Claims that The Illuminati were Behind the French Revolution
Our mystery starts here.
A man named John Robison writes in 1797:
“An Association has been formed for the express purpose of rooting out all the religious establishments, and overturning all the existing governments of Europe.
I have seen this Association exerting itself zealously and systematically, till it has become almost irresistible: And I have seen that the most active leaders in the French Revolution were members of this Association, and conducted their first movements according to its principles, and by means of its instructions and assistance, formally requested and obtained:
And, lastly, I have seen that this Association still exists, still works in secret…”
- Proofs of A Conspiracy Against All The Religions And Governments Of Europe, Carried On In The Secret Meetings Of Free Masons, Illuminati, And Reading Societies, by John Robison, 1797
Now, if you don’t already know, let me quickly take you back to 1776, when a philosophy professor from Bavaria named Johann Adam Weishaupt formed a small, exclusive group with a few students based on the Freemasons, that in two years time would be officially called… The Order of The Illuminati.
Weishaupt grew up reading, including such esoteric and mystical subjects as the Mysteries of the Seven Sages of Memphis and the Kabbalah. He was a freethinker, was against the dominance of religion, somewhat of a feminist. A bit of a progressive for his time.
The Order of the Illuminati grew, collecting more and more influential people, aiming to influence the government towards rationalism and away from narrow-minded religious power.
It was eventually shut down by the government, and also brought down by internal dissent.
Right?
The excerpt at the beginning comes from John Robison, who claimed to have information from a Benedictine secret agent monk.
He was one of two men that published very popular books (the other was a French priest) that were one of the early examples of a conspiracy theory.
Robison (and others) argued that The Illuminati was very much still around, and powerful, and had infiltrated the Freemasons and other groups, exerting their influence to the levels of being puppetmasters in the French Revolution, engineering the overthrow of the monarchy and the revolutionists’ rise to power.
Even George Washington chimed in, after receiving a copy of the book from G.W. Snyder. In a letter exchange, Washington wrote:
“I have heard much of the nefarious, and dangerous plan, and doctrines of the Illuminati…”
But was adamant that his newly formed country was free from its influence:
“…to correct an error you have run into, of my Presiding over the English lodges in this Country. The fact is, I preside over none, nor have I been in one more than once or twice, within the last thirty years. I believe notwithstanding, that none of the Lodges in this Country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the Society of the Illuminati.”
The Illuminati theories, however, only have grown stronger over the centuries.
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The Illuminati story continues below…
find out how this relates to current events
read the five wildest quotes I found in the book
see links to further reading, some book recommendations on the subject
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How does this story relate to current events?
You don’t have to look very far at all to see how profoundly durable the Illuminati conspiracy theories have been. From a small group of students in the 18th century, to centuries later, where Twitter users are claiming that Rihanna flashed an Illuminati symbol at the Superbowl and that it was censored.
The group has become ingrained in pop culture, and represent many people’s paranoia and firm beliefs that there are shadowy organizations running the world.
In our global political climate today, conspiracy theories such as this are just as potent, if not more, than they were then.
The five wildest quotes from Robison’s book
An example of how he believed The Illuminati influenced what was published:
The agent immediately went thither, and found that it was printing with great alterations, another title, and a guide or key, in which the work was perverted and turned into ridicule by a Dr. Bahrdt, who resided in that neighborhood. An action of recovery and damages was immediately commenced at Leipzig, and after much contest, an interdict was put on Michaelis's edition, and a proper edition was ordered immediately from Walther, with securitty that it should appear before Bahrdt's key. Yet when it was produced at the next fair, the booksellers had been already supplied with the spurious edition; and as this was accompanied by the key, it was much more saleable ware, and completely supplanted the other.
This is surely a strong instance of the machinations by which the Illuminati have attempted to destroy the Liberty of the Press, and the power they have to discourage or suppress any thing that is not agreeable to the taste of the literary junto…
On the link to the Freemasons
The Order of Illuminati appears as an accessory to Free Masonry. It is in the Lodges of Free Masons that the Minervals are found, and there they are prepared for Illumination … He says that his doctrines are the only true Free Masonry.
On mysticism and Masonic texts
The Archives Mystico-Hermetiques exhibit a very strange mixture of Mysticism, Theosophy, Cabalistic whim, real Science, Fanaticism, and Freethinking, both in religion and politics. They must not be considered as an account of any settled system, but rather as annals of the proceedings of the Lodge, and abstracts of the strange doctrines which made their sucessive appearance in it.
On the connection to the Jacobins
Thus were the stupid Bavarians (as the French were once pleased to call them) their instructors in the art of overturning the world. The French were indeed the first who put it in practice. These committees arose from the Illuminati in Bavaria, who had by no means given over working; and these committees produced the Jacobin Club. It is not a frivolous remark, that the Masonic phrase of the persons who wish to address the Brethren, (F. S. je demande la parole, which the F. S. reports to the V. G. M. and which he announces to the Brethren thus, "Mes freres, frere tel[295] demande la parole, la parole lui est accordee,") is exactly copied by the Jacobin Club. There is surely no natural connection between Free Masonry and Jacobinism—but we seek the link—Illuminatism.—
On the claims of its continued existence and spread
The association of which I have been speaking is the Order of Illuminati, founded, in 1775, by Dr. Adam Weishaupt, professor of Canon law in the university of Ingolstadt, and abolished in 1786 by the Elector of Bavaria, but revived immediately after … It was again detected, and seemingly broken up; but it had by this time taken so deep root that it still subsists without being detected, and has spread into all the countries of Europe.
Links to articles on the topic
The French Revolution as Illuminati Conspiracy
Meet the Man Who Started the Illuminati
Darkness Over All John Robison and the Birth of the Illuminati Conspiracy
Book recommendations
Nonfiction:
Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, The Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, The New World Order, and many, many more - Amazon link
The Illuminati: The Secret Society That Hijacked the World - Amazon link
Fiction:
Angels and Demons - Amazon link
Preview of next week’s email
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