Global Study 1 Midterm Essay
Was ist Aufklärung? What is Enlightenment?
Perhaps the most famous answer to this question was provided by the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 CE – 1804 CE)
His answer is often reduced to the phrase “Dare to know!”
He argues that people live under “self-incurred tutelage,” by which he means they have become accustomed to / appreciative of having others think on their behalf
Initially encouraged by “guardians who have so kindly assumed super-intendence over them,” such tutelage has become second nature
It is through the public use of one’s reason, in other words “the use which a person makes of it as a scholar before the reading public,” that such tutelage can be destroyed
If people appreciate tutelage, how can this be achieved? Rule by an enlightened monarch, who forces them to think – to be free
His reign is enlightened insofar as he encourages the public use of reason among his subjects, learns from their debates, and draws “his lawgiving authority” from “uniting the general public will in his own”
Was ist Aufklärung? According to Historical Consensus…
What conclusions have historians reached?
According to Giles Gunn (2018):
A period (1700s CE) when an influential group of thinkers in Europe and America assumed the task of consolidating the intellectual implications of the “scientific revolution”
Should not rely on sacred scriptures / ecclesiastical authorities
Should rely on lived experience (nature, history, and social observation)
Fed into the belief that humanity was not innately corrupt, nor was the good life found only in otherworldly salvation (Christianity)
Happiness was realizable in this world. Science and learning enabled modern men / women to force nature to serve their well-being
Encouraged a more democratic form of governance based on a liberal conception of the individual and of the state
Economic liberalism that emphasized how, if individuals were free to act in their own self-interest, they would contribute not merely to their own good but also to the public good
Was ist Aufklärung? Some Complicating Factors…
Giles Gunn is correct to point to the Encyclopédie (1750s CE – 1760s CE), as the most emblematic text of the Enlightenment
But the Encyclopédie suggests that his definition of the Enlightenment is incomplete
1) In the 1700s CE, the French word philosophe was not a synonym for the English word philosopher – it meant something closer to “literary publicist and champion of Enlightenment values,” someone more likely to use humor / ridicule than anything approaching systematic scholarly thought
2) This definition suggests that the Enlightenment’s motto was just as much “Dare to laugh!” as “Dare to know!”
Philosophes intended readers to laugh out loud when they saw that, at the bottom of the entry on cannibals, there was a reference to the Christian rite of Eucharist / Communion
“Dare to know!” and “Dare to laugh!” were two sides to the same coin – they worked to corrode the foundations of all kinds of authority
While scholarly / philosophical works remained confined to an elite readership, scandalous / satirical works penetrated European societies to a greater extent
Did the Enlightenment Lead to Revolution? If So, How?
Giles Gunn certainly thinks so!
In my opinion, the line of causation connecting Enlightenment and Revolution falls short
1) There are countries (e.g., Scotland) where there was a robust Enlightenment but no democratic revolution
2) As we see with Kant, it was possible to reconcile Enlightenment values with monarchical government
What were other causes of democratic revolution? Let’s take the French Revolution (1789 CE – 1815 CE) as our first case study:
Royal finances were in shambles
French rivalry with Great Britain drew the country into a series of wars throughout the 1700s CE
Staggering amount of sovereign debt
Servicing the debt absorbed 60% of royal tax revenues
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
Louis XVI wished to raise taxes, but he had to confront a complex system of fiscal privileges
French society was divided into three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate
The clergy and the nobility were exempt from most taxes, meaning that taxation fell disproportionately on the third estate
Grain harvests failed in 1788 CE – 1789 CE
Bread was the primary food for the majority of the population
Bread prices and unemployment rates skyrocketed
To solve these problems, Louis XVI convoked a representative body called the Estates General in May 1789 CE
Each estate would have the same number of delegates and would vote separately
Power play meant to preserve fiscal privileges?
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
The third estate seceded and declared itself a National Assembly in June 1789 CE
Seized sovereignty in the name of the French Nation
But people were scared – troops were massing around Paris
Paranoia, combined with ever-increasing bread prices, pushed the people of Paris into revolt
Faced with popular unrest, the National Assembly set about reforming the state
Abolished feudalism
Abolished the fiscal privileges of nobles and clerics
Promulgated what was supposed to be a preamble to the new constitution, called the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
First article proclaimed that all men, “are born, and always continue, free, and equal in respect of their rights”
Enshrined the principles of national sovereignty, representative politics, and a free press, among many other things…
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
Some conclusions re: what caused the French Revolution?
1) The Enlightenment – “Dare to know!” and “Dare to laugh!” – was important
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
The people’s distrust of Louis XVI
2) Enlightenment values would not have caused so much trouble had the monarchy not collapsed under its own weight – impending bankruptcy
3) What drove the working poor of Paris into the streets was much more mundane – their inability to feed themselves
Now let’s take a look at our second case study, the Haitian Revolution (1791 CE – 1804 CE)
Traditional narratives focus on the causal impact of the Enlightenment
Ironically enough, the most famous early historian of the Haitian Revolution, C.L.R. James, who was a pioneer of 20th Century CE Pan-Africanism, subscribed to this interpretation, instead of emphasizing the independent spirit / inspiration of slave rebels
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
The Haitian Revolution was a transcultural movement. The population of Saint-Domingue was majority African
Each year 5-6% of the slaves died
Different regions and political, social, and religious contexts
Roughly 465,000 slaves, 31,000 whites, and 28,000 free-coloreds
In July 1788 CE, a group of white planters gathered in Paris to lobby for reforms / request representation in the Estates General
In October 1789 CE, a delegation of free-coloreds demanded an end to racist laws and the right to vote / have representatives
Faced with resistance, the free-colored leader Vincent Ogé left France. Having purchased arms, he returned to Saint-Domingue
The free-coloreds, expecting warfare with their white enemies, were eager for military allies – they promised slaves freedom in return for their service
By 1791 CE, both sides in the conflict were recruiting slaves
Served the white and free-colored armies, but in the end many would choose to leave these masters behind
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
Their motivations and methods were only marginally related to the Enlightenment. A slave born a free man / woman in Africa did not need a French philosophe to remind him / her of the value of freedom!
African languages and customs were kept alive
Kongos were especially dominant
Socializing served as a good alibi, as slaves gathered on a Sunday, in 1791 CE, to plan a coordinated rebellion
A cow was sacrificed / A pig was sacrificed
Two traditions of worship that were later brought together in Haitian Vodou – the “Rada” and “Petro.” The Rada rites have their roots in West Africa, while the Petro seem to have evolved from Kongolese traditions
In selecting leaders and developing political demands, the slaves likewise drew on competing Kongolese conceptions of kingship
Many of them had been soldiers in the civil wars that ripped apart the kingdom of Kongo before they had been captured / sold into slavery. They were veterans, who had knowledge and experience of warfare
Two Case Studies…the French and Haitian Revolutions
As Saint-Domingue collapsed into chaos, other European powers, haunted by memories of the colony’s wealth, set their sights on conquering it
Desperate to drive away competing European powers, representatives of the French government recognized that their only hope in achieving these aims was to ally themselves with the rebellious slaves
Emancipation in 1793 CE
Had it not been for the revolt that erupted in Saint-Domingue, the French Revolution would probably have run its course without destroying the massive violation of human rights at the heart of the nation’s existence
During the 1800s CE, an economically and politically isolated Haiti became the object of scorn and openly racist polemic