France and Spain, for instance, were governed by autocratic sovereigns whose rule was absolute; their colonists went to America as servants of the Crown. The English colonists, on the other hand, enjoyed far more freedom and were able to govern themselves as long as they followed English law and were loyal to the king.
Vaues of individualism because it demonstrated the power of the human mind. ... The power of human beings to discern truth through reasoning influenced the development of the Enlightenment value of rationalism