Vive la Revolution

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout history. Around the time of the Enlightenment, the evolution of revolution became increasingly sophisticated and more frequent. Was this simply a naturally occurring phenomenon, or was there something else at play?

How does a human mind become so radicalized as to justify the raping, killing and torturing of their fellow man? The answer to this question becomes even more pertinent when we consider that they all tended to live together in relative peace for generations before turning on each other.

To gain an insight into the vicious outbreaks of the “woke mind-virus”, we return to the Age of Enlightenment. So far, we have seen how the Enlightenment affected power structures in Prussia and America. However, it was the French Revolution that was perhaps the most significant event of the era.

The world marvelled at the collapse of the French aristocracy. The enlightened French thinkers of the day managed to foment a popular uprising that not only saw the end of the French monarch, but placed many noblemen and priests’ heads on pikes, to be proudly displayed throughout Paris and beyond.

In a flash, one of the wealthiest and most powerful empires in the world was destroyed; its king dethroned and beheaded. The entire sovereignty of France was eliminated, along with its laws, and replaced with a new, enlightened system.

It was a cataclysmic clash of ideologies, just as Hegel would describe it a few decades later. The old guard and the divine right of the king were erased and replaced by what many believed would become a morally and intellectually superior state. The world witnessed the power of revolution, and how quickly it could destroy an empire from within.

The Scientific Revolution during the Enlightenment saw the birth of modern scientific industrial society. The Scientific Method was a true revelation during the Enlightenment, and thousands of intellectuals sought to apply the scientific process to every aspect of the known world.

Science was revealing the secrets of the material world, leading to great inventions that rapidly improved humanity’s living standards. Why couldn’t science do the same for human consciousness? Notably, if humans could scientifically improve the way they think and behave, wouldn’t man be able to progress toward a utopian civiization?

This marked the beginning of the era of social engineering using the scientific method; observation, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion. In 1717, the social engineering industrial complex was formally open for business:

At the time, this was all very exciting stuff. Many truly believed they were laying the foundations for the creation of the perfect society. Man, armed with the power of Enlightenment, would become the builders and masters of their own destiny.

There are many different takes on freemasonry. However, the Enlightenment and the birth of a centralized masonic organization provides a simple explanation for the philosophy and motivation behind those who thought they could “revolutionize” Western civilization. In 1717, that’s exactly what happened, and the members of the Grand Lodge embarked on an ambitious recruiting mission.

They scoured Europe and the Americas for intellectual powerhouses. Individuals who embraced the culture of the Enlightenment were willing to build a utopian society, from the ground up, if necessary. Preferably, individuals who held high positions of power and influence who could steer their citizens in the desired direction. Contrary to his father, Frederick the Great served as a perfect candidate.

Frederick’s contribution to freemasonry is legendary. They dedicated one of the high-level degrees to his Prussian kingdom:

Frederick is also accredited with the creation of a new masonic constitution, released just before his death in 1786. Frederick’s ties to freemasonry and his dedication to the Enlightenment will be important factors when understanding how the French Revolution and the ensuing disaster came into being.⁶

The Decline of Empire

During 18th century, France gradually descended after being the most powerful empire in the world. There were a series of unfortunate events that placed France in a very fragile position leading up to the revolution. Despite all of these set backs, the French economy continued to thrive, which in turn placed enormous money and power into the hands of a new, entrepreneurial class that became known as the “bourgeoisie”. Many of the bourgeoisie made their money from industrial production and trade. Most of them were students of the Enlightenment and active members in freemasonry.

As the power of the old-guard French nobility waned, the bourgeoisie rapidly ascended. Regardless, there were several major setbacks for the French that led to the eventual opportunity for a revolution.

The Laws of the Golden Mississippi

The first event that shook the empire was the stock market bubble and hyperinflation in the early part of the century. A young Scottish emigre by the name of John Law escaped his gambling and whore troubles in Scotland and Britain for the peaceful life in France. There, he caught up with his old friend, the newly appointed Regent of France, the Duc d’Orleans. The duke was worried about France’s financial state, and sought the financial expertise of John Law. John had a cunning plan, and formed a bank that issued paper money, marking the beginning of a fiat currency fiasco.

In 1717, Mr. Law also formed the Compagnie d’Occident, which became colloquially known as the Mississippi Company. With this new company, he received exclusive trading privileges in the French-American colonies, which included French Canada and all the way down to Louisiana. The scheme was an attempt to bolster French finances while at the same time expand trade throughout the French colonies.

The share price initially exploded, rising nearly 2000 percent after only a few years. Small-time investors started selling everything they had to buy shares and participate in the great Mississippi scheme. It was a bubble waiting to pop, but while it was inflating everyone was partying like it was 1799.

Predictably, the ass began to fall out of the stock price. To stave off the collapse, Law issued more bank notes to fund purchases of the stock. It did not work. Desperate, Law promised to issue more bank notes in exchange to paying the all-time high for the shares. This did not work either, but it did immediately double France’s money supply, which caused prices to rise by over 20% per month.

Eventually, the stock dropped precipitously and most investors lost their shirts. Deprived of their life-savings and facing rapidly rising prices, the people were understandably pissed off. It was not a great start to the French 18th century.⁷

A Humiliating Defeat

From 1756-1763, the Seven Years War was one of the greatest humiliations of the French empire. Setting up an alliance with Austria, Russia, Spain and Sweden, the French must have thought the war was going to be a cakewalk. The war originated between France and Britain over disputed colonial territories in America, the Caribbean and India.

However, once the rest of Europe got wind of the upcoming war, they realized there was far more up for grabs. Austria, Russia and Sweden all wanted to put an end to the rise of Prussia, and get back some of the land Frederick the Great had already seized in previous conflicts. Frederick saw this as a fantastic opportunity for his soldiers to have a bit of fun while at the same time expanding his Prussian kingdom in Europe.

This was the beginning of a brutal conflict that today could be described as an 18th century world war. Prussia’s military might was undoubtedly the deciding factor in the war. The combination of Frederick’s military genius and the discipline of his Field Marshal, Duke Ferdinand Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, simply overwhelmed the Austro-Franco-Russo-Swede-Spaniard alliance.

Duke Ferdinand became a legend to the British aristocracy, and his family married into the direct lineage of the British Royal family. In 1776, it was suggested that he lead the British forces in the American Revolution. While this did not occur, thousands of Brunswick troops were shipped to America to battle against the American patriots. Interestingly, the Duke was also initiated into German freemasonry, receiving the highest honors in the fraternity.⁹

Put simply, France had its ass handed to them, and the terms of peace were an incredible humiliation.

This marked the end of French imperialism in America. The only remnant of French influence today in North America is the son of a Marxist powerhouse, Justin Trudeau.

The defeat in the Seven Years War proved to be a disaster to the state of France’s finances, which would continue to plague the kingdom up until the revolution.

Moral Decay

Another peculiar aspect in pre-revolutionary France was the gradual decay of morals and the collective exploration of depraved sexual fetishes:

It appears gender confusion is a hot topic in pre-revolutionary times. Perhaps the most famous of the psycho-sex addicts was the Marquis de Sade, the author of an even more famous book that spread throughout Europe.

Curiously, the Marquis de Sade spent most of his life in prison for his heinous sex crimes, but was released just prior to the revolution, where he was able to commit even worse crimes during the terror. Such was the attitude of the Enlightened revolutionary leaders who seemed determined to unburden the French citizens from what had been.

Banning of Secret Societies

Freemasonry in France started around 1725, and by the time the revolution arrived in 1789, there were about 650 lodges with 35,000 members.¹³ However, the rise of French freemasonry was not without its challenges:

The French monarchy were staunch believers in the Divine Right of Kings as ordained by the Pope, meaning they could not openly support freemasonry. Therefore, while freemasonry still flourished in France, it was done so more or less in private. This began the gradual evolution of freemasonry as a secret society, with secret rituals and initiations.

Therefore, the papal decree served only to motivate freemasonry to find a way to eliminate Christianity in their future utopian society. This became self-evident during the French Revolution.

The freemasons were not the only target of suppression in 18th Century France. Throughout Europe, Catholic kingdoms became increasingly suspicious of another society. The Jesuits. By 1773, they were driven into exile.

France had already dissolved the Jesuit organization in 1764. There were very few places the Jesuits could move to. There was one kingdom, in particular, that provided them with safe harbor:

Frederick embraced all religions, and as we have mentioned many times, he was particularly accommodating to sections of the Jewish communities who served his interests; namely in banking and espionage. He was the embodiment of the Enlightenment and embraced the proliferation of freemasonry throughout Prussia. As the Pope declared the Jesuits illegal and France forced them into exile, Frederick embraced them with open arms.

When we compare the political evolution of 18th century France and Prussia, we begin to see how polarized the two empires had become. They were empires that were not only bitter rivals geopolitically, but also ideologically.

The existential clash of ideologies was inevitable. Frederick understood this all too well, and he knew that only one kingdom could survive into the 19th century, while the other would become the “ancien regime” and relegated to the dustbin of history.

Preparing for Revolution

Another curious aspect of the French Revolution involves one of the men who was considered a revolutionary founding father.

Mirabeau was mentor to men like Robespierre. However, he was not as radical as them, and was actually pushing for a Constitutional Monarchy, similar to Great Britain. But the most interesting part to the Mirabeau story were his relationships. The first was with freemasonry.

The second was his intimate knowledge of Frederick the Great’s Court of Berlin.

The story goes that Mirabeau was exiled to Prussia and served as a French diplomat in the royal court of Frederick the Great. From this vantage point, Mirabeau wrote memoirs depicting Frederick and his royal associates as complete fools. He compiled his memoirs into a private book that was never to be released to the public. Almost instantly the book was “leaked” and a massive diplomatic scandal ensued. By this stage Frederick had passed away, but Prussia was not amused.

If we think through this logically, this story does not make sense. We know that Mirabeau was a freemason, and his loyalty to the Enlightenment and freemasonry was unquestionable. Therefore, he would have greatly admired Frederick and his high ranking status as a freemason and as a liberal progressive Enlightened despot. Furthermore, we also know that in the future, Mirabeau was to become a founding father of the French Revolution, which means he did not support the French monarchy and their claim to Divine Right.

So, did Mirabeau simply do the bidding of his French king and slander the reputation of the Prussian king that he admired both philosophically and fraternally through freemasonry? Or was the entire fiasco designed to create a massive rift between France and Prussia on the eve of the French Revolution?

The French monarch was now isolated and were certainly not about to receive any help from Prussia. The timing of this event could not have been more perfect for the revolutionaries. The French government was on the verge of complete bankruptcy, and needed financial help from the very people who intended to overthrow them.

Lights, Camera, Revolution

By the mid-1780s, France was on the brink of bankruptcy. After nearly a century of mishaps, the chickens were coming home to roost. The interest on the national debt was about to exceed total tax revenue, and without meaningful reforms, it would soon be all over. Something had to be done.

The man heading up the Assembly of Notables was Charles de Calonne. He came up with a meaningful reform package that broadened the base of taxation as well as the removal of nonsensical trade restrictions. However, many of the men who had been called upon in the Assembly had completely different ambitions. They didn’t want tax reform; they wanted to put an end to the French power structure, termed the Ancien Regime, all together.

Calonne’s plan was ridiculed, but not as much as his reputation. Rumors of Calonne accepting bribes and participating in shady stock deals circulated throughout Paris. Mirabeau was one of the main instigators of this character assassination, and his freemason brothers were busily spreading pamphlets throughout France demanding an end to the corrupt French government, and to the king.

During the period between 1787 and 1789, a propaganda campaign by the Enlightened revolutionaries took on a whole new dimension. It was a psyop to whip the masses into a frenzy and gain their support for a good ol’ tear-down of civil society. Any event that affected the people was instantly twisted to blame the king and his cohorts. Pamphlets were 18th century memes, and since many could not read, many pamphlets were derogatory drawings of the royal court.

To add fuel to the flames, a severe bread shortage gripped Paris in 1789. By this stage, when children were going hungry, the working class of Paris had enough. France did not yet know it, but the sun was setting on the Ancien Regime, and the total annihilation of the country would soon follow. It is hard to fathom that anyone foresaw the absolute hell that was coming, but the events that occurred during the French Revolution laid the foundations of how a great empire could be destroyed from within.

The financial collapse, societal upheavals, false imprisonments, rapes, tortures and executions all served as valuable data points for future wannabee revolutionaries. These observations would be used to generate multiple hypotheses that could be tested in future upheavals. The science of revolution had begun.

Introducing the French Revolution

This article serves to complement a valuable documentary about the revolution. At the end of the article there is a half an hour of content which provides valuable insight into the chaos and crimes of political ideologists who were bent on installing their version of Enlightenment over France.

Before we watch this clip, let’s briefly summarize some of the things that contributed to the demise of King Louis XVI and the Ancien Regime:

• The Age of Enlightenment bolstered the freemason movement. Freemasons believed they could transform civilization into a societal utopia. This gave birth to the ideology of social engineering by those who declared themselves to be morally and intellectually superior.

• The introduction of fiat currency and a speculative bubble collapsed the finances of the government and destabilized the great French empire.

• Moral decay led to questionable and depraved sexual practices, as well as discussions pertaining to accepted norms on gender.

• A humiliating military defeat which greatly affected the morale and global perception of the French military.

• The isolation of France via an embarrassing diplomatic faux pas involving Frederick the Great, whether planned or not, and finally,

• The bankruptcy of France that required the assistance of the very people that wished to overthrow the existing government.

These were just some of the things that contributed to the end of the French monarch. Regardless, the revolution kicked off with a frightening and vitriolic vengeance. As you will see, Christianity was renounced, priests and nuns were raped and/or executed, and replaced with a new “Kult of Reason”.

There is one final part to the horror of the revolution that gets very little mention. Rape, torture and murder was used as a method of subduing rebellious parts of the population. The sexual crimes that Marquis de Sade was imprisoned for were now part of military doctrine. In fact, Sade was released from prison and decided to do his bit for the revolution.

Aristocratic women were abducted from their homes and passed around the Parisian crowd before being murdered. But in the Vendee, things were even worse. The entire population was targeted for extermination, but not before soldiers had their way with them.

This is the brutal reality when a self-declared moral and intellectually superior minority believe they can bend society to their will. As we shall see throughout this series, the pathway toward a madman’s utopia is through the gates of hell.

To be continued…