Andres Petree European History The Enlightenment and the Foundation of Contemporary Historiography

The Enlightenment brought about the foundations for contemporary historiography. This dynamic change can most definitively be seen in the works of Montesquieu and Voltaire. Their bodies of work both temporally and ideologically come before other major historians such as Hegel, Gibbons, and Vico. The works they created were emblematic of what was to come and represented a substantial divergence from the previously established norms in history-writing. Although there was little econo-political gain from these changes, they dynamically altered the epistemological framework of academia. The first shift in historiography during the Enlightenment was Montesquieus shift towards broad historical movements. The typical renditions of history-writing were either one of cyclical progressions or one of a theological telos guiding humanity. He expounded a view that the society produces the general effect and movements throughout history, as opposed to specific individualsi. He provided an example of Caeser and Pompey usurping the government. Montesquieu stated that if they had not worked to supplant the Roman Republic, others would have done so anywaysii. This lends itself towards a collectivistic view of humanity. This belief in forces underlying man laid a framework for Herbert Spencers rejection of the Great Man Theory. Furthermore, Montesquieus principal movements eliminated chance as a factor in history. He claimed that any accidents would be caused or controlled by plans and sequences of events set forth by men iii. He takes the extreme point of view that if the chance of one battle-that is, a particular cause-has brought a state to ruin, some general cause made it necessary for that state to perish from a single battleiv and ultimately that the main trend draws with it all particular accidentsv. His analysis of Rome set up a belief in an overarching description of human behavior. In addition, this theoretical orientation reflects a humanistic belief in broad human nature as opposed to fatalistic deity-oriented histories. Voltaire provides another major departure in the creation of history-writing. He broke away from nationalistic and theological models of history to create overarching worldviewsvi. In a sense, his work is a secular successor to Boussets Discourse on the Human Historyvii. Voltaires framework is one that lends itself to a study of economics, culture, and political history. The emphasis on fact-finding and rational epistemologies thus became the precepts for contemporary historiography. Therefore, works such as The Age of Louis XIV and Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations not only preceded but set the groundwork for the work of Gibbon and Humeviii. However, Voltaire does have divergences that would remain separate from both contemporary and future historians. Voltaires histories contain varied amounts of presentism withinix. Whether it be a polemic response to antiquarian-cum-scholastic academics or a nave teleological spin, Voltaire selectively chooses what past events matter to the time of the writing and cares more for current history than the ancient pastx. What this often maligned trait allows is for a realization of a better awareness of the fact that historical scholarship itself is a product of history, and of the implications of this factxi. Voltaire allowed the present to comment on the past that irrevocably affected the present; a shift from a one-sided view of the past to a Bakhtin-esque dialogic interaction between the two. The ultimate change brought about by Enlightenment authors was dynamism. The advent of modernity that they brought about meant that multiple, ever-changing viewpoints could be

held. Even though they would all have to be contained within the parameters of normativity, rationality, and positivism for a long while, the gains were enormous when compared to the scholastic method that previously held sway. This interstice for though would lay the foundation for the political thinkers of the Enlightenment and the political events that they would influence, from the French Revolution to the progressive reforms of Eastern Europe.
i

Montesquieu, Charles de, and David Lowenthal. "Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline." Trans. David Lowelthal. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett (1999).
ii

Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.

iii

iv

vi

Force, Pierre. "Voltaire and the necessity of modern history." Modern Intellectual History 6, no. 3 (2009): 457484.
vii

Ibid. Ibid.

viii

ix

Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.

xi