The Enlightenment happened when Europe stepped back and took a look at itself. The people saw their excesses and vices and through a storm of treatises, discourses, coalitions, and revolutions reformed their world. The Enlightenment started with the philosophers. Philosophers were elevated from simple thinkers and writers to the representatives of the people. Some sought to ridicule, some sought to advise, and all of them wanted to challenge the ingrained pattern of thought. One of the most influential philosophers was Jean- Jacques Rousseau who bridged the gap between the stoic and heartless Age of Reason and the birth of the Age of Romanticism. His unique view on human nature set him apart from the other philosophers, and made a profound impact on the political uprisings and reforms of the Enlightenment. .
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in the city of Calvin in June 28, 1712. His mother died just after giving birth to him. His father, a watchmaker raised him with the idea that Calvin was a great city like Rome or Ancient Sparta. Jean- Jacques was affected at an early age by his father who had married up into the noble class and flaunted his money and his authority accordingly. When the civil authorities arrested Rousseau's father for brandishing a sword which was seemingly acceptable for anyone of his class. Jean- Jacques Rousseau's father then left Jean- Jacques and Geneva to avoid imprisonment. Jean- Jacques Rousseau was forced to live with distant relatives for six years. .
The scars of his father still ran deep in Geneva and Rousseau as a teenager was "patronized and humiliated- by the people of the city. At the age of 16 years old he left Geneva to live a more adventurous life as a Roman Catholic Convert and traveled throughout Sardinia and France.
It was on these travels in the province of Savoy in the south-western Alps where he met the wealthy benefactress Baronne De Warens.