Enlightenment

Robert Boyle and English Thought

Meyrick H. Carré introduces an Irishman who personified the genius of experimental inquiry and did much to influence the Enlightenment in England.

The French Encyclopedia of 1751

R.V. Sampson charts the philosophical battles that the philosophes fought to publish their Enlightenment masterwork of human knowledge.

Vauxhall Gardens: Patriotism and Pleasure

In 1729 a young entrepreneur, Jonathan Tyers, took over the failing management of the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall. During his long tenure he was able to make it a resounding success, as David Coke  explains.

The Flowering of Scotland

David Torrance examines a pioneering article, first published in History Today in 1990, which argued that the Scottish Enlightenment was not restricted to Edinburgh but was a genuinely national phenomenon.

The Great Experiment: The Royal Society

The Royal Society was founded in 1660 to promote scientific research. Through a process of trial and error, this completely new kind of institution slowly discovered how its ambitions might be achieved – often in ways unforeseen by its founders, writes Michael Hunter.