Warning illuminati

The movement was founded on May 1, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria) as the Order of the Illuminati, with an initial membership of five,^[1]by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830),^[2] who was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt.^[3] The movement was made up of freethinkers as an offshoot of the Enlightenment, and seems to have been modeled on the Freemasons.^[4]

Originally Weishaupt had planned the order to be named the “Perfectibilists“.^[1] The group has also been called the Bavarian Illuminatiand the movement itself has been referred to as Illuminism. In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent ofEnlightened Despotism and, in 1784, his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati.

Many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members, including Ferdinand of Brunswick and the diplomatXavier von Zwack, who was number two in the operation and was found with much of the group’s literature when his home was searched.^[5]The Illuminati’s members took a vow of secrecy and pledged obedience to their superiors. Members were divided into three main classes, each with several degrees.

The order had its branches in most countries of the European continent; it reportedly had around 2,000 members over the span of ten years.^[3] The organization had its attraction for literary men, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder, and even for the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar. Weishaupt modeled his group to some extent on Freemasonry, and many Illuminati chapters drew membership from existing Masonic lodges. Internal rupture and panic over succession preceded its downfall, which was effected by the Secular Edict made by the Bavarian government in 1785.^[3]

According to J.M. Roberts, the March 2, 1785 edict “seems to have been deathblow to the Illuminati in Bavaria.” Meanwhile, Weishaupt had fled, and documents and internal correspondences, seized in 1786 and 1787, were subsequently published by the government in 1787,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Illuminati was a movement founded on May 1, 1776. Much is, retrospectively, made of both the May 1st date later used by the Russian Revolution as well as the 1776 date tying in to the American Revolution. In fact, since there are only 365 days in a year, the Russian Revolution was bound to occur on one date or another which would/could have a connection to some devious scheme. By 1776, the American Revolution was well along in its planning stages and there’s no credible link to a group founded in what is today near Munich, Germany. It was begun by Adam Weishaupt who was educated by the Jesuits, not unlike many who sought an education in those days and in that place. His organization was composed of those who were then espousing the ideals of the Enlightenment: freedom of thought and equality amongst classes of people, ideas that were considered by the authorities as being heretical and treacherous, particularly since logical outcome of equality would preclude the continued existence of monarchy. They were ideaswhich today, anyone reading this website likely espouses: the right to think as one wishes and to exercise – within the bounds of law – their freedom of choice. At that time, though, freethinking was an anathema to those in power and subjected those who would think such heretical thoughtsto imprisonment.

While some have suggested that the Illuminati was created to overthrow government and/or that they were behind the American Revolution, such ideas are without any real merit. Augustin Barrueland John Robison, even claimed that the Illuminati were behind the French revolution, a claim that Jean-Joseph Mounier dismissed in his 1801 book On the Influence Attributed to Philosophers, Free-Masons, and to the Illuminati on the Revolution of France. Barruel and Robison also wrote – essentially copying each other – trying to tie in Freemasonry to the plot. It is important to note, however, that both writers recognized that it was ONLY the ‘Grand Orient’-type of Freemasonry being practiced in parts of France and Germany that was involved: never what we now term ‘regular/recognized’ Freemasonry stemming from the Grand Lodge of England! Robison, who had joined Freemasonry in his youth, was roundly criticized for his work, even by the Encyclopedia Brittanica for whom he had written articles!

In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent of Enlightened Despotism and, in 1784, his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati. They had, by then, included the overthrow of political rulers in their goals and it’s easy to understand how that could be a tad upsetting to those in charge. How many people were involved in the organization at that point is difficult to say. Some estimates are as high as 2000 but the simple fact is that once it was outlawed, the organization died – as would ANY organization where involvement could lead to a life in wretched prison confinement.

Weishaupt had modeled his group to some extent on Freemasonry and Illiminati chapters drew some of their  membership from existing Masonic lodges.