18th-century ruler

generate a one-sentence description for a given conceptual class.
# Response Format
Return only the sentence: "Description: [one-sentence description of the conceptional class]"

Class: 18th-century ruler

An 18th-century ruler is a sovereign or head of state who governed a territory during the 1700s, navigating the era’s shifting political, economic, and intellectual currents such as absolutism, colonial expansion, and Enlightenment thought.