Browse Items (202 total)

The mainstream Enlightenment may have put an emphasis on individual liberties and free thought, but these ideas rarely extended to “second class” members of early modern European society, including women. Mary Wollstonecraft, a feminist philosopher…

This is the title page of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which was published in 1792. Wollstonecraft was a prolific English writer and powerful advocate for women’s rights, as the title of this book suggests. Chapter XII,…

This collage of colored papers combines to accurately form a sunflower, a flower originally from Mexico that was introduced to Europe in the late 16th century. Botanists and herbalists recorded this flower, and it was grown by John Gerard in 1597 who…

A variety of flora and fauna existed in the New World that differed from European plants and animals. One notable example is the opossum, which, according to Hugh Honour, revealed the “strangeness” of the Americas “while parrots and toucans…

During the era of constantly changing political power and international affair, the Austrian Habsburg faced a succession problem after the death of Charles VI who had no sons. The succession of a women emperor in Europe was generally rare during the…

Healing during the Early Modern period was very often the property of the church and of faith. Pilgrims would go on long journeys to the resting places of saints and other holy figures, in order to find any form of healing they could (Wiesner-Hanks…

There has been substantial debate over the past 500 years over whether Martin Luther’s doctrine – and the Protestant Reformation as a whole – should be seen as a move towards a more egalitarian society. Should we see Luther’s Reformation as a…

16th century Europe saw the rise of the nation-state in many kingdoms. Monarchs across Europe sought to consolidate their power and develop large centralized institutions (Wiesner-Hanks 88). Additionally, New military technology led to an increase…

During much of the period known as the Middle Ages, it has often been believed that Europeans focused inwards, foregoing a knowledge of the outside world in the harsh years of plague and religious intolerance. This misconception, however, greatly…

Italian politics throughout the early modern period are a complex matter with city states constantly trying to gain more prestige and power. Throughout this constant power struggle, princes were adapting various political ideas to create a more…

Collège des Quatre-Nations, was one of the colleges of the University of Paris. The building itself was built with baroque influences by Louis Le Vau (1612-1670). The completion of the college, its construction, and its opening in 1688 all happened…

An ambitious project to compile a mass of information into several encyclopedias, Diderot’s Encyclopedia—though of the Enlightenment era and not Classical Antiquity—can be used to identify how ideas have endured throughout history. Specifically, the…