Guillaume Thomas François Raynal

Portrait of Guillaume Raynal. (Musée de la Révolution française). Guillaume Thomas François Raynal (12 April 1713 – 6 March 1796), also known as Abbé Raynal, was a French writer, former Catholic priest, and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment.

Early life He was born at Lapanouse in Rouergue. He was educated at the Jesuit school of Pézenas, and received priest's orders, but he was dismissed for unexplained reasons from the parish of Saint-Sulpice, Paris. He became a writer and journalist, leaving the religious life.

In May 1754, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1775, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society.

The Histoire philosophique des deux Indes

He had the assistance of various members of the coterie philosophique in his most important work, L'Histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes (Philosophical and Political History of the Two Indies Amsterdam, 4 vols., 1770

The book examines the East Indies, South America, the West Indies, and North America. The final chapter comprises theory around the future of Europe as a whole. Raynal also examines commerce, religion, slavery, and other popular subjects, all from the perspective of the French Enlightenment. Additional versions of the book included maps of the discussed regions.

Later life

Raynal went into exile, to Spa, and then to Berlin, where he was coolly received by Frederick the Great, in spite of his connection with the philosophe party.

At Saint Petersburg he met with a more cordial reception from Catherine II, and in 1787 he was permitted to return to France, though not to Paris. He showed generosity in assigning a considerable income to be divided annually among the peasant proprietors of upper Guienne. He was elected by Marseilles to the Estates-General, but refused by reason of his age. Raynal now realized the French Revolution could not be peaceful and, in terror of the proceedings for which his own writings and those of his friends had prepared the way, he sent to the Constituent Assembly an address, which was read on 31 May 1791, deprecating the violence of its reforms.

This address is said by Sainte-Beuve (Nouveaux lundis, xi.) to have been composed chiefly by de Clermont-Tonnerre and Pierre V. Malouet, and it was regarded, even by moderate men, as ill-timed. The published Lettre de l'abbé Raynal a l'Assemblee nationale (10 December 1790) was really the work of the comte de Guibert. During the Terror Raynal lived in retirement at Passy and at Montlhery. On the establishment of the Directory in 1795 he became a member of the newly organized Institut de France.

Raynal died 6 March 1796 at Chaillot.