Historical+Background

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The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar. The French and American revolutions took place during the 18th century. Great Britain became a major power worldwide with the defeat of France in the Americas, in the 1760s and the conquest of large parts of India. However, Britain lost much of its North American colonies after the American Revolution, which was actively helped by the French. The industrial revolution started in Britain around the 1750s with the patenting of the steam engine. The 18th century can also be known as the Enlightenment that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. Certain thinkers and writers, primarily in London and Paris, believed that they were more enlightened than their compatriots and set out to enlighten them. They believed that human reason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to build a better world. Their principal targets were religion and the domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy.

__**18th Century Historical Map**__



__Timeline__
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 * [|http://mason.gmu.edu/~ayadav/historical%20outline/overview.htm]

__Other links__
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