Towards a Modern World

By way of established global trade networks, affluence was no longer exclusively the privilege of monarchs but was now increasingly attainable by a large segment of society. The spread of manufactured products and the slave trade transformed economies and stimulated new modes of consumption via additional routes and colonial empires. In the 1700s, the East India Companies of both England and France dominated the world as parallel powers, displacing their Portuguese and Dutch predecessors.  

The arts reflected an increased emphasis on the private sphere, the individual and the family. With the growth of global exchanges, a vivid image of remote lands and cultures pervaded. A philosophy of progress and reason, known as the Enlightenment, spread through Europe, inciting discussions on human rights. Illustrated by the American and French revolutions at the end of the century, this intellectual movement focused on the individual and their role in history.