow the government. 
• Voltaire: a French Enlightenment philosopher who called for a society based on merit and not noble birth. He compared the corrupt societies of Europe to the supposedly flawless societies of Asia.
• Baron Louis Montesquieu: a French Enlightenment thinker, who, similar to his contemporary, Voltaire, saw European society as inferior to Asian society. He also introduced the idea of separation of powers through judicial, legislative, and executive branches. 
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: a Swiss Enlightenment philosopher who, in his The Social Contract, states that due to corrupt governments "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." Rousseau stressed proper education--namely, learning through experience rather than rote memorization (as can be seen in his book Emile). He also maintained that women were not equal to men.
• Adam Smith: Scottish author of On the Wealth of Nations, a book that introduced the concept of laissez faire, or the "economic doctrine that advocates freeing economies from government intervention and control" (Crossroads and Cultures).
• Denis Diderot: French author of the Enlightenment Encyclopedia, which emphasized the importance of commoners to society and the equality of all people. His book also contained sketches of new, practical machines.
• Frederick the Great: Prussian ruler from 1740-1786 who celebrated the Enlightenment and valued hard work in a ruler rather than a life of luxury.
• Catherine the Great: Russian ruler who greatly improved education for girls and who commenced the writing of a dictionary of the Russian language. She also tried to reform nobles so they would participate in the development of their subjects rather than vices and luxury. 
• Emel'ian Ivanoch Pugachev: instigator of the Pugachev Rebellion who united serfs in a revolt by claiming that he was the dead husband of Catherine the Great. 
• George Washington: the head general of the Continental Army who lead the American colonies to win freedom from Great Britain. Also, he was the first president of the United States.
• Alexander Hamilton: a leading figure in the writing of the Constitution of the United States who advocated the abolition of slavery.
• King Louis XVI: monarch of France who, through his spendthrift ways, caused the French government to be deep in debt. The French Revolution occured during his rule, and he was eventually executed via the guillotine.
• Olympe de Gouges: French Enlightenment thinker who wrote the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen" which proclaimed that women were equal to men. In her "Reflections on Negroes," she said that blacks were no different than whites in the same way blonds were no different than blacks. 
• Mary Wollstonecraft: her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman compared the unjust subordination of women under men to the French nobles' oppression of the French commoners prior to the French Revolution. 
• Maximilien Robespierre: a French lawyer who seized power in the heat of the turmoil that ensued after the French Revolution. In his efforts to make France a republic, Robespierre tried to create a more egalitarian and patriotic society. However, it was he who ordered the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during a time known as the Terror, where many were killed and citizens were stripped of basic freedoms such as freedom of speech in accordance with general will, or the "political concept that once agreement among citizens creates a state, that state is endowed with a higher wisdom about policies with which virtuous citizens could not disagree" (Crossroads and Cultures).
• Napoleon Bonaparte: seized control of France as emperor in 1804. His Napoleonic Code increased wealth by establishing clear rules for economics but greatly decreased the status of women in France. He conquered much land in Europe, but then, weakened by a defeat in Russia, he was forced to surrender to British forces at Waterloo.
• Muhammad Ali: the viceroy of Ottoman-controlled Egypt who increased the cotton industry, greatly westernized Egypt by bringing in Europeans to advise him, centralized the government, and established public schools.
• Toussaint Louverture: the leader of the Haitian slave revolts that resulted in the emancipation of slaves in Haiti and, eventually, Haiti's independence. 
• Miguel Hidalgo: a Mexican priest who led an army of Native Americans angry at the oppression they faced under the creoles and the Spanish. He was executed in 1811, but his actions eventually led to the liberation of Mexico.
• Simon Bolivar: often called "The Liberator," Bolivar played a major role in the independence of several South American countries including Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. He realized that to beat the Spanish, he needed to look past skin color and combine forces with all peoples. 
• Pedro I: when the Portuguese royal family returned home from Brazil, the king's son, Pedro, was left behind to tend to Brazil. Pedro declared Brazil independent in 1822 and made himself king.