History Of The Indies
| History of the Indies | |
| |
| Author | Abb Guillaume-Thomas Raynal |
|---|---|
| Genre | Encyclopedia |
| Country of origin |  France |
| Publication date | 1770 |
The philosophical and political history and institutions of the European trade in both India, more commonly known by the name of History of the Indies, is a book published anonymously in Amsterdam in 1770 and attributed to the abbot Raynal.
The History of the Indies responded to the needs of public knowledge of Enlightenment raised issues of concern to the eighteenth century , on the eve of the Revolution and stirred with a violence sometimes eloquent. The idea of the Abbe Raynal was to the history of European companies in Eastern India and in the New World, showing the influence of the great geographical discoveries of civilization. After speaking and Portuguese colonies in the East, the author was the history of institutions founded by the English and French , then by the Spaniards and Dutch , in the same country. It then passed to the conquests of Europeans in the America by highlighting the atrocities of the slave trade on the coast of Guinea and with the table of British and French colonies in North America. In this table, Raynal was succeeded by a series of essays on religion, politics, war, trade, moral philosophy, belles-lettres, etc..
The History of the Indies was written without method or rule, the Abbe Raynal, who joined his own account of supplies furnished by his friends and even pieces borrowed from the literature already in print, without getting in trouble to fuse or even to weld these various materials. According to Grimm , the best passages are verbatim from Diderot, who had written a third of the book. To him we owe the admirable pages that has the History of the Indies. The nineteenth book, which summarizes the doctrines and draw conclusions, is Deleyre. In regards trade, Raynal inserted memories of the farmer-general Paulze , counts of Aranda and de Souza, for philosophical ideas, he turned to d'Holbach , in Naigeon at Pechmja and especially Diderot which nearly third of the book he owns. There was another Father Martin, the doctor Dubreuil, Valadier, Saint-Lambert , Lagrange , Naigeon. Raynal also drew in books such as, among other things, Philosophical Investigations on the Americans for Pauw , moral rights, or, The man regarded as the state of pure nature, in society Levesque , Common Sense of Paine or General History of the Voyages of Faria.
Proud of his work, Raynal tended to forget that this was only very partially the author. He did so out of doors by Dr. Sanchez, Portuguese living in Paris , who was the author of the passage on Portugal and the possessions of this country in the East and West Indies, for having said, "You provided me with material "when Sanchez reminded him of his paternity. One day, Bailly , visiting Diderot, asked: "What are you doing? "I'm doing Raynal" replied Raynal. Pechmja found Chamfort who read the History of the Indies. "How do you find that? "Asked Pechmja. "I just read an excellent piece, but ends with a pathetic sentence -" Let me see, you're right. I thought it would make nonsense Raynal, he added this sentence, the rest is mine. "When the Abbe Raynal left Paris Chamfort said:" He is tired of living with its author. "
The History of the Indies was a huge success. In France, she counted thirty different editions between 1770 and 1787 and more than fifty counterfeits abroad. We gave short: we published a Spirit of Raynal and Raynal youth. Napoleon Bonaparte is going to proclaim "a zealous disciple of Raynal" and take the History of the Indies with him in his mission in Egypt. Horace Walpole has wrote to Marie Du Deffand "he attacks all governments and all religions! " Turgot has severely criticized the book in a letter to Morellet : "It is sometimes as rigid Richardson , sometimes immoral as Helvetius , sometimes enthusiastic virtues sweet and tender, sometimes debauchery, sometimes fierce courage, dealing with slavery abominable and willing slaves, unreasonable physical, metaphysical and often unreasonable in politics. It does nothing of his book, except that the author is a man of great wit, highly educated, but has no fixed idea, which is carried away by the enthusiasm of a young rhetorician. He seems to have undertaken the task of supporting all the paradoxes that came to him in his reading and in his dreams. "The History of the Indies, however, is regarded today as the encyclopedia of the colonial world and the bible of anti-colonialism to the age of Enlightenment. It is among the works cited has been read Toussaint Louverture.
In 1780 , Raynal gave a third edition of his Philosophical History of India was distinguished by two features of the boldest and most violent tirades than the previous two editions, and where he put his name with his portrait at the bottom the inscription: "In defense of humanity, truth, freedom! Louis XVI referred the item at Parliament who censured, and the Church. Following the sentence pronounced, he was burned in public by the hangman on 29 May 1781. Enacted-making body, the author was forced to leave France for Prussia where he spent most of his exile. He received permission to return to France in 1787 , provided he would not come to Paris.
The History of the Indies has also attracted the apologetic letter to the Abbe Raynal Mr. Grimm ( 1781 ) of Diderot. In this letter he never sent it violently accuses Grimm, who had criticized Raynal for revealing his identity in its third edition of the History of the Indies and he had this dilemma at Madame de Vermenoux " Or you believe that you attack those that do will avenge you, and it is a cowardly attack, or you think they can and will take revenge, and it is foolish to expose their exposure. And Diderot, whose share of paternity in the book was probably not unrelated to his indignation, to defend certain passages of the History of the Indies, probably due to his pen as the funeral oration of Eliza Draper.
Bibliography
Modern Edition
- Philosophical and political history and institutions of the European trade in the two Indies, 5 vols., Paris, untraceable Library, 2006 ISBN 9782845751941
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