Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis and the New World Vision

TL;DR

• Francis Bacon envisioned the New World as fertile ground for a utopian “New Atlantis” blending scientific progress with devout Christianity ^{1 2}.
• He believed the age of exploration fulfilled biblical prophecy (Daniel 12:4) that many would roam and knowledge would increase, heralding a divinely ordained new era of learning ^{3 4}.
• Bacon’s vision inspired later thinkers: early scientific societies like the Royal Society saw themselves as realizing his plan for Solomon’s House ⁵, and esoteric groups (Rosicrucians, Freemasons) admired or mythologized Bacon as a secret prophet of world enlightenment ^{6 7}.
• Rosicrucian manifestos and Bacon’s ideals shared themes of universal reform and hidden wisdom; Bacon’s New Atlantis even figured in a Rosicrucian text by 1662 ⁸. Later mystics like Manly P. Hall held that Bacon’s secret society seeded American democracy to fulfill his “philosophical empire” in the New World ^{7 9}.
• Bacon’s religious and historical worldview tied scientific progress to God’s plan: he sought a restoration of Adam’s dominion over nature and Solomon’s wisdom, seeing no conflict between experimental science and pious faith ^{10 11}.

Bacon’s Utopian Vision of America#

Frontispiece of Bacon’s Instauratio Magna (1620) with a ship sailing beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Bacon emblazoned this image with the Latin prophecy “Multi pertransibunt & augebitur scientia” (“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”), linking the era of New World exploration to the promised increase of knowledge ^{4 12}.

In the early 17th century, Sir Francis Bacon—a philosopher-statesman and pioneer of empiricism—imagined the Americas as the stage for an unprecedented renewal of knowledge and society. His utopian fable New Atlantis (written ca. 1623, published 1627) depicts the mythical island of Bensalem in the Pacific Ocean “somewhere west of Peru” ¹³. Bensalem represents an ideal civilization founded on enlightened science, exploration, and devout Christianity. European sailors discover this isolated New World society, finding a people of high moral character (“the virgin of the world,” as one inhabitant boasts) and a state-sponsored research institution called Solomon’s House ^{14 15}. Bacon describes laboratories, observatories, botanical gardens, medical facilities, and inventors engaged in systematic experimentation—the hallmarks of a modern research institute ^{16 17}. This fictional college is “the very eye of the kingdom,” and its mandate is nothing less than “the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things, and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible” ¹⁸. In essence, Bacon’s New Atlantis projected his hopes for human discovery: the New World would host a “philosophical commonwealth” where natural philosophy (science) thrives under divinely guided principles ^{1 19}.

Crucially, Bacon’s American utopia is suffused with religious purpose. In New Atlantis, the islanders had converted to Christianity in apostolic times via a miracle (the appearance of a biblical letter on their shores) ². Far from rejecting religion, Bacon’s ideal society venerates God’s works and integrates daily prayers, “imploring His aid and blessing for the illumination of our labors” in Solomon’s House ²⁰. This reflects Bacon’s broader conviction that true knowledge and true religion would advance hand in hand. Modern scholars note that Bacon invoked biblical imagery to legitimize his scientific vision ^{21 11}. He even conceived Solomon’s House (the recovery of natural knowledge) as the symmetrical complement to rebuilding Solomon’s Temple (the restoration of pure religion) ^{21 22}. In Bacon’s eyes, exploring God’s creation through science was a pious act that could help restore the fallen state of man.

Bacon did not merely write fiction about the New World – he was actively involved in England’s colonization of the Americas. As a member of King James’s government, Bacon helped charter and promote actual colonies. He became a founding member of the Virginia Company and the Newfoundland Company, and he was partly responsible for drafting the 1609 and 1612 charters for Virginia’s governance ²³. (Those documents later influenced concepts of constitutional government in America.) In his 1625 essay “Of Plantations,” Bacon offered practical advice for just and successful colonies, warning that it is “a shameful and unblessed thing” to staff a new plantation with disreputable exiles or criminals, and urging fairness and planning over plunder. He favored colonies that would uplift both settlers and natives, reflecting a moral concern atypical of many conquerors of the age. Bacon’s personal commitment to New World projects suggests he truly saw America as fertile ground for a new era – a “fresh start” where the errors of Europe might be avoided and the “Great Instauration” (his term for the rebirth of knowledge) could take root in a “pure soil.”²⁴

Prophecy and the New World in Bacon’s Thought#

Bacon’s vision of the Americas cannot be separated from his broader religious and historical worldview. He believed that his era – the turn of the 17th century – marked a providential turning point in history. In particular, Bacon famously interpreted the biblical prophecy of Daniel 12:4 as foretelling the exploits of his own age ³. The verse reads: “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Bacon understood the “many running to and fro” as the great European navigators of the 15th and 16th centuries (Columbus, Magellan, etc.) who had “run to and fro” across the globe, opening up the world ^{3 25}. These voyages of discovery, in Bacon’s view, were no mere coincidence – they were the first half of Daniel’s prophecy being fulfilled. The second half (“knowledge shall be increased”) was, he argued, about to unfold through the new philosophy of empirical science that he himself was championing ^{25 26}. In 1605, Bacon wrote that it seemed God had ordained that the “openness and thorough passage of the world” (global exploration) and “the increase of knowledge” should coincide in the same era ¹². The sudden expansion of geographic horizons would be matched by an expansion of intellectual horizons ^{27 4}. This bold millenarian sentiment—that the “latter times” prophesied in Scripture were at hand, marked by unprecedented travel and learning—gave Bacon’s program a profound sense of destiny.

Indeed, Bacon emblazoned this prophecy onto his work. The 1620 frontispiece of his Instauratio Magna (Great Instauration) features a ship sailing beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the edge of the known world), symbolizing breaking past the limits of ancient knowledge ^{28 4}. Beneath the image is inscribed “Multi pertransibunt & augebitur scientia”—Latin for “Many shall travel and knowledge shall be increased.” Bacon was essentially declaring that the new age had arrived: the New World had been circumnavigated and now a new philosophy would usher in an “increase of knowledge” by methodical experimentation ^{25 4}. He even adopted the motto “Plus Ultra” (“More Beyond”), echoing the idea of going beyond the old limits (where Spain’s motto had once been “Ne Plus Ultra,” no more beyond) ²⁹. By coupling geographical exploration with intellectual discovery, Bacon gave the European conquest of the Americas a redemptive purpose: the voyages were significant only because they enabled the fulfillment of God’s plan for human enlightenment ²⁶. As one historian summarizes, for Bacon “the prophecy, and nothing else, lends the voyages their significance” ²⁶.

This prophetic-historical outlook also explains why Bacon’s New Atlantis honors explorers and inventors. In Bensalem’s House of Salomon, the wise keep galleries of statues venerating those who advanced knowledge—among them Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the Americas ^{30 31}. (They also honor the inventors of art forms, instruments, and technologies.) Columbus is not glorified for treasure or conquest, but implicitly for opening the door to a new world where a “kingdom of knowledge” could be built. By placing Columbus in the pantheon of benefactors, Bacon signaled that the “Western Ocean” discovery was a key step toward humanity’s restoration. The New World, in Bacon’s eyes, was a New Atlantis in potential: a land where old corruptions might be shed and Paradise-like wisdom regained through diligent inquiry and godliness ³².

Influence on Esoteric and Scientific Movements#

Bacon’s vision of a knowledge-renewing New World captivated not only scientists and statesmen, but also esoteric movements in the centuries that followed. His blend of mystical optimism and practical science held a special allure for groups dedicated to hidden wisdom and societal reform. Bacon himself operated in an era of secretive scholarly circles, and later generations often cast him as an honorary grand master of proto-occult philosophy.

During Bacon’s lifetime, a wave of utopian and mystical fervor swept through Europe – most notably the mysterious Rosicrucian movement. The Rosicrucian manifestos (published in Germany in 1614–1616) spoke of a secret brotherhood of enlightened men pledged to transform arts and sciences and bring about a general reformation of the world. Historian Frances Yates and others have noted striking parallels between Bacon’s project and the Rosicrucian ideology ⁶. While there is no solid evidence that Bacon was an actual Rosicrucian initiate, Yates argues that his “movement for the advancement of learning was closely connected with the German Rosicrucian movement,” and that New Atlantis essentially “portrays a land ruled by Rosicrucians” in spirit ³³. Bacon saw his push for cooperative scientific research as aligned with Rosicrucian ideals of secret wisdom employed for the public good ³³. Tellingly, in 1662 (within a generation of Bacon’s death) an explicitly Rosicrucian version of New Atlantis was published as a preface to writer John Heydon’s Holy Guide, underscoring that readers in occult circles recognized Bacon’s Bensalem as a reflection of Rosicrucian aspirations ⁸. The Rosicrucian mythos itself prophesied a coming age of enlightenment; it’s easy to see why Bacon’s prophetic-scientific outlook, with the New World as the stage, would resonate with them. Both envisioned esoteric knowledge eventually reforming nations.

Bacon’s ideas also directly inspired more orthodox avenues of thought that nonetheless had esoteric undertones: for example, the formation of scientific societies. The Royal Society of London (founded 1660) – the first formal scientific academy – was profoundly influenced by Bacon’s writings. Members of its precursor “Invisible College” explicitly saw themselves as fulfilling Bacon’s Solomon’s House vision of collaborative experimental learning ^{34 5}. In fact, Baconian utopian literature helped inspire the very idea of a scientific academy; early Royal Society records and histories frequently praise Bacon as a guiding spirit. (The French Académie des Sciences, founded 1666, likewise owed conceptual debts to Bacon’s model ³⁵.) Thus, one could say New Atlantis found “compelling” followers in the likes of Robert Boyle, Samuel Hartlib, John Wilkins, and other natural philosophers who, while not occultists, were sometimes drawn to alchemical or mystical ideas alongside Baconian empiricism. For instance, Hartlib – a polymath who formed a 17th-century intellectual network – was captivated by Bacon’s plans and also dabbled in millenarian prophecy and alchemy. In this way, Bacon’s legacy bridged the scientific revolution and the esoteric underground, giving both a common vision of a perfected society through knowledge.

Freemasons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries also embraced Bacon as a kind of patron saint of enlightened wisdom. Freemasonry, with its secret lodge networks and symbolism of Solomon’s Temple, naturally saw kinship with Bacon’s emphasis on Solomon and divine order. Some Masonic traditions even developed legendary narratives that Francis Bacon had been a secret Grand Master of an earlier Rosicrucian-Freemason alliance – guiding their mission to uplift humanity through both spirituality and reason ^{36 37}. There were claims (of dubious authenticity) that Bacon in 1621 held a clandestine “Masonic banquet” at York House to preside over Rosicrucians and Masons in celebration of his 60th birthday ³⁸. Later authors like Mrs. Henry Pott and Alfred Dodd (20th-century Bacon enthusiasts) spun elaborate theories of Bacon leading an “invisible” Rosicrucian college and even ghost-writing Shakespeare’s works as part of this fraternity ^{39 40}. While mainstream historians find no proof Bacon was literally a Freemason or Rosicrucian, the legend itself is telling: it shows that secret societies found Bacon’s persona and New World vision compelling enough to mythologize. They perceived in him a fellow “Brother of the Rosy Cross”, working to unify the spiritual and scientific into a grand human enterprise.

No figure exemplifies the esoteric fascination with Bacon better than Manly P. Hall, a 20th-century occult scholar. In his book The Secret Destiny of America (1944), Hall advanced the dramatic thesis that Francis Bacon was the chief architect of a hidden plan to establish America as a New Atlantis. According to Hall (relying on earlier Masonic lore), Bacon headed a secret society of learned men – an “order of the quest” – who orchestrated the colonization of the New World for a utopian purpose ^{7 9}. Hall writes that “Bacon quickly realized that here in the New World was the proper environment for the accomplishment of his great dream, the establishment of the philosophic empire” ⁷. In this telling, Bacon and his society of “unknown philosophers” (drawn from Europe’s intelligentsia, including Rosicrucians, alchemists and cabalists) conspired to “indoctrinate” early colonists with ideals of religious tolerance, political democracy, and social equality ⁴¹ – laying the groundwork for what would become the United States. Hall even claims this secret Baconian network had branches across Europe and in the American colonies by the mid-1600s, working quietly to birth a new nation dedicated to enlightenment principles ^{9 42}. While these assertions straddle the line between historical conjecture and occult fantasy, they vividly illustrate how globally the mythos of Bacon’s New Atlantis spread in esoteric circles. From Philadelphia mystics like Johannes Kelpius in 1694 carrying Rosicrucian ideas to the New World ⁴³, to Founding Fathers like Benjamin Franklin being lauded as heirs of Bacon’s “quest” ^{44 45}, the notion of America as fulfilling a Baconian prophecy took on a life of its own.

In reality, Francis Bacon was not literally pulling puppet-strings from beyond the grave. Yet the symbolic truth of these stories is that Bacon’s core ideals – scientific progress, religious enlightenment, and the New World as a fresh start for humanity – did penetrate deep into Western thought. Enlightenment figures from Thomas Jefferson (who ranked Bacon alongside Locke and Newton as modern thought’s patriarchs) to Thomas Paine admired Bacon’s rationality and humanitarian vision. In a broader sense, Bacon’s New Atlantis became part of the cultural imagination of the West: the phrase “New Atlantis” was occasionally invoked when discussing America’s promise. The esoteric movements simply took this to a more mystical plane, seeing in the United States (and other New World societies) the potential to actualize the “Golden Age” that Bacon’s Bensalem had foretold ^{32 46}. Even in the 20th century, certain Theosophists went so far as to declare that Bacon had ascended spiritually to become an Ascended Master (Saint Germain) guiding humanity from higher planes ⁴⁷ – a testament to the almost messianic reverence with which he was held in some occult traditions.

Conclusion#

Francis Bacon’s vision of the Americas was as grand in scope as it was ahead of its time. He saw the New World not simply as a prize for European powers, but as the canvas on which a divinely inspired renewal of knowledge could be painted. His New Atlantis synthesized exploration, science, and faith into a hopeful prophecy of the world’s future. That vision proved compelling across disparate domains: it galvanized early scientists seeking to reform learning, it spoke to colonizers imagining a more virtuous society, and it entranced esoteric seekers who viewed history in terms of secret destiny. Bacon’s broader religious and historical views – his belief that Providence had set the stage for an increase of knowledge and perhaps a return to Edenic wisdom – gave the discovery of America a cosmic significance. In tying the ships of Columbus to the dreams of Solomon, Bacon effectively fused the Age of Discovery with the Apocalypse (in its original meaning of “revelation”).

While the literal Bensalem of New Atlantis remained unfinished (Bacon died before completing the novel), its spirit lived on. The ideal of Salomon’s House inspired real institutions of science. The ideal of a tolerant, wise civilization influenced enlightenment thinkers and even the founders of new nations. And in the undercurrents of secret societies, Bacon became a luminous figure – a symbol of the wise teacher who might just be steering humanity towards a New Jerusalem in the West. The irony is that Bacon, a consummate empiricist, became enmeshed in myth and mystique. But perhaps he would not have minded: after all, he believed that myth and allegory (the “parabolic” method) could carry profound truths. In Bacon’s own parable, the Americas offered mankind a second chance – a chance to get it right by uniting knowledge, charity, and piety. It was a powerful idea then, and, as the continued fascination with Bacon’s New Atlantis shows, it remains powerful even now.

FAQ#

Q1: Did Francis Bacon really consider America to be the “New Atlantis”?
A: In a symbolic sense, yes – Bacon’s utopian fable New Atlantis is set on an island in the Pacific (near Peru) and represents his ideal society of science and faith, effectively a blueprint for what the New World could become ^{13 2}. Bacon saw the Americas as the best place to realize his dream of a “philosophical empire” guided by enlightened knowledge, a view later esoteric writers explicitly linked to the United States’ founding ^{7 9}.

Q2: How did Bacon’s religious beliefs influence his plans for the New World?
A: Bacon believed the exploration of the New World was foreordained by biblical prophecy, specifically interpreting Daniel 12:4 as God’s signal that the age of voyages would usher in an age of increased knowledge ^{3 4}. He infused his New Atlantis with Christian piety and saw scientific progress as a divine mandate – essentially, restoring humans to their God-given dominion over nature while upholding true religion ^{21 11}.

Q3: Which later groups found Bacon’s New World vision compelling?
A: Early scientists and reformers admired Bacon – for example, the Royal Society was inspired by his call for cooperative research (they likened themselves to Bacon’s Solomon’s House) ⁵. Meanwhile, esoteric groups like the Rosicrucians and Freemasons wove Bacon into their legends, claiming he led secret societies working for a new enlightened age ^{6 7}. In the 20th century, mystics such as Manly P. Hall went so far as to call Bacon the hidden architect of America’s destiny as a “New Atlantis.”

Q4: Was Francis Bacon a Rosicrucian or Freemason in reality?
A: There’s no concrete evidence that Bacon formally joined the Rosicrucians or Freemasons – those orders either didn’t exist openly in his time or left no record of his membership ³⁷. However, Bacon’s ideals of secret philosophical brotherhoods, religious tolerance, and pursuit of knowledge mirrored Rosicrucian themes, and later Freemason authors revered him as an honorary figurehead who inspired their mission ^{6 48}. Essentially, Bacon was adopted posthumously as a patron saint of enlightened secret societies due to his compatible vision.

Q5: How did Bacon’s New Atlantis tie into the idea of American democracy?
A: Bacon’s utopia emphasized knowledge, meritocracy, and the public good, values that dovetail with enlightenment concepts underpinning modern democracies. Esoteric historiography (e.g. Manly Hall) claims that Bacon’s “invisible college” deliberately cultivated principles of self-governance and liberty in the American colonies long before 1776 ^{41 44}. While this is more myth than provable fact, it is true that many American founders were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers; Bacon’s scientific method and advocacy of education contributed to the intellectual climate in which the United States was formed. In legend, America’s rise as a free, knowledge-driven nation is seen as the fulfillment of Bacon’s New Atlantis prophecy ^{32 45}.

Footnotes#

Sources#

1. Bacon, Francis. New Atlantis. In Sylva Sylvarum: Or A Natural History in Ten Centuries, 1627. (Original utopian text describing Bensalem and Solomon’s House.) ^{13 15}
2. Bacon, Francis. The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral. 1625. (See “Of Plantations” for Bacon’s views on how to ethically establish colonies.) ^{49 50}
3. Fleming, James. “‘At the end of the days’: Francis Bacon, Daniel 12:4, and the possibility of science.” Cahiers François Viète, no. III-7, 2019, pp. 25–43. (Discusses Bacon’s apocalyptic interpretation of discovery and knowledge.) ^{3 4}
4. Yates, Frances A. The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. Routledge, 1972. (Explores connections between early 17th-century Rosicrucian movement and Bacon’s circle; see pp. 61–69.) ⁶
5. Salomon’s House – Wikipedia: Salomon’s House (accessed July 2025). (Wikipedia article on Bacon’s fictional institution and its real-world influence on scientific academies.) ^{35 51}
6. Occult theories about Francis Bacon – Wikipedia: Occult theories about Francis Bacon (accessed July 2025). (Covers legends of Bacon’s involvement with Rosicrucians, Freemasons, and his portrayal as an Ascended Master in Theosophy.) ^{38 47}
7. Hall, Manly P. The Secret Destiny of America. Philosophical Research Society, 1944. (Espouses the thesis that Bacon and secret societies planned America’s founding as a New Atlantis.) ^{7 41}
8. Rawley, William (ed.) Sylva Sylvarum with New Atlantis. 2nd ed., 1628. (Bacon’s posthumously published natural history, with the New Atlantis fable appended. Notable for how contemporaries presented Bacon’s vision, and includes references to experiments and prophecy.) ^{1 52}
9. Webster, Charles. The Great Instauration: Science, Medicine and Reform 1626–1660. Duckworth, 1975. (Historical study of Baconian influence on reformers, millenarians, and early scientists like the Hartlib Circle and Boyle, illustrating how Bacon’s ideas were implemented in practice.) ^{53 5}
10. White, Howard B. Peace Among the Willows: The Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon. Martinus Nijhoff, 1968. (Analyzes Bacon’s political and religious themes in New Atlantis, interpreting the interplay of secular and sacred in Bacon’s utopian vision.) ^{54 55}