Final answer:
The Enlightenment was an influential intellectual movement in the late 1700s, fostering revolutions by promoting reason and rights over tradition. It espoused constitutional governments and challenged the divine right of kings, influencing both Europe and the Americas. Its initial focus on the rights of specific social groups eventually expanded to inspire wider calls for equality.
Step-by-step explanation:
The late 1700s witnessed a remarkable period of political and social revolutions in Europe and the Americas, which were deeply influenced by the Enlightenment. This intellectual movement championed reason, liberty, and the questioning of traditional hierarchical authority, which fueled the desire for change. John Locke's theory of natural rights and the need for government to protect life, liberty, and property shaped the ideals of the American Revolution. Similarly, the French Revolution was driven by the Enlightenment's emphasis on the rights of the common people over the privileges of the elite.
The Enlightenment also brought into question the divine right of kings and the structure of government, proposing alternative forms such as constitutional monarchies or republics. Its influence spread through salons, writings, and conversations, affecting the elites and middle classes in Europe. Moreover, the Enlightenment extended beyond Europe, with its ideas impacting the Americas, especially as Enlightenment thinkers among the Founding Fathers of the United States adopted these principles.
Despite its profound impact, the Enlightenment did not initially advocate universal equality; most thinkers focused on the rights of white males of certain social standings. Over time, however, the principles of the Enlightenment would evolve to inspire broader movements for rights across divides of race, gender, and class.