The Illuminati – The Big One
What marks out the Illuminati is not so much their origins, but where they (supposedly) are today. Despite going into abeyance in the last 18th century, many considered that the Illuminati were merely dormant rather than gone. They were blamed in some royalist quarters for the French Revolution – they certainly did share goals of Robespierre and Lafayette – and generally became to go-to bogeyman for all conservative fears. The appeal of a secret society on which all the ills of the world could be blamed has not diminished over the years, and arguably the myth of the Illuminati is now more powerful than the real group ever was.
Their goals – technocratic world government by the rational, rich and smart – could not have been better constructed for the modern-day conspiracy nut. The fears of the Illuminati began to manifest themselves in the aftermath of the 1848 Revolutions in Europe, which had largely won the goals of the original secret society, and only grew as the organization itself ceased to be. Right-wing conspiracy theorists have long pointed to an unseen hand and in both the United States and in Europe, writers pointed to the Illuminati as a cabal of (often Jewish) bankers and moneymen who controlled finance and thus the world. Of course, there was very little to the rumors, which were often virulently anti-semitic in their origin and goals, but nothing fuels a conspiracy theory like its adherents being told that they’re miles wrong – and so it persists to this day.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Contributions made by D.G. Hewitt
NYTimes – The Secret World of Opus Dei
History Channel – 7 Things You May Not Know About Freemasons
The Atlantic – What It’s Like to Join the Freemasons
The National Archives – The Templars’ ‘Curse’ On the King of France
The Connexion – The Knights Templar – A Christian Military Force Crushed by A French King
America Magazine – Opus Dei in the United States
World History Encyclopedia – The Assassins
Encyclopedia Britannica – Gavrilo Princip
The Guardian – Gavrilo Princip: Hero or Villain?
ThoughtCo – The Black Hand: Serbian Terrorists Spark WWI
History Extra – Why Europe’s Great Year of Revolution In 1848 Failed
BBC – The Birthplace of The Illuminati
Spy Scape – Secrets of The Illuminati: The Top-Secret Society with Plans to Rule the World
The Week – Who Are the Illuminati – And What Do They Control?
BBC News – Just Who Exactly Is Going to The Bilderberg Meeting?
New England Historical Society – Skull and Bones, or 7 Fast Facts About Yale’s Secret Society
The Washington Post – A Look Inside Yale’s Secret Societies — And Why They May No Longer Matter
