France clamps down on the salons in the 1760s - where do the thinkers go?

Imagine the French monarchy turned attention to the Parisian salons in the 1760s and decided to censor the speech harder, close down the salons and expel the most troublesome writers and speakers. Where do they leave to? Italy? England? America?
 
Switzerland? The Netherlands? Those were the most liberal states in Europe, methinks. Rousseau and Voltaire were there (in Geneva) too.

An interesting challenge would be Sachsen-Weimar, where Goethe had a post as a minister.
 
Switzerland? The Netherlands? Those were the most liberal states in Europe, methinks. Rousseau and Voltaire were there (in Geneva) too.

An interesting challenge would be Sachsen-Weimar, where Goethe had a post as a minister.
Though the nations were not necessarily liberal, the courts of King Frederick the Great of Prussia and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in Austria where both were considered to be "Enlightened Despots."
 
Imagine the French monarchy turned attention to the Parisian salons in the 1760s and decided to censor the speech harder, close down the salons and expel the most troublesome writers and speakers. Where do they leave to? Italy? England? America?

Prison (without a right to send letters)? Probably this would be the cheapest and most productive solution. :)
 
Though the nations were not necessarily liberal, the courts of King Frederick the Great of Prussia and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in Austria where both were considered to be "Enlightened Despots."

Russia at the time of Catherine II was a big bread basket for these parasites: Catherine bought Diderot's library (with the arrangement that he keeps it), paid Voltaire for biography of Peter I and kept exchanging letters with most of the bunch as a way to maintain her image of an Enlightened Monarch. IIRC, Voltaire's visit to Prussia ended up unhappily after Voltaire was accused of theft and forgery and also wrote some unpleasant things about his host.
 
The older, more famous and wealthier ones fled, while the younger and less well-known went to America. Some, naturally, settled in Canada, especially Montreal, away from the royal authorities in Quebec. When the Revolution came they sided with the Americans,capturing Carleton and enabling the rebels to take Quebec, which is why Canada is part of the United States of North America
 
Venice? Rich people were already headed there anyway as part of the Grand Tour so it isn't a stretch for some of the thinkers to go as well
 
The older, more famous and wealthier ones fled, while the younger and less well-known went to America. Some, naturally, settled in Canada, especially Montreal, away from the royal authorities in Quebec. When the Revolution came they sided with the Americans,capturing Carleton and enabling the rebels to take Quebec, which is why Canada is part of the United States of North America

Most of these "less well-known" did not posses any skills or talents which would allow them to survive in a society less wasteful that France of that period (unless they owned estates or had some other income sources in France) so Canada is more or less out of question especially taking into an account that it was just lost to the Brits.

The most probable outcome is that most of them remain in France just limiting their talking activities to the areas of sex and fashion or some other neutral issues including virtues of a simple life and whatever else which is not to be forbidden. Or, taking into an account a general inability of the pre-Revolutionary regime to find its own ass with both hands in a broad daylight, the business as usual is going to continue especially in the salons of the top aristocracy (or those frequented by the top aristocracy) which would be immune from the police intrusion.
 
Most of these "less well-known" did not posses any skills or talents which would allow them to survive in a society less wasteful that France of that period (unless they owned estates or had some other income sources in France) so Canada is more or less out of question especially taking into an account that it was just lost to the Brits.

Nor do I think there would be enough of them to be militarily important, even if they could somehow support themselves in Canada.
 
Most of these "less well-known" did not posses any skills or talents which would allow them to survive in a society less wasteful that France of that period (unless they owned estates or had some other income sources in France) so Canada is more or less out of question especially taking into an account that it was just lost to the Brits.
At the time, being literate at all and being able to read and write brought many opportunities on its own. Although they wouldn't be able to live off their own writings.
 
At the time, being literate at all and being able to read and write brought many opportunities on its own. Although they wouldn't be able to live off their own writings.

Many were lawyers. I wonder whether the city states of Northern Italy might make a good place for them. Lots of commercial and mercantile dealings for them to practice their trade, republican governments they might be attracted to, and similar in culture and climate to France.
 
Many were lawyers. I wonder whether the city states of Northern Italy might make a good place for them. Lots of commercial and mercantile dealings for them to practice their trade, republican governments they might be attracted to, and similar in culture and climate to France.
If French intelligentsia were fairly numerous in the cities of Northern Italy, how would it affect the French invasions of Italy?
 
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