Controversial clergyman or defender of freedom? That is the question surrounding the man linked to this very spot the Rond-Point Abbé Raynal. Let’s delve into the story of Guillaume-Thomas Raynal.
Here at the Rond-Point Abbé Raynal we find ourselves at a location named after a figure of considerable historical significance. Guillaume-Thomas Raynal was born in 1713. He died in 1796. He was many things including a historian a writer and a thinker.
Raynal’s early life was marked by religious pursuits. He studied with the Jesuits in Rodez. He became a priest in 1733. He taught at colleges in Pézenas Clermont and Toulouse. Raynal later left the Jesuits in 1746. He was appointed to the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. He worked as a tutor connecting him to parliamentary circles.
However Raynal’s path took a sharp turn. He sold sermons and sparked controversy. It was discovered that he had buried Protestants while falsely identifying them as Catholics. Despite the scandal Abbé Raynal maintained strong ties to Protestants throughout his life. These ties were due to his family’s involvement in commerce.
Leaving Saint-Sulpice marked a new chapter. Raynal started attending salons. He became known as a champion of liberty. He amassed wealth by publishing his works himself. He also wrote for prominent figures such as the Duke de Choiseul. This led to his appointment as director of the Mercure de France in 1750. That same year he became a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters of Berlin.
Raynal began his literary career with texts in Nouvelles littéraires. These served as an introduction to Correspondance littéraire philosophique et critique with Grimm and Diderot. He also wrote political and historical works commissioned by the government. These included Histoire du Stadhoudérat and Histoire du Parlement d’Angleterre.
Abbé Raynal is known as an opponent of colonialism. In 1770 he anonymously published Histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes. This was an encyclopedia of anti-colonialism in the 18th century. It critiqued despotism clericalism slavery and colonialism. The book supported the American Revolution. Raynal collaborated with many writers including Diderot.
The book was banned in 1772. Abbé Raynal published a new edition in 1774 which the clergy immediately put on the Index. In 1780 he published a third edition even more critical than the previous ones. He implicitly claimed authorship by including his portrait. The Parliament of Paris condemned the book and had it burned publicly.
Facing condemnation Raynal went into exile. He sought refuge in Switzerland where he erected a monument to freedom in honor of William Tell. He then moved to the courts of Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine II of Russia. He continued to oversee the republication of his work.
Returning to France in 1784 Raynal settled in Toulon and later Marseille. He founded academic and charitable prizes. These extended the reach of his work throughout Europe’s major academies. He declined to participate in the Estates-General of 1789 citing his age.
Raynal criticized the excesses of the French Revolution. In a letter to the National Assembly he spoke of the people’s errors. Despite the Reign of Terror his prestige protected him. He was not subjected to the same fate as other Brissotins. He was criticized for senility. He declined membership in the Institut de France in 1795.
Guillaume-Thomas Raynal died in general indifference in 1796. Raynal defended property rights in his writings. He called it a sacred and imprescriptible right. He believed that laissez-faire economics was the best path for societal development.
Standing here at the Rond-Point Abbé Raynal consider the complexities of this man. Was he a defender of liberty or just a controversial clergyman? You can decide while you enjoy Marseille.