Histoire philosophique et politique
First edition of “one of the key works of the crisis of the Ancien Régime,” the result of the collaboration between Raynal, Diderot, and Holbach.
A very fine copy, adorned with Eisen’s engravings in the state before lettering, preserved in its contemporary morocco binding.
The Hague, 1774.
7 volumes in-8; red morocco, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, spines with raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, green morocco title and volume labels, decorated edges, gilt inner roll, gilt edges. Contemporary binding.
193 x 125 mm.
Raynal, Guillaume Thomas. Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements & Trade of the Europeans in the Two Indies.
The Hague, Gosse, Son, 1774.
First edition of “one of the key works of the Ancien Régime crisis.”
A previous, heavily abridged edition was published anonymously in 1772.
Cohen, 488; In French in the Text, 166; Sander, 1655; Rahir, Bibliothèque de l’amateur, 605.
It is adorned with 7 beautiful engravings by Eisen in the state before letters, engraved by Bacquois, De Launay, Masquelier, and Née, as well as 7 folding maps.
A Jesuit born in Aveyron in 1713, Abbé Raynal came to Paris and soon left the Church for philosophy. He contributed to the Encyclopédie, the Mercure de France, and the Correspondance littéraire, and wrote paid works or propaganda books, inspired by the French government: Histoire du Stathouderat (1747), Histoire du Parlement d’Angleterre (1748).
“Raynal received a commission for a history of colonization which could have been nothing more than a compilation if he had not gathered around him a group of collaborators. Diderot, Holbach, and Naigeon were responsible for the philosophical section. Dutesta provided precise information about trade and customs in the Indies. The commercial venture thus turned into a great political and philosophical treatise. Indeed, these are the adjectives that appear in the title of the work, printed in 1770 and published anonymously in 1772: ‘Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the Two Indies’ (that is, the Indies proper or East Indies, and America or West Indies)” (In French in the Text).
This brought both repression and glory to Abbé Raynal: parliament condemned the work, the author had to go into exile, and he assumed the role of the persecuted philosopher.
“The History of the Two Indies in fact combines a conventional history of European explorations and commercial settlements in the world with a sometimes violent denunciation of slavery and the exploitation of the colonies by the metropolises. Borrowings from administrative memoirs and earlier treatises alternate with passages of revolutionary eloquence, often penned by Diderot” (In French in the Text).
This textual assemblage ensured the resounding success of the treatise, reprinted about ten times at the end of the 18th century.
Academic critics consider it one of the key works of the crisis of the Ancien Régime.
Precious copy, decorated with proofs before letters, bound in superb contemporary red morocco.
