Only for a few. Everyone else was pursuing the favoured passtimes of abuse, violence, slavery and war...
- The Scandanavians got in an early start with the Northern War which ran (with extra time) from 1700 to 1721
- Not to be out done by the Norterners, the Spanish war of Succession ran from 1701 to 1714
- Britain was slow off the blocks but later put up a strong showing with the Jacobite rebellions of 1715. 1719 and 1745
With such a promising start, it's not surprising that there were 23 major wars involving Europeans and their neighbours in the 18th century. Who can forget those chart toppers the French and American revolutions? At the same time the Slave trade was booming world wide and, as usual, the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting screwed.
The term "Age of Enlightenment" is a complete nonsense if you consider the reality.