How Did Voltaire Influence The French Revolution

The Enlightenment period writers focused on reason, knowledge, and rationality as major themes. In this era the Catholic Church was still an extremely powerful institution operating throughout much of Europe; however reason was beginning to emerge as an alternative to faith and religion. As a result, Enlightenment writers began to look at the world critically and rationally. Much of the important literature of the period was satirical in nature, using humor, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other significant issues. Two great Enlightenment writers, Moliere and Voltaire, use satirical approaches in their works that have various similarities and differences.

The French revolution is notably the start of the creation of modern Europe. Within this revolution, the country experienced a drastic change in power and in government. Along with the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, played a huge role in the changes in Europe economy. Under napoleons rule and conquest, similar to the French revolution, citizens experienced great depression, debt, and confusion. Similar to the American Revolution, the French revolution was influenced by enlightenment ideas particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights.

As the tenth century rolled about, the power of the Roman Catholic Church grew steadily stronger, the church had an argument with the normal Kingdom over who should rule supreme out of the Pope or the King, the church believed that the Pope who is the voice of God on Earth should be the ruler of the world while the peasants thought that the King should, the power struggle eventually ended with the Church coming out as the dominant force in the West. The Church passed a law that stated that everyone (mostly peasants) is forced to pay 10% of their income to the Church. The church had the ability to stop any laws that they did not like or make some new laws that benefited them, they were a very powerful group that could manipulate the peasants and knights in any way they liked, in Church there were photos of people being tortured in hell, this intensified the peoples longing for heaven and therefore extended the power and influence of the church. All Christians were expected to attend the mass and, by the 13th century, were expected to take the Eucharist at least once a year.

In his work, Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.  Voltaire successfully criticizes religion, the military, and the philosophy of optimism.

He made his biggest contributions through language. Voltaire was a writer, philosopher and more. He was known for his defense of civil liberties, which included freedom of religion and trade. He believed that religion in society should be more tolerant to people and that everyone should be free to practice whatever religion they wished (Document B). He spoke about his support on the social reform, even with the strict laws and harsh penalties against it.

The final aspect of society during the age of enlightenment that Voltaire attacks is morals of the people. Many examples can be found within the story to suggest the morals of society were far from

Before the start of the Renaissance, the Catholic Church influenced every aspect of society. The Renaissance and it’s ideals changed this. The Humanist movement opposed the Catholic Church’s involvement in the lives of the citizens. Humanists advocated for personal independence and individual expression, an idea that directly opposed the Catholic Church’s ideals. The Church believed that citizens should dedicate their lives to the service of God and by extension, the Church. The introduction of the idea that the Church does not control every aspect of society was revolutionary to Early Modern Western Civilization because it allowed people to pursue things that they had not been previously able to pursue because of the limitations the Catholic Church placed upon them. Although only the wealthy were able to dedicate all of their time to these pursuits, there were still significant advancements in art, literature, and science, all of which impacted Early Modern Western Civilization.

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a period of intellectual growth in Europe. Voltaire, a French author, was one of the most prominent figures of this period. Voltaire saw religious persecution and intolerance in his country of France, and wanted to use his writing ability to influence change. In his work the Philosophical Dictionary he argued for tolerance and the use of reason.  

Fixated on the notion of leading mankind to advancement through elucidating true human intellect and nature upon the rise of concepts such as reason, the scientific method, liberty, and skepticism, thinkers of the Enlightenment period questioned and even harshly criticized traditional views of science, religion, and state; basing their philosophy on the ideas of Reason, Progress, Secularism, and Government, the philosophers produced numerous essays, books, inventions, laws, and even revolutions. Voltaire, born in the 1694 of France, was a prominent Enlightenment figure known for his satire and popularizations. Through his famous novel Candide, Voltaire predominantly supported yet also challenged the philosophical Enlightenment ideas in his

He was impressed by the freedom of thought in England (“Voltaire | Author and Philosopher”). He studied the works of John Locke, and adapted them to fit his own ways of conveying messages to the French revolutionists, such as writing Locke’s ideas and theories into a novel that could be read by anyone. Through his writing, Voltaire attempted to “bring about reform of the social and legal structure that existed at the time” (“Voltaire”1). His works spoke out against war, religious intolerance, and political and social injustice. He learned to speak and write what he truly thought from studying the works of both Locke and Newton (“Voltaire”2).

During the 16th through 18th centuries, European civilization experienced big changes to its social, political, and economic structures. A break from the Middle Ages began during the Scientific Revolution when respected thinkers of the time began to explore new possibilities, such as the likelihood of a sun-centered universe instead of an earth-centered one. The Enlightenment was an intellectual and cultural movement that pointed out the danger of unchecked authority and concentrated on values of law, reason, humanity, and religious toleration. The French Revolution represented a broad wave of political changes and democratic ideas that splashed France, and subsequently, all of Europe. The Industrial Revolution changed the way people lived

Voltaire successfully uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.  He criticizes religion, the evils found in every level of society, and a philosophy of optimism when faced with an intolerable world.

The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political change in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. Before the revolution there was a period of time called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement in which followers considered that human reason brought a move from theory to practice and criticism to reforming education, household administration, social reactions and politics. Voltaire, a French philosopher and contributor to the Age of Enlightenment, expressed these ideas utilizing his intelligence, wit and style to mark his name as one of France’s greatest writers. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution to a great extent by introducing new ideas that encouraged questioning of authority and religion, advancing people’s outlook on commodities, and forcing citizens to compare their need with the Republic’s needs. This further brought an uprising of people wanting more such as equality and civil rights. In the process to do so there were 250,000 casualties in the Reign of Terror followed the Thermidorian Reaction which implemented an oligarchy government called the Directory. Royalist riots prompted the Coup d’etat of Fructidor which brought Napoleon into Directory which he later overthrows and creates an Authoritarian Republic.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

French Revolution impacts throughout Europe. Why did the French Revolution have such a significant impact throughout Europe and even beyond? The French revolution had affects throughout Europe due to France being such an influential country with their involvement with the enlightenment genre. The people of France felt that they were being mistreated and deceived by the government of France, and due to France having such power in all Europe, Europe suffered with an ideological affect due to the French Revolution. With France going under ruination, Louis XVI seeks alliance and protection from Austria and letting them attack France.