Enlightenment (Enlightenment Period) was an intellectual movement in Europe during the 18th century. The movement stressed the equality of all humans. However, when incorporated into the scientific racism of the time it helped spur racial hierarchies based on the assumption that white people- especially men were somehow superior to people of colour. Accordingly, this fed into the colonialist mindset which justified the destruction of entire cultures in the name of greed and power. In all, equality for 'all' humans became equality for a select few that happened to be male, white, christian, and most of the time wealthy and ignored all others.
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