Question) Imagine that you are a neighbor of Voltaire and you get to discuss his statements in “The English

Letters”. What would your reaction be to his arguments on the following topics? Please quote the primary
sources when necessary and justify your arguments with historical facts.
· The aspects and institutions of England that he finds admirable.
· England’s path to “liberty”.
· His ideas on commerce.

François Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, is a writer and philosopher who is

regarded as the founding father of the French Enlightenment. The author, who was famous

for his philosophical texts and satires in his period, draws attention with his sharp tongue.

Voltaire, who lived in exile in England for about 3 years, collected his observations and

thoughts in his work “Letters on the English”. Composed of 24 letters, he expressed his

thoughts on the British monarchy, trade, science, and some famous English figures. Letters

VIII, IX, and X containing his thoughts on the British Parliament and Commerce. In his letters,

the author praised the British institutions he liked and examined Britain's breakthroughs in

freedom. It is possible to find admirable statements by Voltaire on trade, maritime, and

economy that strengthen the position of the British nation.

From the beginning of Letter 8, it can be seen in his overly ambitious sentences that some of

Voltaire's words on the British monarchy are far from analytical observation or critical

thinking. Although the British Monarchy of the period seems more stable and successful than

France, which experienced chaos, it is struggling with a number of chronic troubles within

itself. For example, the British Empire, which made quite ambitious allusions about

citizenship and freedoms, acted brutally when it came to 13 American colonies overseas,

causing the rebellion to begin by taxing the colonies without giving them representation. In

the war of independence, 13 American Colonies, which also received the support of France,

defeated Britain and the empire had a heavy bill to the people in terms of both economic

and individual freedoms. Besides, the house of commons, also praised by Voltaire, appears
to be a representative of the lower class but has the luxury of acting without the majority in

pursuit of higher interests. Here, military operations carried out to the public in order to

protect private assets in the Far East can be cited as an example.

Continuation of the primary source, Voltaire's thoughts on the freedom of England, or

freedoms, also contain subjective judgments. Quoted from his own expression “The English

nation is the only one on earth ·which has succeeded in controlling the power of kings by resisting

them, which by effort after effort has at last established this wise system of government in which the

prince, all powerful for doing good, has his hands tied for doing evil, in which the aristocrats are great

without arrogance and vassals, and in which· the people share in the government without confusion.”.

Here Voltaire refers to the success of this system, which he regarded as relatively wise, that

the British imposed their freedom by resisting their own kings. The British getting their

freedom by resisting their king can obviously be explained by the success of the agreement

channels or the dialogue process. The agreements made depend on the sincerity of both

sides and often there is a break in words. Another example is the restriction of the freedom

of Feminist Suffragette members through repression and violence, who argued that women

should be able to vote since the 19th century. And as can be seen here, the issue of liberties

has been neglected by the British authorities for time.

Voltaire's tenth letter, in which he cites his views on trade, is justified in his thoughts on

British trade and freedom. He commented that the might of the British was present in

hundreds of merchant and warships moving in the seas. While he said that wealth freed the

British, he implied that freedoms increased their wealth. In this context, it is possible to see

that the British Empire, which ruled the world for centuries, has prospered thanks to strong

trade networks and thanks to this wealth, prosperity has reached England. The author also

cites that another factor that drives British prosperity is British merchants and businessmen
 doing business around the world. He refers to the capacity of successful British merchants to

lend money to European monarchs in a short period of time and uses admiring phrases. It

makes sense, considering that in the early modern period, many monarchs financed their

armies with interest loans from British merchants.

Voltaire's letters are of great importance in understanding the Britain and its citizens of the

time. Especially the letters 8, 9 and 10 are based on the observations made by a thinker who

made important contributions to enlightenment, whether objective or subjective. Although his

lines praising Britain's institutions and the adventure of freedom contain some exaggeration,

his contributions to the world of thought cannot be underestimated. Nevertheless, the French

thinker, who states that the trade of Britain makes it a powerful country, is impressive with his

solid determinations at this point.

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