In this episode we look at the cultural phenomenon that was the Enlightenment and how it spread amongst the literate middle class in Europe.

A quick look at the major enlightenment philosophers that have a major influence on modern government and society today... Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Beccaria, Smith, and Wollstonecraft.

In this second part of our look at the Enlightenment we study three philosophers that promote the idea that government exists because the people allow it to exist... The Social Contract.

In this episode we look at how the 18th century philosophical movement known as the Enlightenment will be an outgrowth of the scientific revolution and why France is considered to be the home of the Enlightenment.

In this episode we look at the ultimate alternative to absolutism and check on a monarch's power... the Glorious Revolution and the English Bill of Rights.

In this third part in our series on alternatives to absolutism, we look at the Interregnum in England and the rule of Oliver Cromwell, which really isn't all that much of an alternative to absolutism.

In this second part in our series studying alternatives to absolutism, we look at the different governing systems in Sweden and Poland and compare them to other absolutist monarchies in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Part one of a three part series looking at alternatives to 18th century absolutism, in this episode we look at the Dutch United Provinces and learn how their form of government lead to the development of a great economy.

A quick look at Baroque art so that you can understand the various genres, specifically Italian Baroque, Spanish Baroque, French Baroque, and Dutch Baroque.

In this episode we look at how Peter the Great of Russia will work to get his nobility under control and develop Russia from a feudal state into a modern absolutist state with a strong military and a mercantilist economy.