Historical Events in
Candide
By Jackson, Lainey, David, Alissa, Laura, and Miranda
Lisbon Earthquake
Many people during that
time believed it occurred
because the people of
Lisbon had sinned.
More than 250,000
people were attending
church when it struck
Took place on November
1. “All Saint’s Day”
Impact of the Earthquake
Between 30,000-60,000
people killed, a 5 day fire,
a major port was
destroyed.
Enlightenment
Voltaire included it to
show people’s blind faith
in God.
Enlightenment
the name for a movement that encompasses a wide
variety of ideas and advances in the fields of
philosophy, science, and medicine that began in the
seventeenth century and peaked in the eighteenth
century.
Belief that people can actively work to create a better
world
Spirit of Social Reform
Enlightenment in Candide
Criticizes philosophical aspects of Enlightenment.
Attacks optimism
Illustrates this fact in the figure of the Grand
Inquisitor who orders an auto-da-fé, or an "act of faith"
that was a public condemnation and execution, to
ward off earthquakes
Called for education to be for everyone.
7 Years War
Caused by colonial and trade
empire conflicts
Prussia, Britain and Hanover
vs. Austria, France, and
Russia.
Britain made huge territorial
gains in North America.
Prussia kept most of it’s land
because of Fredrick the
Great.
1756-1763
The War in Candide
Voltaire was alive during the war and very much against it.
The war is seen in Chapter 3 of Candide when he is forced
into the Bulgarian army who fights for the Prussians against
the Abares of the French army.
Voltaire starts to glorify the battle with the huge armies and
honor of the soldiers and trumpets etc, and then hits us
with reality by describing the gruesome outcomes.
This displays Voltaire’s disapproval of the war.
Execution of Admiral Byng
Voltaire satirizes the execution of
Admiral Byng in Candide.
Voltaire uses chapter 23 to present his
feelings on war.
He greatly ridicules it and condemns it
as wasteful of many resources, such as
time, energy, and life.
He makes clear that this war is
pointless.
Voltaire satirizes the general lack of
consideration of other humans in the
way they casually murder an admiral
to push the others along.
John Byng
John Byng's epitaph reads as follows:
“To the perpetual Disgrace
of PUBLICK JUSTICE
The Honble. JOHN BYNG Esqr
Admiral of the Blue
Fell a MARTYR to
POLITICAL PERSECUTION
March 14th in the year 1757 when
BRAVERY and LOYALTY
were Insufficient Securities
For the
Life and Honour
of a
NAVAL OFFICER”
It exhibits the emotions felt not only by his family, but also the rest of the nation of
Great Britain.
This social injustice is clearly addressed by Voltaire in Candide.
The Execution in Candide
When Candide observes a firing squad execute a British
Admiral in Portsmouth for being too far away from his
enemy in a battle, he is told that "in this country it is found
good, from time to time, to kill one admiral to encourage
the others".
This is found shocking to Candide, and it makes him want
to go to Venice.
Voltaire is quite clearly alluding to Admiral Byng's execution
in this scene.
It is clear that Voltaire held a strong opinion on Byng's
execution, along with many other people.
Candide and the Monadology
“La Monadologie” was written by Gottfried Leibniz in
1714.
Gottfried Leibniz -German mathematician and
philosopher during the enlightenment period
Consists of 90 paragraphs, depicting the metaphysics of
monads
Basic Ideas in the Text
At the root of the concepts, there must be an understanding that there is a
God.
Monads are simple substances that can not be affected by anything else in the
universe.
All monads differ from one another and have specific qualities
Pre-established Harmony
The divine system the allows monads to be affected by other monads
Must be put in place by God
3 types of Monads
Inorganic: Confused understanding and reason about other monads
Animals: Simple understanding, memory, and reason
Humans: Complex reason, memory, understanding, self-consciousness, reflection
Basic Philosophies Embodied
in the Text
Our world is the best of all possible worlds.
God is infinitely good.
God is omnipotent, yet limited.
He can only cause possibilities to exist if there are no
contradictions to refute it.
Evil stems from the fact that every other monad aside
from God is not the monad of God.
How this Relates to Candide
Pangloss is inspired by Voltaire’s perception of Leibniz.
Voltaire viewed Leibnizian philosophy as arrogant and foolish
Most characters believed that we live in the best of all
possible worlds until the end
All characters also experienced some form of significant
suffering
Voltaire allows Pangloss to repeatedly say, “All is well,” thus
providing a satirical version of Leibnizian philosophy.
Voltaire held Deistic beliefs, and therefore disagreed with
the divine system of pre-established harmony.
El Dorado
Believed to be a place in the New
World filled with immense wealth.
Originated in South America, from
a tribe chief who was “covered in
gold dust” was named El Dorado by
the Spaniards. It means “the gilded
one”.
The location of this city has shifted
as new land has been discovered.
Most notable searches for it were
made by Francisco Vasquez de
Coronado and Sir Walter Raleigh.
All searches have been
fruitless.
El Dorado in Candide
El Dorado was the only place in the entire book where
suffering didn’t occur.
It was used as a comparison to the immense suffering
by all of the characters.
It also was used by Voltaire to make fun of idealistic life
views.
He relates them to something imaginary.
He does this by stretching these views to an unrealistic
point, clearly displaying the negatives.