Voltaire

From the publication of his great national poem, La Henriada, to his great foundational and referential battle text, A Treatise on Tolerance, Voltaire made his pen his best weapon of war. This capacity for action and persuasion, along with his mastery of influencing public opinion, earned him much animosity from the status quo, from the French government to high religious circles. Throughout his life, the thinker fought against exile and censorship, from his imprisonment in the Bastille, without a trial or clear accusation, to his enmity with Louis XV and Frederick II, who persecuted and tortured him perversely. . However, he always remained firm in the fight for the freedom of his fellow citizens and, although his happiness resisted him, he also enjoyed periods of peace and even found love with the young Marquise du Châtelet. All these battles fought, together with his sparkling personality and the success of works like Cándido or his stories, made him one of the most popular and beloved writers of all time. But, above all, Voltaire was, after all, the first totally free writer, who, from his intellectual and economic independence, changed the world forever.