The French materialists. According to Wikipedia, “French materialism is the name given to a handful of French 18th-century philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment, many of them clustered around the salon of Baron d’Holbach. Although there are important differences between them, all of them were materialists who believed that the world was made up of a single substance, matter, the motions and properties of which could be used to explain all phenomena.” Basically they were a group of 18th-century French philosophers during the enlightenment. 

Adam Smith and the “invisible hand”. Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and economist. The “invisible hand” is referring to free trade. According to Wikipedia “Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports.” If you are good at making chili, but you need the ingredients. You probably don’t grow the ingredients so you can trade some chili with someone that grows ingredients for the ingredients. 

The War of the Austrian Succession. According to Wikipedia, “The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George’s War in North America, the the War of Jenkin’s Ear, the First Carnatic War and the First and Second Silesian Wars.”