The Enlightenment period which dominated Europe in the 18th century sought to define the world under empiric thought, in search of clarity and objectivity. During this period the modern science was developed. The basis for the development of the natural sciences was the work of social thinkers of the 17th century, who described the human being, on empirical principles, as someone who aspires for freedom, education, equality and toleration. These principles led to writing of the first encyclopedia in France, the flourishing of science and industry in this state and the rise of the bourgeoisie.
The most significant technological achievement of the period, remarkably corresponds with the social ideas, was the invention of the flying balloon in 1783. It was developed simultaneosly in two different scientific-technological directions, a combination unmatched even nowdays in its originality. The flying balloon soaring by hot air was invented by the Montgolfier brothers. The flying balloon soaring by hydrogen gas was invented, a few months later, thanks to the scientist Lavoisier ability to produce this gas industrially.
The flying balloon is considered, along with the wheel and the print, one of the ten major technological inventions in the history of mankind. The first impression of the giant silk balloon, colorfully painted, which was flown by the Montgolfier brothers for the first time over Paris in the fall of 1783 was immense. The impression of the much more effective hydrogen baloon, who flew for days and hundreds of miles, was beyond imagination. Everyone could now rise upto the sky and watch the world from above. The result was that the people revolt against the corrupt monarchy. But in the absence of proper cultural background social chaos took place, in the form of the bloody French Revolution.
During the chaos of the French Revolution it was Napoleon, an ambitious artillery officer who was among the first to use observation balloons for artillery purposes, who tried to impose political order in Europe, but without success. The wars he conducted caused political reaction that lasted a hundred years. This clumsy political development corresponded remarkably with the flying baloon technological development. The Reaction period of all the 19th century can be paralleled, by its nature of simple conservativity, to the simple reaction which is needed to creates the hot air or hydrogen.
The flying balloon started to be in use for military intelligence, but especially when anchored to the ground to prevent the loss of observers and expensive equipment. After many successful flights in France, the balloon got attention in America and was used in the Civil War by the North for observations. It was one of the decisive factors of the victory over the South. Science fiction writers like Jules Verne described flying balloons with engines, but during the 19th century it remained at the mercy of the winds and therefore of limited use.
During the 19th century, in parallel with the Reaction period, the French Revolution sent ideological waves at Central Europe and shocked the Enlightenment ideas. In Germany in particular, a romantic period with its own uniqueness changed the way of thinking and affected the climate of thought. The Romantic period sought to break the limits of thought in favor of emotional values, undefined yearning and desire for the endless and unrealistic love. It was realized through belief in struggle and pathos. The Romanticism period was parallel to the central human desire at that time to fight the winds and navigate successfully in the sky.
This combination of Romanticism and Reactionism will be the backwind for Hitler.
This combination of Romanticism and Reactionism will be the backwind for Hitler.
