436 voodoo (Vodun), Haitian than in his Letter VIII: On the Parliament, where he writes, “The English are the only people upon earth who have been able to prescribe limits to the power of kings by resisting them; and who, by a series of struggles, have at last established that wise Government where the Prince is all-powerful to good, and, at the same time, is restrained from committing evil; where the nobles are great without insolence, though there are no vassals; and where the people share in the Government without confusion.” Such views hardly endeared him to the court of King Louis XV, who was intent on carrying on the tradition of absolute monarchy that had been perfected by King Louis XIV, the Sun King The closest approximation to the British parliament was the French Estates General, an assembly of the bourgeoisie, clergy, and nobility Its last meeting had been in 1614, after the assassination of King Henry IV in 1610 It did not meet again until 1789, and its convocation then by an unwilling Louis XVI would begin the French Revolution By 1734 Louis XV had heard enough of Voltaire’s views on government At about that time, Voltaire began his liaison with Madame de Châtelet, whose husband was well aware of the affair Voltaire apparently felt it prudent to take up residence at the Châtelet’s chateau at Cirey However, from then on, Voltaire’s life became both more confusing and more intriguing Voltaire remained an astute critic of French government and society, especially the official Roman Catholic Church While he is often portrayed as being an atheist, in one passage he declared his personal belief in Jesus Christ as his God His satire on St Joan of Arc, La Pucelle, showed as much humor as scandal to the organized church The political satire of Voltaire remains a treasure to readers and writers alike Voltaire’s best-known satire, Candide, was published in 1759, at the height of the Seven Years’ War and most likely was influenced by the carnage of the worst conflict that Europe would witness between the Thirty Years’ War and the Napoleonic Wars Although he lampoons the search for “the best of all possible worlds,” he nevertheless still reveals his faith in the indomitable spirit of mankind, a creed that never left him While Voltaire is best known for his works in political satire and political theory, he also has claim to be one of the first serious historians of the modern era His biographies of Louis XIV of France and the warrior-king Charles XII of Sweden still stand as models of the historian’s art today Both combine an appreciation for the times that the two monarchs lived in and an understanding of the personal impact that individuals could have on their eras In 1755 Voltaire settled in Switzerland and purchased his own chateau at Ferney The great and the humble came to visit him However, his ideals of tolerance and just government gained him another bout with the authorities Although he had moved from France, Voltaire remained French in his heart until his death Fittingly, he died in Paris on May 30, 1778, only a little more than a decade before the old French monarchy, whose absolutist policies he so despised, collapsed of its own weight in the French Revolution of 1789 Further reading: Anderson, M S Europe in the Eighteenth Century 1713–1789: General History of Europe Series Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2000; Havens, George Age of Ideas: From Reaction to Revolution in Eighteenth Century France New York: Free Press, 1969 John F Murphy, Jr voodoo (Vodun), Haitian The origins of Haitian voodoo can be attributed to West African roots Anthropologists have studied African voodoo rituals and applied this study to Haitian voodoo The Ewe tribe in western Africa practices this religion to invoke spirits for protection One ceremony is meant to show that voodoo rituals offer protection against hot knives burning the body and broken glass cutting into flesh The participants in these ceremonies believe their medicine and participation in these rites will appease the gods and offer them protection Voodoo, like many other religions in the world, has a hierarchical system of gods and spirits (loas) One of the more powerful gods in this religion is bon dieu, the maker of the planet and heavens The loas have their own characteristics and personalities and are able to perform both good and malicious deeds The development of various loas did not just occur in Africa, as some loas were created in Haiti as well Voodoo is not restricted to simply religious ceremonies; it also includes various social elements such as dancing During voodoo rituals, people summon spirits to embody them, merging the identities of the person with the spirit, which allows that individual to possess the powers of the spirit