What movement emphasized the rights of individuals and led to political changes in revolutionary France?

The Enlightenment movement emphasized the rights of individuals, advocating for principles such as liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were pivotal in shaping modern democratic thought. Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau challenged traditional authority, questioned absolute monarchy, and inspired ideas about governance based on individual rights and social contracts.

These ideas played a significant role in the political changes that occurred during the French Revolution, as revolutionaries sought to establish a government grounded in the notion that power derives from the people rather than from divine right or hereditary rule. The emphasis on reason, science, and intellectual discourse during the Enlightenment laid the intellectual foundation for revolutionary actions that ultimately led to significant political and social upheaval in France, such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which embodies the Enlightenment ideals of personal liberties and civil rights.

In contrast, the Renaissance was primarily focused on a revival of art and learning from classical antiquity rather than direct political reform. The Industrial Revolution transformed economies and societies but did not primarily address individual rights in a political context. The Counter-Reformation was a response to the Protestant Reformation, focused on the Catholic Church's internal reforms and reaffirmation of doctrines rather than individual rights