The Invention of Free Press: Writers and Censorship in Eighteenth Century Europe (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées, 219)

Tracking The Relationship Between The Theory Of Press Control And The Realities Of Practicing Daily Press Censorship Prior To Publication, This Volume On The Suppression Of Dissent In Early Modern Europe Tackles A Topic With Many Elusive And Under-researched Characteristics. Pre-publication Censorship Was Common In Absolutist Regimes In Catholic And Protestant Countries Alike, But How Effective It Was In Practice Remains Open To Debate. The Netherlands And England, Where Critical Content Segued Into Outright Lampoonery, Were Unusual For Hard-wired Press Freedoms That Arose, Respectively, From A Highly Competitive Publishing Industry And Highly Decentralized Political Institutions. These Nations Remained Extraordinary Exceptions To A Rule That, For Example In France, Did Not End Until The Revolution Of 1789. Here, The Author’s European Perspective Provides A Survey Of The Varying Censorship Regulations In European Nations, As Well As The Shifting Meanings Of ‘freedom Of The Press’. The Analysis Opens Up Fascinating Insights, Afforded By Careful Reading Of Primary Archival Sources, Into The Reactions Of Censors Confronted With Manuscripts By Authors Seeking Permission To Publish. Tortarolo Sets The Opinions On Censorship Of Well-known Writers, Including Voltaire And Montesquieu, Alongside The Commentary Of Anonymous Censors, Allowing Us To Revisit Some Common Views Of Eighteenth-century History. How Far Did These Writers, Their Reasoning Stiffened By Enlightenment Values, Promote Dissident Views Of Absolutist Monarchies In Europe, And What Insights Did Governments Gain From Censors’ Reports Into The Social Tensions Brewing Under Their Rule? These Questions Will Excite Dedicated Researchers, Graduate Students, And Discerning Lay Readers Alike.-- Was Control Of The Press Inevitable? -- The English Paradigm -- The Functional Ambiguity Of Censorship And The French Enlightenment -- The Royal Censors As Guarantors Of Freedom Of The Press -- Equivocations And New Meanings. Edoardo Tortarolo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Tracking the relationship between the theory of press control and the realities of practicing daily press censorship prior to publication, this volume on the suppression of dissent in early modern Europe tackles a topic with many elusive and under-researched characteristics. Pre-publication censorship was common in absolutist regimes in Catholic and Protestant countries alike, but how effective it was in practice remains open to debate. The Netherlands and England, where critical content segued into outright lampoonery, were unusual for hard-wired press freedoms that arose, respectively, from a highly competitive publishing industry and highly decentralized political institutions. These nations remained extraordinary exceptions to a rule that, for example in France, did not end until the revolution of 1789. Here, the author’s European perspective provides a survey of the varying censorship regulations in European nations, as well as the shifting meanings of ‘freedom of the press’. The analysis opens up fascinating insights, afforded by careful reading of primary archival sources, into the reactions of censors confronted with manuscripts by authors seeking permission to publish. Tortarolo sets the opinions on censorship of well-known writers, including Voltaire and Montesquieu, alongside the commentary of anonymous censors, allowing us to revisit some common views of eighteenth-century history. How far did these writers, their reasoning stiffened by Enlightenment values, promote dissident views of absolutist monarchies in Europe, and what insights did governments gain from censors’ reports into the social tensions brewing under their rule? These questions will excite dedicated researchers, graduate students, and discerning lay readers alike.-- Provided by Publisher Practice and Theory of the Press -- Respect for Truth as a Precondition of Freedom -- Rousseau: The Introjection of Censorship -- Condorcet and a Radical View of Public Interest -- Chapter 4: The Royal Censors as Guarantors of Freedom of the Press -- Malesherbes and the Reform of the Librairie -- In the World of the Royal Censors -- Dialogue and Censorship -- "Freedom to Think and Write" and Economic Progress -- Chapter 5: Equivocations and New Meanings -- The "Politics of the Book" in Europe -- The End of the Paradigm of Functional Ambiguity and Participatory Freedom -- Bibliography Preface -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Internalist Censorship, Externalist Censorship -- Europe and Asia: To What Extent Were They Different? -- Chapter 1: Was Control of the Press Inevitable? -- Two Models of Thought -- The Dream of Perfect Control -- Internal Cracks -- Chapter 2: The English Paradigm -- From Censorship to Freedom of the Press -- From Freedom of the Press to the Principle of Self-Restraint -- Chapter 3: The Functional Ambiguity of Censorship and the French Enlightenment -- "We Live in a Country Where License Does Not Prevail"--Montesquieu's Paradox Front Matter....Pages i-xxv Was Control of the Press Inevitable?....Pages 1-20 The English Paradigm....Pages 21-49 The Functional Ambiguity of Censorship and the French Enlightenment....Pages 51-98 The Royal Censors as Guarantors of Freedom of the Press....Pages 99-133 Equivocations and New Meanings....Pages 135-163 Back Matter....Pages 165-199