[PDF] Jean-jacques rousseau etla revolution jean - France

Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau © French writer and political theorist of the Enlightenment, Rousseau's work inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the romantic generation. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on 28 June 1712. His mother died when he was young, and Rousseau was initially brought up by his father, a watchmaker.

How did Rousseau influence the French Revolution?

Rousseau was dead long before the tumultuous events of 1789, however, his writings and ideas about government, society and individual liberties underpinned French revolutionary ideas and inspired some of the revolution’s leading figures, from Jean-Sylvain Bailly to Maximilien Robespierre.

When did Rousseau die?

He travelled to England, a guest of the Scottish philosopher David Hume, but grew unhappy and secretly returned to France. In his last 10 years, Rousseau wrote his 'Confessions', justifying himself against his opponents. He died on 2 July 1778 in Ermenonville, the estate of the Marquis de Girardin, who had given him refuge.

Why did Rousseau go to Geneva?

Since 1536, Geneva had been a Huguenot republic and the seat of Calvinism. Five generations before Rousseau, his ancestor Didier, a bookseller who may have published Protestant tracts, had escaped persecution from French Catholics by fleeing to Geneva in 1549, where he became a wine merchant.