Editing Historiography (section)

====Voltaire====
French ''[[Philosophes|philosophe]]'' [[Voltaire]] (1694–1778) had an enormous influence on the development of historiography during the Age of Enlightenment through his demonstration of fresh new ways to look at the past. Guillaume de Syon argues:
{{blockquote|Voltaire recast historiography in both factual and analytical terms. Not only did he reject traditional biographies and accounts that claim the work of supernatural forces, but he went so far as to suggest that earlier historiography was rife with falsified evidence and required new investigations at the source. Such an outlook was not unique in that the scientific spirit that 18th-century intellectuals perceived themselves as invested with. A rationalistic approach was key to rewriting history.<ref>{{cite book|author=Guillaume de Syon |contribution=Voltaire |editor=Kelly Boyd |title=Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, vol 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0121vD9STIMC&pg=PA1270|date=1999|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=1270–1272|isbn=978-1884964336}}</ref>}}

Voltaire's best-known histories are ''[[The Age of Louis XIV]]'' (1751), and his ''[[Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations|Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations]]'' (1756). He broke from the tradition of narrating diplomatic and military events, and emphasized customs, social history and achievements in the arts and sciences. He was the first scholar to make a serious attempt to write the history of the world, eliminating theological frameworks, and emphasizing economics, culture and political history. Although he repeatedly warned against political bias on the part of the historian, he did not miss many opportunities to expose the intolerance and frauds of the church over the ages. Voltaire advised scholars that anything contradicting the normal course of nature was not to be believed. Although he found evil in the historical record, he fervently believed reason and educating the illiterate masses would lead to progress. Voltaire's ''[[History of Charles XII]]'' (1731) about the Swedish warrior king ([[Swedish language|Swedish]]: Karl XII) is also one of his most famous works. It is not least known as one of [[Napoleon|Napoleon's]] absolute favorite books.<ref>[https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/napoleon/c_read2.html] Grossman, Ira. 1995-2023. "Napoleon the Reader: The Imperial Years", In: ''The Napoleon Series''.</ref>

Voltaire explains his view of historiography in his article on "History" in Diderot's ''[[Encyclopédie]]'': "One demands of modern historians more details, better ascertained facts, precise dates, more attention to customs, laws, mores, commerce, finance, agriculture, population." Already in 1739 he had written: "My chief object is not political or military history, it is the history of the arts, of commerce, of civilization—in a word—of the human mind."<ref name="Sreedharan2004">{{cite book|author=E. Sreedharan|title=A Textbook of Historiography: 500 BC to AD 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJVoi3PIejwC&pg=PA115|year=2004|publisher=Orient Blackswan|page=115|isbn=978-8125026570}}</ref> Voltaire's histories used the values of the Enlightenment to evaluate the past. He helped free historiography from antiquarianism, [[Eurocentrism]], religious intolerance and a concentration on great men, diplomacy, and warfare.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sakmann |first1=Paul |year=1971 |title=The Problems of Historical Method and of Philosophy of History in Voltaire |journal=History and Theory |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=24–59 |doi=10.2307/2504245 |jstor=2504245 }}</ref> [[Peter Gay]] says Voltaire wrote "very good history", citing his "scrupulous concern for truths", "careful sifting of evidence", "intelligent selection of what is important", "keen sense of drama", and "grasp of the fact that a whole civilization is a unit of study".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gay |first1=Peter |year=1957 |title=Carl Becker's Heavenly City |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=182–199 |doi=10.2307/2145772 |jstor=2145772 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gay |first=Peter |title=Voltaire's Politics |year=1988 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300040951 |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2021}}