Before the enlightenment, which many believe to has had its roots in the 18th century, came the renaissance. Approximately two centuries before the enlightenment, something of the same concept was occurring in Europe. Realistic thinking, changes in scientific thinking and philosophical thinking all made themselves present during the renaissance, with people like Nicholas Copernicus, who introduced the idea that the earth moved around the sun and not the other way around, which revolutionized the everyones view on astronomy. Several years later, Galileo, who we all associate with the telescope, confirmed that Copernicus had been right after performing several mathematical calculations and by using his trusty telescope. Granted, these discoveries caused tension within the church, but they also changed ways of thinking around the world; the groundwork for what was to become the enlightenment had been laid.

-Franchesko