*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading 17th century Europe, particularly its latter years, is often hailed as the beginning of the Enlightenment as nations across the continent experienced a surge in innovation and scientific progress, a period also commonly referred to as the Age of Reason. There was English natural philosopher, Francis Bacon, whose book Novum Organum challenged Aristotelian philosophy and stressed the significance of inductive reasoning. Bacon's ideas, which emphasized observation and the implementation of various premises to form conclusions, was later referenced by famed French mathematician René Descartes. However, time and time again, grossly incompetent and seemingly diabolic rulers had come to power through the rigged regal system. For starters, there was John, King of England, the real-life inspiration of the evil and infantile lion in the beloved Disney animation Robin Hood, a retelling of the tale with anthropomorphic animals. King John was said to have been power-hungry but politically feckless, and a sadistic soul who delighted in cruel and inhumane torture. The king did away with nearly everyone that had slighted him, including his own nephew, his political rival. This was a man whose reputation was so horrid, chroniclers and academics have summed him up as an “absolute rotter.”