Denis Diderot(1713-84)was one of the most significant figures of the French Enlightenment.His political writings cover the period from the first volume of the Encyclopedie(1751),of which he was principal editor,to the third editon of Raynal's Histionre des Deux Indes(1780),one of the most widely read books of the per-revolutionalry period.This volume contains the most important of Diderot's articles for the Encyclopedie,a substantial number of his contributions to the Histoire and the complete texts of his Supplement au Voyage de Bougainville,one of his most visionary works,and his Observations surle Nakaz,a precise and detailed political work translated here in English for the first time.

The editor's introduction sets these works in their context and shows the underlying coherence of Diderot's thought.A chronology of events and a list of further reading are included as aids to the reader.