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114-710: The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted on March 1, 1669 by the eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina , which included most of the land between what is now Virginia and Florida . It replaced the Charter of Carolina and the Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina (1665). The date March 1, 1669 was the date that proprietors confirmed

228-456: A North Carolina with its own assembly and deputy governor. In 1712, the division of Carolina into North and South was completed with the elevation of the deputy governor to governor of North Carolina. The Lords Proprietors failed to protect the settlers when enemies attacked or threatened the colony. For example, during Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), the colonists drove French and Spanish forces away from Charlestown. Again, between 1715 and 1718,

342-483: A child, and he resurrected a variant of the name in his adult life. The name also reverses the syllables of Airvault , his family's home town in the Poitou region. Richard Holmes supports the anagrammatic derivation of the name, but adds that a writer such as Voltaire would have intended it to also convey connotations of speed and daring. These come from associations with words such as voltige (acrobatics on

456-653: A commission established by the lord proprietor. The lord proprietor typically instructed the governor what to do. Only through those instructions could legislation be made. In 1629, King Charles I granted Sir Robert Heath (the attorney general ) the southern half of the English land in the New World between 36 degrees and 31 degrees north latitude from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The land

570-563: A constitutional monarchy that protects people's rights. Arouet adopted the name Voltaire in 1718, following his incarceration at the Bastille. Its origin is unclear. It is an anagram of AROVET LI , the Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, and the initial letters of le jeune ("the young"). According to a family tradition among the descendants of his sister, he was known as le petit volontaire ("determined little thing") as

684-548: A contrary example with his own plays, decrying what he considered Shakespeare's barbarities. Voltaire may have been present at the funeral of Isaac Newton , and met Newton's niece Catherine Conduitt . In 1727, Voltaire published two essays in English, Upon the Civil Wars of France, Extracted from Curious Manuscripts and Upon Epic Poetry of the European Nations, from Homer Down to Milton . He also published

798-451: A division of the province into two sections: East Jersey which was held by Carteret and West Jersey which was held by Fenwick. Sir George Carteret died in 1680. His property was left to Trustees who put East Jersey up for sale in a public auction. In 1682, the property was sold to William Penn and eleven associates who each sold half of their share to twelve others, forming an association of twenty-four proprietors. This body became known as

912-739: A few days later. Seeking redress, Voltaire challenged Rohan to a duel, but the powerful Rohan family arranged for Voltaire to be arrested and imprisoned without trial in the Bastille on 17 April 1726. Fearing indefinite imprisonment, Voltaire asked to be exiled to England as an alternative punishment, which the French authorities accepted. On 2 May, he was escorted from the Bastille to Calais and embarked for Britain. In England, Voltaire lived largely in Wandsworth , with acquaintances including Everard Fawkener . From December 1727 to June 1728 he lodged at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden , now commemorated by

1026-498: A generous headright system whereby they granted 150 acres of land to each member of a family. An indentured male servant who served his term received his freedom dues from his master and a grant of one hundred acres from the Lords Proprietors. To attract planters with capital to invest, the Lords Proprietors also gave the owner and master the 150-acre headright for every slave imported to the Colony. These incentives drew 6,600 colonists to

1140-536: A jury of their peers. (Article 27) The Constitutions introduced also a hereditary serfdom system, the members of which were called leetmen, in addition to slavery. Like the slaves, the leetmen and leetwomen were under command and jurisdiction of noblemen to whom they serve. (Article 22) Through the Constitutions, the Lords Proprietor and the noblemen owned two-fifths of the Colony's vast lands. By

1254-879: A large estate ( Les Délices ) in early 1755. Though he was received openly at first, the law in Geneva, which banned theatrical performances, and the publication of The Maid of Orleans against his will soured his relationship with Calvinist Genevans. In late 1758, he bought an even larger estate at Ferney , on the French side of the Franco-Swiss border . The town would adopt his name, calling itself Ferney-Voltaire, and this became its official name in 1878. Early in 1759, Voltaire completed and published Candide, ou l'Optimisme ( Candide, or Optimism ). This satire on Leibniz's philosophy of optimistic determinism remains Voltaire's best-known work. He would stay in Ferney for most of

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1368-512: A letter about the Quakers after attending one of their services. After two and a half years in exile, Voltaire returned to France, and after a few months in Dieppe , the authorities permitted him to return to Paris. At a dinner, French mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine proposed buying up the lottery that was organized by the French government to pay off its debts, and Voltaire joined

1482-586: A licence to publish, in August 1722 Voltaire headed north to find a publisher outside France. On the journey, he was accompanied by his mistress, Marie-Marguerite de Rupelmonde, a young widow. At Brussels, Voltaire and Rousseau met up for a few days, before Voltaire and his mistress continued northwards. A publisher was eventually secured in The Hague. In the Netherlands, Voltaire was struck and impressed by

1596-665: A meeting in September 1742 at Aix-la-Chapelle . Voltaire was sent to Frederick's court in 1743 by the French government as an envoy and spy to gauge Frederick's military intentions in the War of the Austrian Succession . Though deeply committed to the Marquise, Voltaire by 1744 found life at her château confining. On a visit to Paris that year, he found a new love—his niece. At first, his attraction to Marie Louise Mignot

1710-520: A performance of Irene , where he was treated by the audience as a returning hero. He soon became ill again and died on 30 May 1778. The accounts of his deathbed have been numerous and varying, and it has not been possible to establish the details of what precisely occurred. His enemies related that he repented and accepted the last rites from a Catholic priest, or that he died in agony of body and soul, while his adherents told of his defiance to his last breath. According to one story of his last words, when

1824-502: A plaque, to be nearer to his British publisher. Voltaire circulated throughout English high society, meeting Alexander Pope , John Gay , Jonathan Swift , Lady Mary Wortley Montagu , Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough , and many other members of the nobility and royalty. Voltaire's exile in Great Britain greatly influenced his thinking. He was intrigued by Britain's constitutional monarchy in contrast to French absolutism , and by

1938-527: A relative of the chief Proprietor, giving him the status of Landgrave with the right to claim 48,000 acres (190 km ) of land in a certain region. John Wyche was appointed as the Secretary to the Province and served in this role in the colony for a short period of six months before he received another appointment in Hamburg . Some of the documents relate to Wyche's activity in the colony. His successor to

2052-417: A return letter, he do so by addressing it to Monsieur de Voltaire. A postscript explains: " J'ai été si malheureux sous le nom d'Arouet que j'en ai pris un autre surtout pour n'être plus confondu avec le poète Roi ", ("I was so unhappy under the name of Arouet that I have taken another, primarily so as to cease to be confused with the poet Roi.") This probably refers to Adenes le Roi , and the 'oi' diphthong

2166-671: A similar style to Voltaire's other works. Almost all of his more substantive works, whether in verse or prose, are preceded by prefaces of one sort or another, which are models of his caustic yet conversational tone. In a vast variety of nondescript pamphlets and writings, he displays his skills at journalism. In pure literary criticism his principal work is the Commentaire sur Corneille , although he wrote many more similar works—sometimes (as in his Life and Notices of Molière ) independently and sometimes as part of his Siècles . Voltaire's works, especially his private letters, frequently urge

2280-471: A trapeze or horse), volte-face (a spinning about to face one's enemies), and volatile (originally, any winged creature). "Arouet" was not a noble name fit for his growing reputation, especially given that name's resonance with à rouer ("to be beaten up") and roué (a débauché ). In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Rousseau in March 1719, Voltaire concludes by asking that, if Rousseau wishes to send him

2394-501: A writer, against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Voltaire, pretending to work in Paris as an assistant to a notary, spent much of his time writing poetry. When his father found out, he sent Voltaire to study law, this time in Caen , Normandy. But the young man continued to write, producing essays and historical studies. Voltaire's wit made him popular among some of

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2508-410: Is 1698, which postdates by almost a decade Locke's better known writings. The level of religious tolerance portrayed in the Constitutions was acclaimed by Voltaire who advised, "Cast your eyes over the other hemisphere, behold Carolina, of which the wise Locke was the legislator." The Constitutions introduced certain safeguards for groups seeking refuge for religious reasons. To that end, Article 97 of

2622-420: Is a novella that comments on, criticizes, and ridicules many events, thinkers and philosophies of his time, most notably Gottfried Leibniz and his belief that our world is of necessity the "best of all possible worlds". François-Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children of François Arouet, a lawyer who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, Marie Marguerite Daumard, whose family

2736-528: Is believed to be the one found at Columbia, South Carolina archives. The Constitutions were " reactionary " and "experimented with a non- common law system designed to encourage a feudal social structure ", including through the use of non-unanimous jury decisions for criminal convictions . Some scholars think that the Colonists, settlers and the British Crown kept themselves at a distance to

2850-543: Is considered to be the Lord Proprietor of the Isle of Man . This usage is generally left ignored. Voltaire Former Former François-Marie Arouet ( French: [fʁɑ̃swa maʁi aʁwɛ] ; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume M. de Voltaire ( / v ɒ l ˈ t ɛər , v oʊ l -/ , US also / v ɔː l -/ ; French: [vɔltɛːʁ] ),

2964-686: The Bastille . The Comédie-Française had agreed in January 1717 to stage his debut play, Œdipe , and it opened in mid-November 1718, seven months after his release. Its immediate critical and financial success established his reputation. Both the Régent and King George I of Great Britain presented Voltaire with medals as a mark of their appreciation. Voltaire mainly argued for religious tolerance and freedom of thought. He campaigned to eradicate priestly and aristo-monarchical authority, and supported

3078-504: The Berlin Academy of Science and a former rival for Émilie's affections, provoked Voltaire's Diatribe du docteur Akakia ("Diatribe of Doctor Akakia"), which satirized some of Maupertuis's theories and his persecutions of a mutual acquaintance, Johann Samuel König . This greatly angered Frederick, who ordered all copies of the document burned. On 1 January 1752, Voltaire offered to resign as chamberlain and return his insignia of

3192-572: The Comédie-Française in April 1725 to a much-improved reception. It was among the entertainments provided at the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska in September 1725. In early 1726, the aristocratic chevalier de Rohan-Chabot taunted Voltaire about his change of name, and Voltaire retorted that his name would win the esteem of the world, while Rohan would sully his own. The furious Rohan arranged for his thugs to beat up Voltaire

3306-749: The County Palatine of Durham in England. That clause gave the lord proprietor the power to create courts and laws, establish governing bodies and churches, and appoint all governing officials. Each proprietary colony had a unique system of governance reflecting the geographic challenges of the area as well as the personality of the lord proprietor. The colonies of Maryland and New York, based on English law and administration practices, were run effectively. However, other colonies such as Carolina were mismanaged. The colonies of West and East Jersey, as well as Pennsylvania, were distinct in their diversion from

3420-461: The Huguenot merchant Jean Calas . Calas had been tortured to death in 1763, supposedly because he had murdered his eldest son for wanting to convert to Catholicism. His possessions were confiscated, and his two daughters were taken from his widow and forced into Catholic convents. Voltaire, seeing this as a clear case of religious persecution, managed to overturn the conviction in 1765. Voltaire

3534-462: The Potomac River in exchange for a share of the income derived there. Proprietary colonies later became the most common way to settle areas with British subjects. The land was licensed or granted to a proprietor who held expanse power. The powers were commonly written into the land charters by using the "Bishop of Durham clause," which recreated the powers and responsibilities once given to

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3648-415: The Province of Carolina proprietors, Anthony Ashley Cooper , it is widely alleged that Locke had a major role in the making of the Constitutions. In the view of historian David Armitage and political scientist Vicki Hsueh, the Constitutions were co-authored by Locke and his patron Cooper, known also as 1st Earl of Shaftesbury . However the document was a legal document written for and signed and sealed by

3762-765: The Adventures and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There- 1664 This document outlines the distribution of power in New Jersey by the Lords Proprietors. The document includes the role Governor of the province, the right for the Governor to choose six counsellors, the role of the Chief of Secretary, the role of the Surveyor General and the colonists’ duty as subjects of the King of England. 5. A Declaration of

3876-528: The Bible. In these works, Voltaire's ironic style, free of exaggeration, is apparent, particularly the restraint and simplicity of the verbal treatment. Candide in particular is the best example of his style. Voltaire also has—in common with Jonathan Swift —the distinction of paving the way for science fiction's philosophical irony, particularly in his Micromégas and the vignette " Plato's Dream " (1756). In general, his criticism and miscellaneous writing show

3990-690: The Board of Proprietors of East Jersey. This board exercised government control, which eventually led to many conflicts within the colony. In 1702, East and West Jersey surrendered the right to government to the English Crown under Queen Anne following the Glorious Revolution . In the Province of New Jersey , there were two proprietary lordships: Lords Proprietary of East Jersey: Lords Proprietary of West Jersey: The British monarch , in his or her capacity as Sovereign Lord of Mann ,

4104-702: The Civil Wars in France". It was followed by La Henriade , an epic poem on the French King Henri IV , glorifying his attempt to end the Catholic-Protestant massacres with the Edict of Nantes , which established religious toleration. There followed a historical novel on King Charles XII of Sweden . These, along with his Letters on the English , mark the beginning of Voltaire's open criticism of intolerance and established religions. Voltaire and

4218-608: The Constitutions and sent them to the Colony, but later on two other versions were introduced in 1682 and in 1698. Moreover, the proprietors suspended the Constitutions in 1690. Despite the claims of proprietors on the valid version of the Constitution, the colonists officially recognized the July 21, 1669 version, claiming that six proprietors had sealed the Constitutions as "the unalterable form and rule of Government forever" on that date. The earliest draft of this version in manuscript

4332-543: The Constitutions from the beginning. However that is far from the truth: it was a legal document that drew on the King's earlier charter to the colony and reflected crucial legal realities. While the provisions of the Fundamental Constitutions were never fully employed nor ratified, the Constitutions did help to shape power in the Carolinas and especially land distribution. Colonists' main concerns over

4446-524: The Crown paid compensation for the Carteret loss . Two documents remain with the Lords Proprietors' original seal kept intact. In the 1690s, the Lords Proprietors were keen to implement their plan for a colonial aristocracy (an attempt to stabilize Carolina politics). One document is a grant or patent issued by the Lords Proprietors of South Carolina in 1699. It was issued to an Englishman named John Wyche,

4560-526: The English Nation (London, 1733). In 1734, they were published in Rouen as Lettres philosophiques , causing a huge scandal. Published without approval of the royal censor, the essays lauded British constitutional monarchy as more developed and more respectful of human rights than its French counterpart, particularly regarding religious tolerance. The book was publicly burnt and banned, and Voltaire

4674-768: The Fundamental Constitutions and other efforts of Charles II and his Privy Council to promote both hierarchy and slavery across the empire. Apart from the slavery , the erection of hereditary nobility and recognition of noble titles raised controversies. Because the King's original charter to the eight proprietors for Carolina prevented the proprietors from granting titles already in use in England , such as Earl or Baron , they created two new titles, cassique and landgrave , that would be passed down from father to son. Those nobles were granted privileges such as being tried only in Chief Justice's Court and being found guilty by

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4788-430: The Fundamental Constitutions held that being a Christian does not alter the civil dominion of a master over his slaves. (Article 107) Brewer argues that Locke's early involvement in the Fundamental Constitutions is evidence of his cooperation with Charles II's plans to promote slavery and hierarchy in the empire, but that in fact Locke's later writings show how his ideas formed in reaction to the societal vision propounded by

4902-545: The Great , then Crown Prince of Prussia and a great admirer of Voltaire, initiated a correspondence with him. That December, Voltaire moved to Holland for two months and became acquainted with the scientists Herman Boerhaave and Willem 's Gravesande . From mid-1739 to mid-1740 Voltaire lived largely in Brussels, at first with the Marquise, who was unsuccessfully attempting to pursue a 60-year-old family legal case regarding

5016-416: The Marquise also explored philosophy, particularly metaphysical questions concerning the existence of God and the soul. Voltaire and the Marquise analyzed the Bible and concluded that much of its content was dubious. Voltaire's critical views on religion led to his belief in separation of church and state and religious freedom, ideas that he had formed after his stay in England. In August 1736, Frederick

5130-460: The Marquise wrote a celebratory review in the Journal des savants . Voltaire's work was instrumental in bringing about general acceptance of Newton's optical and gravitational theories in France, in contrast to the theories of Descartes . Voltaire and the Marquise also studied history, particularly the great contributors to civilization. Voltaire's second essay in English had been "Essay upon

5244-481: The Order of Merit; at first, Frederick refused until eventually permitting Voltaire to leave in March. On a slow journey back to France, Voltaire stayed at Leipzig and Gotha for a month each, and Kassel for two weeks, arriving at Frankfurt on 31 May. The following morning, he was detained at an inn by Frederick's agents, who held him in the city for over three weeks while Voltaire and Frederick argued by letter over

5358-468: The Secretary position was John Wilmot. After a revolt against the Lords Proprietors in 1719, the colony came under royal control. This change in power was formalized by an Act of the English parliament in 1729 called "An Agreement with Seven of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, for the Surrender of their Title and Interest in that Province". The documents include information about Wyche's land-claims and

5472-491: The South Carolina assembly sent a petition to England and requested the proprietors to be replaced with Crown administration. King George I appointed royal governors for North and South Carolina and converted the colony's status to that of a royal colony (Britain ruled the colony but allowed the people self-government). In 1729, the Crown bought out seven of the eight of the Lords Proprietors for £22,500, approximately

5586-534: The Spirit of the Nations (1756). He broke from the tradition of narrating diplomatic and military events, and emphasized customs, social history and achievements in the arts and sciences. The Essay on Customs traced the progress of world civilization in a universal context, rejecting both nationalism and the traditional Christian frame of reference. Influenced by Bossuet 's Discourse on Universal History (1682), he

5700-651: The True Intent and Meaning of us the Lords Proprietors, and Explanation of There Concessions Made to the Adventures and Planters of New Caesarea or New Jersey- 1672 This declaration outlines the rules for the General Assembly and the Governor. 6. His Royal Highness's Grant to the Lords Proprietors, Sir George Carteret, 29 July 1674 This document from King Charles II of England reiterates Sir George Carteret's claim to his land in America as laid out by

5814-461: The amount that they had spent on the colony. The eighth proprietor, John Carteret, Lord Granville , refused to sell and retained title to the lands and quitrents in the northern third of North Carolina. When the Crown purchased the proprietors' interests in 1729 the successors of the eight proprietors proved to be: Some of the 1729 interests had been acquired not by inheritance but by purchase. The Carteret interest continued until independence, when

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5928-407: The aristocratic families with whom he mixed. In 1713, his father obtained a job for him as a secretary to the new French ambassador in the Netherlands, the marquis de Châteauneuf  [ fr ] , the brother of Voltaire's godfather. At The Hague , Voltaire fell in love with a French Protestant refugee named Catherine Olympe Dunoyer (known as 'Pimpette'). Their affair, considered scandalous,

6042-523: The attorney general, property in the New World. 2. A Declaration and Proposals of the Lord Proprietor of Carolina, 25 August – 4 September 1663 This charter issued by King Charles II of England proposed the formation of the Lords Proprietors and gave the lands of Carolina to the eight proprietors: the Earl of Clarendon, Duke of Albemarle, Lord Craven, Lord Berkeley, Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton. This declaration gave

6156-491: The authorities and denying any awkward responsibility. He continued to write plays, such as Mérope (or La Mérope française ) and began his long researches into science and history. Again, a main source of inspiration for Voltaire were the years of his British exile, during which he had been strongly influenced by Newton's works. Voltaire strongly believed in Newton's theories; he performed experiments in optics at Cirey, and

6270-465: The building's renovation, and Émilie's husband sometimes stayed at the château with his wife and her lover. The intellectual paramours collected around 21,000 books, an enormous number for the time. Together, they studied these books and performed scientific experiments at Cirey, including an attempt to determine the nature of fire. Having learned from his previous brushes with the authorities, Voltaire began his habit of avoiding open confrontation with

6384-638: The colonists defended themselves against attacks by the Yamasee Indians and pirates . During these times of conflict, the colonists received little or no help from the proprietors. The elite group of settlers in Carolina, former West Indians known as the Goose Creek Men, grew increasingly frustrated with the Lords Proprietors because they meddled in politics but failed to defend the colony against Spanish and Native American attacks. In 1719,

6498-657: The colony by 1700 compared with only 1,500 in the Spanish colony of Florida. Carolina attracted English settlers, French Protestants ( Huguenots ) and other colonists from Barbados and the West Indies . The first government in Carolina began in Albemarle County in 1664, when William Sayle was appointed as the governor. Proprietary authority was weaker near the Virginia border. The Lords Proprietors established

6612-671: The consortium, earning perhaps a million livres . He invested the money cleverly and on this basis managed to convince the Court of Finances of his responsible conduct, allowing him to take control of a trust fund inherited from his father. He was now indisputably rich. Further success followed in 1732 with his play Zaïre , which when published in 1733 carried a dedication to Fawkener praising English liberty and commerce. He published his admiring essays on British government, literature, religion, and science in Letters Concerning

6726-493: The country's greater freedom of speech and religion. He was influenced by the writers of the time, and developed an interest in English literature, especially Shakespeare , who was still little known in continental Europe. Despite pointing out Shakespeare's deviations from neoclassical standards, Voltaire saw him as an example for French drama, which, though more polished, lacked on-stage action. Later, however, as Shakespeare's influence began growing in France, Voltaire tried to set

6840-464: The definitive French version into the 21st century. Both she and Voltaire were also curious about the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz , a contemporary and rival of Newton. While Voltaire remained a firm Newtonian, the Marquise adopted certain aspects of Leibniz's critiques. Voltaire's own book Elements of the Philosophy of Newton made the great scientist accessible to a far greater public, and

6954-417: The document foresaw: "...the natives who...are utterly strangers to Christianity , whose idolatry , ignorance, or mistake gives us no right to expel or use them ill; and those who remove from other parts to plant there will unavoidably be of different opinions concerning matters of religion, the liberty whereof they will expect to have allowed them...and also that Jews , heathens , and other dissenters from

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7068-461: The document were its exaltation of proprietors as noblemen at the apex of the hierarchically designed society. Second, the Constitutions had rules that were hard to implement by settlers for practical reasons. Thus, the proprietors had to amend the rules five times. They were repealed in part after the revolution against James II —the Glorious Revolution —which also reflected a partial reaction against such principles. However, for eight proprietors and

7182-569: The egalitarian, democratic and liberal standard of John Locke's much more famous, Two Treatises of Government. The Fundamental Constitutions promoted both aristocracy and slavery in North America. The notorious article 110 of the Constitutions stated that "Every freeman of Carolina shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of what opinion or religion soever." Pursuant to this provision slaveholders were granted absolute power of life and death over their slaves. Additionally,

7296-473: The eight Lord proprietors to whom Charles II had granted the colony; because of this, historian Holly Brewer argues that Locke was only a paid secretary and wrote the Fundamental Constitutions much as a lawyer writes a will. After Locke's later writings became famous (after the Glorious Revolution of 1689), his role brought attention to the Constitutions, particularly for their value in the context of classical liberalism . Armitage suggests that Constitutions were

7410-432: The event by André Grétry . Voltaire had an enormous influence on the development of historiography through his demonstration of fresh new ways to look at the past. Guillaume de Syon argues: Voltaire recast historiography in both factual and analytical terms. Not only did he reject traditional biographies and accounts that claim the work of supernatural forces, but he went so far as to suggest that earlier historiography

7524-480: The fact that a whole civilization is a unit of study". From an early age, Voltaire displayed a talent for writing verse, and his first published work was poetry. He wrote two book-long epic poems, including the first ever written in French, the Henriade , and later, The Maid of Orleans , besides many other smaller pieces. The Henriade was written in imitation of Virgil , using the alexandrine couplet reformed and rendered monotonous for modern readers but it

7638-437: The first printed work with which Locke's name could be associated, and that they were published before his widely known writings, Essay Concerning Human Understanding and the Two Treatises of Government , published in 1689 and 1690. The STC catalog guesses there might be publications of the Fundamental Constitutions that correspond to the existing manuscripts (in 1670 and 1682). However first publication that can be confirmed

7752-412: The follies of humankind. However, his relationship with Frederick began to deteriorate after he was accused of theft and forgery by a Jewish financier, Abraham Hirschel, who had invested in Saxon government bonds on behalf of Voltaire at a time when Frederick was involved in sensitive diplomatic negotiations with Saxony . He encountered other difficulties: an argument with Maupertuis , the president of

7866-446: The invitation of Frederick the Great. The Prussian king (with the permission of Louis XV) made him a chamberlain in his household, appointed him to the Order of Merit , and gave him a salary of 20,000 French livres a year. He had rooms at Sanssouci and Charlottenburg Palace . Life went well for Voltaire at first, and in 1751 he completed Micromégas , a piece of science fiction involving ambassadors from another planet witnessing

7980-519: The king regularly invited pages, young cadets or lieutenants from his regiment to have coffee with him and then withdrew with the favourite for a quickie. However, the correspondence between them continued, and though they never met in person again, after the Seven Years' War they largely reconciled. Voltaire's slow progress toward Paris continued through Mainz , Mannheim , Strasbourg , and Colmar , but in January 1754 Louis XV banned him from Paris, and he turned for Geneva , near which he bought

8094-462: The king who were the authors of the "Fundamental Constitutions," it reflected the proper order of governance, or as they wrote, they were creating a government with lords so "that the government of this province may be made most agreeable to the monarchy under which we live and of which this province is a part; and that we may avoid erecting a numerous democracy ." Because the Fundamental Constitutions were drafted during John Locke 's service to one of

8208-479: The lands still did not mention the lord proprietor's governing rights which led to continued confusion with colonial officials in New York. Two of New Jersey's governors during the area's time as a proprietary colony were arrested and imprisoned in New York for governing without the authority to do so. Berkeley sold his half of New Jersey to Edward Byllynge and John Fenwick. In 1676, Carteret and Fenwick negotiated

8322-405: The letters "a feast not only of wit and eloquence but of warm friendship, humane feeling, and incisive thought." In Voltaire's correspondence with Catherine the Great he derided democracy. He wrote, "Almost nothing great has ever been done in the world except by the genius and firmness of a single man combating the prejudices of the multitude." Like other key Enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire

8436-572: The openness and tolerance of Dutch society. On his return to France, he secured a second publisher in Rouen , who agreed to publish La Henriade clandestinely. After Voltaire's recovery from a month-long smallpox infection in November 1723, the first copies were smuggled into Paris and distributed. While the poem was an instant success, Voltaire's new play, Mariamne , was a failure when it first opened in March 1724. Heavily reworked, it opened at

8550-613: The original patents. Definition Headright system- Each settler received a single headright (grant of land) for himself or herself. Quitrents- a fixed rent payable to a feudal superior in commutation of services In 1664, the English gained control of New Jersey from the Dutch. King Charles II granted the country to his brother, the Duke of York, who in turn sold the colony to two of his friends, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret (who were both already Lords Proprietors of Carolina). The area

8664-708: The ownership of two estates in Limburg . In July 1740, he traveled to the Hague on behalf of Frederick in an attempt to dissuade a dubious publisher, van Duren, from printing without permission Frederick's Anti-Machiavel . In September Voltaire and Frederick (now King) met for the first time in Moyland Castle near Cleves and in November Voltaire was Frederick's guest in Berlin for two weeks, followed by

8778-722: The part of the historian, he did not miss many opportunities to expose the intolerance and frauds of the church over the ages. Voltaire advised scholars that anything contradicting the normal course of nature was not to be believed. Although he found evil in the historical record, he fervently believed reason and expanding literacy would lead to progress. Voltaire explains his view of historiography in his article on "History" in Diderot's Encyclopédie : "One demands of modern historians more details, better ascertained facts, precise dates, more attention to customs, laws, mores, commerce, finance, agriculture, population." Voltaire's histories imposed

8892-423: The passivity inspired by Leibniz's philosophy of optimism through the character Pangloss's frequent refrain that, because God created it, this is of necessity the " best of all possible worlds ". L'Homme aux quarante ecus ( The Man of Forty Pieces of Silver ) addresses social and political ways of the time; Zadig and others, the received forms of moral and metaphysical orthodoxy; and some were written to deride

9006-830: The petition of the Cyril family for an endorsement of their rights under the 1699 grant (a claim that the Privy Council in London disallowed). The grant was originally written in Latin and is embossed on vellum with the Great Seal of the Proprietors attached. This seal and document is one of two such 17th century documents to survive with the seal intact. 1. Sir Robert Heath's Patent 5 Charles I, 30 October 1629 In this patent King Charles I of England gave Sir Robert Hearth,

9120-560: The priest urged him to renounce Satan, he replied, "This is no time to make new enemies." Because of his well-known criticism of the Church, which he had refused to retract before his death, Voltaire was denied a Christian burial in Paris, but friends and relations managed to bury his body secretly at the Abbey of Scellières  [ fr ] in Champagne , where Marie Louise's brother

9234-401: The proprietors the power to protect their colony, the right to settle the colony, freedom of religion and one hundred acres of land for each man. 3. Charter of Carolina- 24 March 1663 This charter outlined how the eight proprietors should rule Carolina. It gave the land to the proprietors, allowed for patronage, gave the proprietors absolute power in the colony, gave the colony's government

9348-430: The pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre in her 1906 biographical book The Friends of Voltaire . Hall intended to summarize in her own words Voltaire's attitude towards Claude Adrien Helvétius and his controversial book De l'esprit , but her first-person expression was mistaken for an actual quotation from Voltaire. Her interpretation does capture the spirit of Voltaire's attitude towards Helvétius; it had been said Hall's summary

9462-596: The purity of Christian religion may not be scared and kept at a distance from it...therefore, any seven or more persons agreeing in any religion, shall constitute a church or profession, to which they shall give some name, to distinguish it from others." Accordingly, the Constitutions gave the right to worship and the right to constitute a church to religious dissenters to Christianity and outsiders such as Jews. They also promised religious tolerance towards idolater Indians and heathens . The Constitutions also had less liberal and more aristocratic elements in it compared to

9576-471: The quarrels of competing sects. Amongst other targets, Voltaire criticized France's colonial policy in North America, dismissing the vast territory of New France as " a few acres of snow " (" quelques arpents de neige "). Voltaire also engaged in an enormous amount of private correspondence during his life, totalling over 20,000 letters. Theodore Besterman 's collected edition of these letters, completed only in 1964, fills 102 volumes. One historian called

9690-469: The reader: " écrasez l'infâme ", or "crush the infamous". The phrase refers to contemporaneous abuses of power by royal and religious authorities, and the superstition and intolerance fomented by the clergy. He had seen and felt these effects in his own exiles, the burnings of his books and those of many others, and in the atrocious persecution of Jean Calas and François-Jean de la Barre . He stated in one of his most famous quotes that "Superstition sets

9804-619: The remaining 20 years of his life, frequently entertaining distinguished guests, such as James Boswell (who recorded their conversations in his journal and memoranda), Adam Smith , Giacomo Casanova , and Edward Gibbon . In 1764, he published one of his best-known philosophical works, the Dictionnaire philosophique , a series of articles mainly on Christian history and dogmas, a few of which were originally written in Berlin. From 1762, as an unmatched intellectual celebrity, he began to champion unjustly persecuted individuals, most famously

9918-598: The return of a satirical book of poetry Frederick had lent to Voltaire. Marie Louise joined him on 9 June. She and her uncle only left Frankfurt in July after she had defended herself from the unwanted advances of one of Frederick's agents, and Voltaire's luggage had been ransacked and valuable items taken. Voltaire's attempts to vilify Frederick for his agents' actions at Frankfurt were largely unsuccessful, including his Mémoires pour Servir à la Vie de M. de Voltaire, published posthumously, in which he also explicitly made mention of Frederick's homosexuality, when he described how

10032-431: The right to make laws, authorized the authority to make ordinances, gave instructions to defend the colony against enemies, outlined trade regulations, gave the proprietors building rights in the colony, allowed for an army and allowed the practice of religion conformed to the Church of England. 4. The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every

10146-443: The same token, the freemen had the right to property for the rest of the land, and any among them who owned more than fifty acres had right to vote , and any who had more than five-hundred acres of land had the right to be a member of Parliament. (Article 72) This requirement of land ownership has been considered as relatively favorable to the freemen in comparison to that of England. Elections were to be held by secret ballot , which

10260-418: The traditional monarchial system, which ruled most colonies of the time because of the large number of Quakers in those areas who shared many views with the lords proprietary. Effective governance of proprietary colonies relied on the appointment of a governor. The lord proprietor made the governor the head of the province's military, judicial, and administrative functions. This was typically conducted using

10374-495: The two only met a month before Voltaire's death, and their interactions with each other were brief. In February 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris for the first time in over 25 years, partly to see the opening of his latest tragedy, Irene . The five-day journey was too much for the 83-year-old, and he believed he was about to die on 28 February, writing "I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition." However, he recovered, and in March he saw

10488-501: The values of the Enlightenment on the past, but at the same time he helped free historiography from antiquarianism, Eurocentrism, religious intolerance and a concentration on great men, diplomacy, and warfare. Yale professor Peter Gay says Voltaire wrote "very good history", citing his "scrupulous concern for truths", "careful sifting of evidence", "intelligent selection of what is important", "keen sense of drama", and "grasp of

10602-400: The whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them" ( La superstition met le monde entier en flammes; la philosophie les éteint ). The most oft-cited Voltaire quotation is apocryphal. He is incorrectly credited with writing, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." These were not his words, but rather those of Evelyn Beatrice Hall , written under

10716-589: Was abbé . His heart and brain were embalmed separately. On 11 July 1791, the National Assembly of France , regarding Voltaire as a forerunner of the French Revolution , had his remains brought back to Paris and enshrined in the Panthéon . An estimated million people attended the procession, which stretched throughout Paris. There was an elaborate ceremony, including music composed for

10830-676: Was a deist . He challenged orthodoxy by asking: "What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason." In a 1763 essay, Voltaire supported the toleration of other religions and ethnicities: "It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence, to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I say that we should regard all men as our brothers. What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt; are we not all children of

10944-651: Was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher ( philosophe ), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity (especially of the Roman Catholic Church ) and of slavery , Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech , freedom of religion , and separation of church and state . Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays , poems, novels, essays, histories, and even scientific expositions . He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire

11058-468: Was a huge success in the 18th and early 19th century, with sixty-five editions and translations into several languages. The epic poem transformed French King Henry IV into a national hero for his attempts at instituting tolerance with his Edict of Nantes. La Pucelle , on the other hand, is a burlesque on the legend of Joan of Arc . Many of Voltaire's prose works and romances, usually composed as pamphlets, were written as polemics . Candide attacks

11172-402: Was again forced to flee Paris. In 1733, Voltaire met Émilie du Châtelet (Marquise du Châtelet), a mathematician and married mother of three, who was 12 years his junior and with whom he was to have an affair for 16 years. To avoid arrest after the publication of Lettres , Voltaire took refuge at her husband's château at Cirey on the borders of Champagne and Lorraine . Voltaire paid for

11286-487: Was appointed by the Lords Proprietors and was allowed to select his own Council, which constituted the upper branch of the Legislature. The new colony attracted many settlers because Berkeley and Sir George Carteret sold the land to the colonists at low prices and allowed them political and religious freedoms. The Dutch re-conquered the area in 1673 but then surrendered to the English in 1674. The new documents governing

11400-632: Was baptized on 22 November 1694, with François de Castagnère, abbé de Châteauneuf  [ fr ] , and Marie Daumard, the wife of his mother's cousin, standing as godparents. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704–1711), where he was taught Latin , theology, and rhetoric; later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be

11514-464: Was clearly sexual, as evidenced by his letters to her (only discovered in 1957). Much later, they lived together, perhaps platonically, and remained together until Voltaire's death. Meanwhile, the Marquise also took a lover, the Marquis de Saint-Lambert . After the death of the Marquise in childbirth in September 1749, Voltaire briefly returned to Paris and in mid-1750 moved to Potsdam , Prussia, at

11628-517: Was discovered by de Châteauneuf and Voltaire was forced to return to France by the end of the year. Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government. As a result, he was twice sentenced to prison and once to temporary exile to England. One satirical verse, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his daughter, resulted in an eleven-month imprisonment in

11742-473: Was initiated into Freemasonry a little over a month before his death. On 4 April 1778, he attended la Loge des Neuf Sœurs in Paris, and became an Entered Apprentice Freemason. According to some sources, "Benjamin Franklin ;... urged Voltaire to become a freemason; and Voltaire agreed, perhaps only to please Franklin." However, Franklin was merely a visitor at the time Voltaire was initiated,

11856-438: Was inspired by a quotation found in a 1770 Voltaire letter to an Abbot le Riche, in which he was reported to have said, "I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Nevertheless, scholars believe there must have again been misinterpretation, as the letter does not seem to contain any such quote. Voltaire's first major philosophical work in his battle against " l'infâme "

11970-972: Was named " Province of Carolina " or land of Charles. Sir Robert's attempts at settlement failed and in 1645, during the English Civil War , he was stripped of all of his possessions as a Royalist supporter of the King. In 1663, eight members of the English nobility received a charter from King Charles II to establish the colony of Carolina. The eight Lords Proprietors were: The Lords Proprietors were anxious to secure Carolina against Spanish attacks from San Agustín in Florida, and to do so, they needed to attract more colonists. The Lords Proprietors offered English settlers inducements consisting of religious toleration, political representation in an assembly that had power over public taxes, exemption from quitrents , and large grants of land. The Lords allowed settlers of any religion except atheists. The Lords also had

12084-601: Was named "New Jersey" after Carteret's home island of Jersey in the English Channel. The grant, unique among other proprietary grants in the Americas, did not explicitly give the lord proprietors the power of government in the colony. Nonetheless, Berkeley and Carteret, established a constitution and gave freemen the right to elect an Assembly. A tax could not be levied without the Assembly's approval. The Governor

12198-647: Was not yet common practice in England. Laws were to expire automatically after one hundred years, thus preventing outdated regulations from remaining on the books. Lords Proprietor#Proprietary Colonies In the beginning of the European colonial era , trade companies such as the East India Company were the most common method used to settle new land. That changed after Maryland's Royal Grant in 1632, when King Charles I granted George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore , proprietary rights to an area east of

12312-505: Was on the lowest rank of the French nobility . Some speculation surrounds Voltaire's date of birth, because he claimed he was born on 20 February 1694 as the illegitimate son of a nobleman, Guérin de Rochebrune or Roquebrune. Two of his older brothers—Armand-François and Robert—died in infancy, and his surviving brother Armand and sister Marguerite-Catherine were nine and seven years older, respectively. Nicknamed "Zozo" by his family, Voltaire

12426-474: Was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics witheringly satirized intolerance and religious dogma , as well as the French institutions of his day. His best-known work and magnum opus , Candide ,

12540-471: Was one of the promulgators of the famous story of Newton's inspiration from the falling apple, which he had learned from Newton's niece in London and first mentioned in his Letters . In the fall of 1735, Voltaire was visited by Francesco Algarotti , who was preparing a book about Newton in Italian. Partly inspired by the visit, the Marquise translated Newton's Latin Principia into French, which remained

12654-462: Was rife with falsified evidence and required new investigations at the source. Such an outlook was not unique in that the scientific spirit that 18th-century intellectuals perceived themselves as invested with. A rationalistic approach was key to rewriting history. Voltaire's best-known histories are History of Charles XII (1731), The Age of Louis XIV (1751), and his Essay on the Customs and

12768-822: Was the Traité sur la tolérance ( Treatise on Tolerance ), exposing the Calas affair, along with the tolerance exercised by other faiths and in other eras (for example, by the Jews, the Romans, the Greeks and the Chinese). Then, in his Dictionnaire philosophique , containing such articles as "Abraham", "Genesis", "Church Council", he wrote about what he perceived as the human origins of dogmas and beliefs, as well as inhuman behavior of religious and political institutions in shedding blood over

12882-476: Was the first scholar to attempt seriously a history of the world, eliminating theological frameworks, and emphasizing economics, culture and political history. He treated Europe as a whole rather than a collection of nations. He was the first to emphasize the debt of medieval culture to Middle Eastern civilization, but otherwise was weak on the Middle Ages. Although he repeatedly warned against political bias on

12996-475: Was then pronounced like modern 'ouai', so the similarity to 'Arouet' is clear, and thus, it could well have been part of his rationale. Voltaire is known also to have used at least 178 separate pen names during his lifetime. Voltaire's next play, Artémire , set in ancient Macedonia, opened on 15 February 1720. It was a flop and only fragments of the text survive. He instead turned to an epic poem about Henry IV of France that he had begun in early 1717. Denied

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