History

This essay will first discuss the Enlightenment and the French Revolution separately before discussing their impact on Italy. This is important to do because understanding these separately is essential to understanding their role in Italy.

To fully understand the role of Enlightenment and French Revolution on Italy, this essay shall discuss many important figures whose philosophies and work exemplifies the essence of the Enlightenment.

Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement centered in Europe and focused on developments in science and logic. The focus was now on rationality and the goals that were worth striving for were freedom, knowledge and happiness. This application of rationality to religion was known as deism. The precursors of the Enlightenment were huge figures like Sir Isaac Newton who used just a few rules to describe the universe, putting a serious dent in traditional Catholic belief system. The belief generally was that man had the intellectual capacity to question the beliefs handed down to him and reevaluate them to achieve greater knowledge and basically grow intellectually and through this spiritually.

The enlightenment produced intellectuals like John Locke and Voltaire all of whom were very secular in their philosophies and beliefs. John Locke for example developed a way of thinking which was in total contrast to the concept of original sin which is a main pillar of Christianity. He instead claimed that man was born completely blank and then his morality was developed on the basis of his experiences. Other thinkers also moved away from the concept of sin and virtue by explaining that all people act only on their own selfish motives and their motivation is mostly personal gain and satisfaction.

Enlightenment also consisted of many thinkers and political figures like Thomas Jefferson for example who believe that all humans were equal and had the right to their own beliefs and ideas. This system of thought inspired revolutions for example Voltaires work in France.

The beliefs of the Enlightenment were powerful, the material from which revolutions are made. The Enlightenment period consisted of many intellectuals whose work and philosophies still holds meaning for many today.

French Revolution
Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they.(The Social contract 1762-Jean Jacques Rousseau- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Kirjasto.com)

The preceding quote from one of Rousseaus most famous works is important because the core essence of these resound with the philosophy behind Rousseaus work and behind the French Revolution. The French Revolution began in 1789, sparked by a deepening financial crisis. This crisis was rightly blamed on the over expenditure of the French aristocracy. As relations between royalty and the elected bodies began to deteriorate and nothing came out of the attempted negotiations a feeling of resentment became embedded in all of the country. Many segments of society became involved in the movement including many woman who were active in the French Revolution and also those from the black community many of whom were slaves in plantations.

Jean Jacques Rousseaus work played an important role in the French Revolution and was also a key part of the Enlightenment. His work the Social Contract speaks about the importance of giving up individual rights for the greater good. Because man is basically good(as he explains in other works also) the general will is always going towards the common good. The phrase Libert, galit, Fraternit became the slogan of the revolution. Other important figures in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution were Voltaire and Descartes.

After the march to Versailles the Assembly achieved some kind of control by declaring martial law. Frances political system was up for redesign and the inspiration for these changes came from the Enlightenment thinkers. Despite the fact that many from the Assembly were more conservative rather then liberal the continuing peasant revolt in many areas forced them to continue modifying the political system to make it fairer on all concerned.

Although the French Revolution failed to achieve its goals of liberty and equality, it was responsible for many important changes in the French governance system for example the serfdom was abolished and local government became more powerful and important.

One of the most important impacts that the French Revolution had was that it shook up all of Europe including Italy.

Impact on Italy
In Italy the Enlightenment movement was known as the Illuminismo. Italy at the end of the 17th century was under the suffocating influence of the Jesuits. This basically implied a social setup dominated by religion and allowing little room for creative thought or scientific development.
 Key figure in the Italian Enlightenment was Pietro Giannone. The themes of his various works were very similar to the work being done by Enlightenment authors in the rest of Europe. Infact his work eventually won praise from such noted Enlightenment thinkers as Voltaire. One of his most well-known work Istoria civile del Regno di Napoli had strong anti-Catholic flavor to it. This along with his other works spoke strongly against the superstitious nature of the Church and its effect on the training and education that it gives.

Another figure embodying the spirit of the Enlightenment in Italy was Anna Morandi Manzolini. Although she in no way contributed intellectually to the Enlightenment philosophy, her detailed study of the human anatomy contributed a great deal to scientific research at the time. She was a professor in the University of Bologna and her contribution to the study of human anatomy is still useful today.
Cesare Beccaria an Italian aristocrat influenced by the brothers Pietro and Alessandro Verri produced a very important work Essays on Crimes and Punishment which uses his philosophies on knowledge and life to develop his logic for his conclusion on his crime and punishment. He writes
Knowledge facilitates the comparison of objects, by showing them in different points of view. When the clouds of ignorance are dispelled by the radiance of knowledge, authority trembles, but the force of the laws remains immovable. Men of enlightened understanding must necessarily approve those useful conventions which are the foundation of public safety they compare with the highest satisfaction, the inconsiderable portion of liberty of which they are deprived with the sum total sacrificed by others for their security observing that they have only given up the pernicious liberty of injuring their fellow-creatures, they bless the throne, and the laws upon which it is established. (BECCARIA CESARE ON CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS crimetheory.com)

Duke Leopold of Tuscany reformed the system of governance in Tuscany and attempted to do the same when he became the Austrian Emperor. He abolished the capital punishment after being influenced by Beccarias work. In his small estate he made many administrative reforms which made industrial growth easier and also increased personal freedoms of the populace. These reforms and his attempts to implement similar ones in Austria (these were hampered by the instability in France and the threat on the Prussian border) make him out to be an enlightened monarch.

Although initially the French revolution initiated some positive reactions in Italy its later souring and failure disappointed many. After the French revolution Italy became more unstable and was plagued with many coalition wars which modified its map. The eventual impact of the wars following the revolution to Italy were that it reduced the Spanish influence and resulted in British and Austrian influence in deciding Italys future.

Conclusion
If we sum up the influence that the French Revolution and Enlightenment had on the revolution were both political and social. The Duke of Tuscany was clearly influenced by Enlightenment thinkers and brought out many reforms in his small kingdom before becoming Emperor of Austria. In the social sphere many Italian thinkers like Beccaria were influenced by the Enlightenment movement. All in all both the Enlightenment and the French Revolution affected all of Europe, and were a powerful influence on Italys political and social sphere.

The Jesuit Order controlled both education and the publication of books (censorship). Jesuit education philosophy stressed Latin language and memorization, aimed at indoctrinating rather than at convincing the student, and therefore was responsible for creating an atmosphere which favoured superstition.( Enlightenment in Italy-httpwww.zum.dewhkmlaregionitalyitalenl.html). The Jesuits were expelled from Italy after the Bourbon reforms in Sapin.

As emperor of Austria he would have had influence in Italian governance.