Draft of Chapter CXLVII from l’Essai sur les mœurs
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36047
Repository:
Shelfmark:
Voltaire Library, 5-240 (VIII, f.14-17), ‘Minute du chapitre CXLVII de l’Essai sur les mœurs’
Title:
Draft of Chapter CXLVII from l’Essai sur les mœurs
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Ce fut de l’île de Cuba que partit Fernand Cortez pour de nouvelles expéditions dans le continent.
Incipit Modernised:
Ce fut de l’île de Cuba que partit Fernand Cortez pour de nouvelles expéditions dans le continent.
Language(s):
In Own Hand:
Yes
Brief Summary:
The manuscript is a draft of Chapter CXLVII from l’Essai sur les mœurs, written in Voltaire’s hand.
Detailed Summary:
In this chapter, Voltaire discusses Hernán Cortés and his conquest of Mexico, offering a detailed account of the country’s infrastructure, housing, and architecture, including Montezuma’s palace and its various features and facilities. Voltaire also explores Mexico’s wars and conflicts, with a particular focus on religious wars. Additionally, the chapter examines Mexico’s policing and education systems, highlighting notable achievements in astronomy, and discusses how the native Mexicans initially revered the Spanish colonisers, treating them as gods. The chapter concludes with a detailed account of the battles between the Spaniards and the indigenous Mexicans, the subsequent Spanish dominion over Mexico, and the lack of recognition Hernán Cortés received from his homeland and Charles V.
Keyword(s):
Genre(s):
Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
4 ff.
Format:
Dimensions:
Hands:
1
Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Additions:
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
c.1756
Ownership:
After Voltaire’s death, the MS passed into the ownership of Catherine II and remained in the imperial and then national collection thereafter.
Origin (transcript):
[Geneva]
Origin:
Provenance:
This MS was probably taken to St Petersburg by Wagnière in the summer of 1779 along with the rest of Voltaire’s library.
Bibliography
Bibliography:
Fernand Caussy, Inventaire des manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Voltaire conservée à la bibliothèque impériale publique de Saint-Pétersbourg (Geneva, Slatkine reprints, 1970), p.38.
OCV Reference:
26A, p.219-232
OCV Manuscript Reference:
26A, ‘MSL’, p.xxv-xxvi