Voltaire’s View of the Irish

Abstract

It should come as no surprise to anyone that even the greatest writer of the French Enlightenment was not immune to the influences, attitudes and prejudices of his day, though the events of his own life were naturally important also in colouring his view of Ireland and the Irish. Voltaire never visited Ireland but he did spend upwards of two years in England (1726–28), an experience which marked him profoundly¹ and may well have been the decisive factor in forming his attitude to the Irish. Moreover, Voltaire learned English well and thus gained an access to anglophone culture shared by few Frenchmen of his generation.