The document provides an overview of the Enlightenment period in European history. It lists important Enlightenment philosophers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot, and Beccaria and briefly describes some of their major works. It also discusses Enlightenment examinations of economics with physiocrats like Quesnay and Adam Smith. Finally, it debates whether the Enlightenment led to great or modest political reforms and profiles some Enlightened despots like Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, Maria Theresa, and Joseph II who applied Enlightenment ideas to politics.