Abstract

MITCHELL, Geoffrey. Theorizing the Enlightment: Rousseau and Voltaire in Jicoténcal. Lit. mex [online]. 2012, vol.23, n.1, pp.07-30. ISSN 2448-8216.

The anonymous, historical novel Jicoténcal (1826), written in the form of a political treatise and published in Philadelphia, employed the use of the Conquest of New Spain and the Tlaxcaltecan republic as an historical allegory that decried the tyranny of the enlightened despotism of Fernando VII of Spain. Highly influenced by censored authors of the French Enlightenment, particularly Rousseau and Voltaire, the Latin American author advocated a republican form of government-ostensibly in the colony of Cuba-in opposition to an antiquated and corrupt Spanish monarchy. In addition, the author utilizes nearly entire passages from Rousseau's Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts and On the Social Contract as well as Voltaire's satirical story "The Ingenu" to support his argument.

Keywords : Enlightenment; Despotism; Republic; Monarchy; Xicoténcatl.

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