Views of Travelers on Enlightenment

The French Revolution, which saw the ruthless destruction of the majority of the conventional social and political systems, is the pinnacle of the Enlightenment era. The established order featured a French monarch, Catholic Church dominance, and privileges for the French aristocracy. The new social and political structures are founded on the human-reasoning-based equality and freedom principles of the Enlightenment. (11.12). According to Immanuel Kant, enlightenment is the release of humankind from its own ingrained naiveté. According to Kant, people's lack of maturity is a consequence of their inability to think through problems on their own. Therefore, according to Kant, enlightenment is the process where people start depending solely on their intellectual power in determining their belief system and actions (11.12). The paper assesses the success of enlightenment based on various events like the fight for gender equality, political revolutions, and industrialization experienced in different parts of the world.

Gender Equality

The enlightenment philosophers have been in a constant argument over the ideal rights men are supposed to enjoy. However, very few philosophers have considered the entry of women into the public sphere. The rise of various women figures in the public sphere like Mary Wollstonecraft is beyond most philosophers’ imagination. Traditionally, men have played all the roles involving the public sphere and women have been left to focus on lesser roles which are not in the public domain (11.13). Coming from a low-income family, Wollstonecraft is a self-educated woman pursuing an outstanding career as an author in England. The topic of male dominance over women acts as the main subject of Wollstonecraft’s work and is best explained by the Vindication of the Rights of Women.

Influenced by Enlightenment, Wollstonecraft is a key contender of women rights in England, and she believes that women ought to be prepared in becoming men’s companion through education. The process of not educating women stops the progress of virtue and knowledge. For the society to excel, cooperation between men and women is essential, and it can only be achieved when both parties are educated (11.13). Wollstonecraft believes that for children to learn the true principles of patriotism, their mothers must have proper knowledge on patriotism and be patriotic. The education and present situation of women shuts them down from actively participating in the different societal activities. Furthermore, women are the source of values and morals instilled to the young ones. When a half of the human race is excluded from participating in various governance operations, the society is not likely to advance. Therefore, women must be viewed as people with the capability of moving the society ahead. Wollstonecraft raises the question of who made man the exclusive judge, given that both sexes are gifted with similar reasoning. Educated women like Wollstonecraft play a huge role in the success of enlightenment by advocating for freedom and equality of all.

Revolution in Latin America

The French revolution created a drastic passion for change which spread even to the Latin America following the 1789 events. The revolutionary ideas are widely adopted in the Latin America because the Spanish colonies hate the European rule (12.8). Simon Bolivar is a leading revolutionary in the Latin America. Bolivar has spent a couple of years in France as part of Napoleon’s entourage and is therefore heavily influenced by the European Enlightenment. After returning from France, Bolivar starts leading the independence movement in New Granada and Venezuela (12.8). The Latin Americans view Bolivar as the savior, and while he was in self-imposed exile, he writes the Jamaican Letter.

The letter is seen as the liberator’s supreme strategy of the political rights of the Enlightenment world. Bolivar believes that as soon as the Latin America was under the rule of a liberal nation, it will move to its destined prosperity swiftly (12.8). The Liberator views the colonialism as the main barrier depriving the Americans equality and economic opportunities. The lack of freedom motivates the locals to establish independence movements across the entire region. According to the liberator, the Americans should not aspire to have the best government but the one which is more likely to become successful. Bolivar sees an opportunity of uniting the whole region of Latin America using the principles of anti-colonialism and sovereignty (12.8). The letter by Bolivar took most of the revolutionary materials from Haiti, which gained its independence in 1804. The country became among the leading modern colonies to gain independence and influenced various leaders in the region.

Living Conditions Industrial Cities

As the heart of the industrial revolution, London has attracted thousands of people from different social and economic backgrounds who are in search for jobs. The high population has led to the development of slums where people live in wretched conditions. With the high number of people from everywhere, the streets of London are very noisy and overcrowded (12.16). The crowded and noisy conditions in the streets are most certainly disgusting to the human nature. The people in the city have already adapted to the harsh conditions, and they always seem in a hurry to somewhere. Also, the harsh conditions have diminished the common social interactions, and people are more concerned about their personal development and growth. There is the fragmentation of the society into individuals, where every person in the city follows their private principles and objectives (12.16). The war of all against all is fought openly, with the strongest of all being a small group of capitalists. The capitalists own the different industries in the city and monopolize everything, leaving the weakest who are the majority to live in abject poverty. Also, the poor workers have been segregated by the rich capitalists who live the stately homes. The poor people live in separate districts from the rich where they languish away from the fortunate capitalists.

Additionally, people in all the other great cities like Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham experience similar conditions as the people of London. The industrial revolution has attracted thousands of people to the cities leading to the rise of slums. The rivers around the city have been heavily polluted with rubbish and filth. The stinking stench is unbearable even to the people on top of bridges which are approximately forty to fifty feet above the coal-black waters. River Irk is heavily affected by the solid and liquid waste discharged from the tanneries, dye, gas, and bone mills industries which are close to the Ducie Bridge (12.16). Also, the crumbling houses in the slums are very close to each other, with broken window panes and frames. Notably, the soot coming from the nearby industries have darkened the walls of the houses.

Factory Conditions

The growth of the industries in England has greatly improved the socio-political position and the profits made by the industrial owners. The industry owners subject the workers to long working hours under unhealthy and unsafe working conditions. Also, the industry owners rely heavily on the use of child labor, subjected to the same conditions as the adult workers. Although England’s government is responding to the conditions in the factories, the response is not that fast. The 1833 Factory Act is a perfect example of government efforts in taking accountability for the factory workers (12.17). The Act came to pass in parliament due to the massive amount of evidence affirming to the poor conditions in the various factories across the city.

The evidence provided by the medical examiners affirms that the physical conditions of the people living in Northeastern District of England were greatly affected by industrialization. In the above district, children as young as five years worked for approximately thirteen hours every day. In the same district, the children between nine and eleven years old were subjected to roughly fourteen and fifteen hours of turmoil every day. The children exposed to the long working hours suffer from various physical conditions including deformity, relaxed muscles, slender conformation, stunted growth, and relaxation of knees and ankles ligaments (12.17). From the various physical conditions, it is very easy to differentiate other children from the factory children. The above conditions are very common in most children living in the Northeastern area, and it is rare to locate one without the various physical conditions.

The high number of children with various physical deformities in the city has stimulated the parliament to establish a protection law. The working conditions which workers are exposed to in the various factories are beyond the endurance of any human being. According to the medical examiners in the city, children under fourteen years should only work for a maximum of eight hours every day to avoid physical deformity. On the other hand, the standard working hours for the adults should be capped at ten hours every day. Testimony provided by John Wright shows that he has worked for over thirty years, and started working at a tender age of between five and six years. Since he started working, Wright has worked for eleven hours every day, and an addition of two over hours on a daily basis (12.17). The regular working hours start from six o’clock in the daybreak to six in the evening.

Conclusion

To sum up, the Enlightenment period has brought a new social, and political system informed by principles of equality and freedom and established based on human reasoning. The period is marked by the rise of feminists demanding for the inclusion of women in various public roles. The works by Wollstonecraft argues that for humanity to advance, the women should not be left behind as they are equally capable as their male counterparts. Influenced by the European enlightenment, Bolivar is ready to lead the independence movements in Latin America towards liberation. Bolivar argues that the Americans should not adopt the best government like the one in Europe, but the one which is likely to flourish given the local conditions. Also, influenced by the Enlightenment, philosophers like Friedrich Engels, have written heavily about the various challenges brought by the industrial revolution, and criticized the capitalist regime. Notably, the writings have influenced the politicians in taking the responsibility of the factory workers by passing the Factory Act.

References

11.12 Emmanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?

11.13 Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women

12.8 Simon Bolivar, “Jamaican Letter”

12.16 Testimony for the Factory Act of 1833

12.17 Friedrich Engels, “Critique of Working Conditions”