The 18th century is known as the Age of Enlightenment and Reason, a critical and rationalist ideological movement began that became known as "the Enlightenment" whose contents will be crucial for the evolution of philosophical, social and scientific thought.
This century is also a time of change and transformation, not only because in its last years Modern History begins, but also because economic, social and political developments and transformations of particular relevance in the life of man take place. These include the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the consequent disappearance of the Ancien Régime and the American Revolution.
From France the Enlightenment spread across Europe. The intellectual pre-eminence that the French language had acquired under Louis XIV both because of the political hegemony of the nation and the quality of its men of letters, facilitated its dissemination. Its "Cultural radiation" was the fuel for those in Germany, Italy, Russia and anywhere else who prided themselves as being well educated.
R. HERR. The Eighteenth-Century Revolution in Spain.
Of especial importance will be the spectacular advances that, in the shadow of Newton’s Unified Theory and the statement of the program that bears his name, occur in the field of science.
