Hunting, Claudine. “The Philosophes
and Black Slavery: 1748-1765.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 39, no. 3, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978, pp. 405–18. JSTOR, JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2709385.
As Hunting explains, most studies and articles prior to 1978 have claimed that the philosophes and Encyclopedists were fighting for slavery, promoting and encouraging it. Calling these articles anachronistic and accusing them of overlooking critical information, Hunting demonstrates, mainly through Encyclopédie articles (there are also brief quotes from authors such as Voltaire and Rousseau), that the philosophes were against slavery and everything associated with it. She insists on viewing the situation in the context and from the point of view of the 18th century, not only to avoid anachronism, but understand the culture in which the philosophes were operating. Hunting includes extensive quotes and analysis from
Encyclopédie articles, digging behind the lines in order to find the true thoughts of the Encyclopedists, claiming that they declared freedom for all men (as man is born free) and therefore slavery was against their ideals.
Basic Information
Country of Publication: United States
Language: English
Decade: 1970s
Main Classification: Slavery
Related Sources
*In Progress*
Notes
None
Updates
7/13/2020: Created page.