Bernard Fontenelle’s political pamphlet “Relation sur l’ile de Borneo” in European political thought at the end of the 17th century

In 1686, the French writer Bernard Fontenelle published a pamphlet, “Relation sur l’ile de Borneo” (Relations with the Island of Borneo), in Pierre Bayle’s journal, “Nouvelles de la rеpublique des lettres”. The pamphlet was devoted to the political situation that arose in England with the beginning of the reign of James II, but thanks to its allegorical form, it touched upon many problems of public life in most European countries at the time. The main idea of the pamphlet is the senselessness and depravity of the unlimited power of the monarch. The author, in allegorical form and using the history of England, paints a picture of a ruler who is interested only in personal gain and pleasure, who relies on a conservative clergy, and who oppresses his own people. Fontenelle pointed out that any unlimited power leads to civil conflicts and major wars of a dynastic and religious nature. Innocent populations are drawn into these wars and, due to their ignorance and superstition, cannot distinguish truth from falsehood or understand the true motives of the rulers. The author’s pathos is noticeable throughout the pamphlet; he specifically chooses the image of a distant island, speaks of local residents as barbarians, and emphasizes that an educated person must understand the ugliness of the existence of such a political order. Fontenelle’s pamphlet and his other works, along with Bayle’s publishing and scientific activities, are a clear example of the transition of French philosophy at the end of the 17th century to the ideas of the Enlightenment.