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18th Century European Enlightenment The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was predominant in the Western world during the 18th century. Strongly influenced by the rise of modern science and by the aftermath of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation, the thinkers of the Enlightenment (called philosophes in France) were committed to secular views based on reason or human understanding only, which they hoped would provide a …

…a large part of that country under Russian rule. Catherine had twenty-one lovers, and her spirit doctor inspected them all before they could be her lover...but Sergei Vasiljevits Saltykov (father of her first son) and Grigori Orlov (father of second son) were special to her. Upon the death of Catherine on November 17, 1796, modern Russian society was organized and its culture had struck firm roots. Russia was also playing a determining role in world affairs.