1741–1820
Augustin Barruel
Jesuit author of an influential conspiracy theory.
- Life
- 1741–1820
- Connection
- Author of the claim that the Illuminati caused the French Revolution (interpretation)
Augustin Barruel was a French Jesuit and polemicist. His Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire du Jacobinisme (1797–98) argued that the French Revolution was the result of a conspiracy involving philosophers, Freemasons and the Illuminati.
Historians regard the work as polemic rather than history: no evidence shows that the Illuminati survived their suppression or planned the Revolution. The book is nevertheless important for understanding how the Illuminati legend began.
References
- Augustin Barruel, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire du Jacobinisme (London, 1797–1798).
- René Le Forestier, Les Illuminés de Bavière et la franc-maçonnerie allemande (Paris, 1914).
- Richard van Dülmen, Der Geheimbund der Illuminaten (Stuttgart, 1975).