The Illuminati’s that shadowy cabal that

controls the entire world and ensures free

will is an illusion.
They’ve got a big Facebook page,

Celebrities like Jay-Z are accused of being members,

and there are weird YouTubers like this guy.

"They had weirdos standing up everywhere, and then Beyonce--show a document of this
if you can. She does the Illuminati symbol."

But what about the real history of the Illuminati

and how it became what it is today?

This is Bavaria, and in 1776

Adam Weishaupt, a law professor,

founded the Illuminati. It’s real.

He wanted to spread enlightenment ideals around

the world.
The goal was to infiltrate the monarchy and

make them more enlightened by entering their ranks.

Even though they were so high-minded, they had weird rituals.

See these owls? The Illuminati really loved them.

And they had invented hierarchies like Novice,

Minerval, and Illuminated.

Even though they were weird, they did have

some success around the world.

Anywhere from 650 to 2800 members infiltrated

Freemason chapters,

may have had influential members like the

writer Goethe,

and even might have influenced the Jacobins,

the political club that spurred the French

revolution to its most radical heights.

But they were destroyed in 1785.

This is Karl Theodor — the Duke of Bavaria

— and that year he banned secret societies.

That included the Illuminati.

Most historians think that it worked

and the Illuminati disappeared.

But if that’s true, then why do we still

think that Drake’s Illuminati today just
because he wears owl sweaters?

Since the beginning, conspiracy theories have

been part of the Illuminati.

This guy, Xavier von Zwack, actually did have

plans to take over the world that were found

after the Illuminati was banned.

American historians and preachers thought

the Illuminati planted some seeds for the

French Revolution and

George Washington even wrote a letter

that claimed the Illuminati had once been

a threat.
But the Illuminati lost the limelight thanks

to the Freemasons.
This is George Washington as a Freemason,

and a lot of founding fathers really were

Freemasons. That inspired the anti-Masonic

party.
It was a legitimate movement with big names

like John Quincy Adams,

and the Illuminati paranoia faded around the world.

So how did the myth stay alive?

There were always random books, like this

one from 1918, or book reviews

that mentioned the Illuminati.

But most people think the Illuminatus book

trilogy of the 1970s

deserves credit for bringing the Illuminati

back. It might also be why weird secret symbols

like these pyramids and triangles are associated

with the Illuminati.

It was a funny series and gave new life to

the conspiracy for an ironic, connected age.

They were an evil organization bent on ruling

the world, sure, but they were also kind of

funny.

The Illuminati was vague enough to be refit

to any purpose, from
the new world order
to religious paranoia,

to pop culture curio like Angels & Demons.

It became a joke.

But you might believe that's what the Illuminati

wants you to think

if you noticed the 14 evil yellow triangles

of power hidden inside this video.

The Illuminati only really endures because

it’s disappeared and can look like anything.

There’s nothing to worry about.

Nothing at all.

Illuminati, Illuminati, Illuminati.

So this is my humble little crazy wall and

one of the disadvantages of a crazy wall is

that things aren’t as legible as you’d

like them to be. That includes this letter

by George Washington. However, the Library

of Congress does tell us what it says, and

it says, “It was not my intention to doubt

that the doctrines of the Illuminati and principles

of Jacobinism had not spread in the United

States.” So he thought the Illuminati didn’t

make it in the United States, so you can rest

assured, but, they were a threat.