Context

In 1745, Diderot began writing the Encyclopédie as a French translation of Chambers’ 1728 “Cyclopedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences,” but it quickly grew into a much more ambitious project of original work that lasted decades. The numerous volumes were written throughout the 17^th century in France, during a time when the church had political power and a strong influence in regulating the knowledge that was available to the public. Diderot, the main author, had been in trouble with the French law before for this reason, and was jailed for a period before beginning the Encyclopédie for publishing written works that challenge religious authority and monarchal ideas.

The mid eighteenth century was time in France when there was an unprecedented increase in published writings criticizing religion. The Encyclopédie’s contents were very uncensored in its skepticism of religion and the government. Its research was driven by independent reasoning instead of theology. The project’s launch further fueled this movement, and tensions rose between French religious authorities and the editors. Due to the controversy, the monarchy banned the two volumes that had been published in print. The ban lifted in 1751, and more volumes continued to be printed and published, until a servant’s assassination attempt on King Louis XV in 1757 led to more controversy.

French authorities blamed the servant’s motivations on the unregulated spread of philosophie during the Enlightenment, and the free-thinking that was promoted in some written publishments, one being the Encyclopédie. These works ended up in court as the supposed accomplice in the servant’s crime. The project could continue after an ad hoc agreement, and in 1772 the entire collection of all 28 volumes were completed and published. Due to the censorship and political criticism of the work, the Encyclopédie suffered an ongoing negative reputation, but its message played an important role in the events leading up to the French Revolution.