How did the Enlightenment lead to revolutions both in Europe and its new world colonies?

The teachings and precepts of the Enlightenment helped to
foster revolutions in Europe and its colonies in a couple of ways.  The most elemental
way was the Enlightenment's praising of individual freedom.  The stress on rationality
and the idea that individual freedom is the location and source of all greatness helped
to construct a situation where people began to question authority structures and their
place within it.  The assertion of human freedom and the ability to define freedom in
terms of political autonomy caused many to demand change in their structures of
governance.  At the same time, the Enlightenment thinkers constructed government as an
agreement, a contract, between those in the position of political power and those for
whom government was meant to serve.  As rational beings, individuals had a right to
break this contract if government was not following the consent of the governed.  This
helped to foster revolutionary sentiments amongst individuals when such Enlightenment
lessons were absorbed.