Historical King James II of England (VII of Scotland) was overthrown in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and stallholder of the Dutch Republic William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange), who as a result ascended the English throne as William III of England. This is known as the Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688. Locke claims in the "Preface" to the Two Treatises that its purpose is to justify William III's ascension to the throne, though Peter Layette suggests that the bulk of the writing was instead completed between 1679-1680 (and subsequently revised until Locke was driven into exile in 1683). According to Layette, Locke was writing his Two Treatises during the Exclusion Crisis, which attempted to prevent James II from ever taking the throne in the first place. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Aftershave, Locke's mentor, son, objected that Afterburner's party did not advocate revolution during the Exclusion Crisis. He suggests that they are instead better associated with the revolutionary conspiracies that swirled around what would come to be known as the Rye House Plot. Locke, Abraham Lincoln and many others were forced into exile; some, such as Sidney, were even executed for treason. Locke knew his work was dangerous-he never acknowledged his authorship within his lifetime.The Age of Enlightenment inaugurated an era of great changes. For centuries, philosophers had considered ways humanity could improve its existence. By 1700, major disruptive events had created the perfect conditions to institute such improvements. The thinkers of Europe turned their attention to modernizing all areas of life. This new generation of philosophers focused on correcting humanity's social, moral, political, and legal wrongs. Philosophy Leads to Action The first humanist ideas had been regarded as heresy. But the Protestant Reformation destroyed the Catholic Church's power to control information. At last, the open exchange of ideas could take place in a new atmosphere of freedom. The philosophical discussion that had begun during the Renaissance still continued. A French intellectual movement arose whose loosely allied members called themselves philosophes (pronounce FEE-lo-sofs). Large groups of philosophes would gather in the homes of interested nobles for lively philosophical discussions. Such a forum was called a salon. In the 1770s, salons were abuzz with news of the Pacific voyages of Captain James Cook. Cook had documented several native Pacific cultures. The philosophes regarded the Polynesian islander as a living example of "natural man," which was the human ideal described by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The isolation of the Pacific had preserved this innocent being in a state wholly uncorrupted by civilized society. John Locke was born near Bristol Sunday, August 29, 1632. His father, lawyer, then captain in the parliament of the service in 1648, was destroyed during the civil war. Locke learned Latin and Greek, and philosophy from Aristotle to Westminster School (1646-1652). He entered Oxford in 1652. Then there was a rivalry between the Platonic and Aristotelian Cambridge, Oxford. Recently, traditional knowledge was challenged by philosophers such as Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes and Descartes. It was by reading Descartes Locke is truly interested in philosophy, about 1659 [ref. necessary]. He was also influenced by scholars such as Robert Boyle and Sydenham. He himself wanted to become a doctor. Locke was friends with Lord Ashley, Earl of Shaftesbury and minister of Charles II. He was secretary of the Board of Trade from 1672 to 1675, and was interested, as such, the colonization of America. As a shareholder of the Royal African Company, it has invested heavily in the Trafficking Noirs2. Between 1675 and 1679, he traveled to France (Montpellier, Paris) studied Descartes and frequent the most brilliant minds of the time.