3 10 347 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document One owes this much justice to public men who have benefited their own age, to consider the point from which they started in order to perceive more clearly the changes they wrought in their country. Posterity owes them eternal gratitude for the examples they gave, even though such examples have been surpassed. Such lawful glory is their only reward. It is certain that the love of such glory inspired Louis XIV, at the time of his taking the government into his own hands, in his desire to improve his kingdom, beautify his court and perfect the arts. Not only did he impose upon himself the duty of regularly transacting affairs with each of his ministers, but any well-known man could obtain a private audience with him and any citizen was free to present petitions and projects to him. The petitions were first received by a master of requests who wrote his recommendations in the margin; and they were then dispatched to the ministerial offices. Projects were examined in council if they were thought worthy of such attention, and their authors were on more than one occasion admitted to discuss their proposals with the ministers in the king's presence. There was thus a channel between the throne and the nation which existed notwithstanding the absolute power of the monarch. The city of Paris was very far from being what it is today. The streets were unlighted, unsafe and dirty. It was necessary to find money for the constant cleaning of the streets, for lighting them every night with five thousand lamps, completely paving the whole city, building two new gates and repairing the old ones, keeping the permanent guard, both foot and mounted, to ensure the safety of the citizens. The king charged himself with everything, drawing upon funds for such necessary expenses. In 1667 he appointed a magistrate whose sole duty was to superintend the police. Most of the large cities of Europe have imitated these examples long afterwards, but none has equaled them. There is no city paved like Paris, and Rome is not even illuminated. From 1661 the king was ceaseless in his building at the Louvre, Saint-Germain and the Versailles. Following his example private individuals erected thousands of dwellings in Paris as magnificent as they were comfortable. Their number increased to such an extent that in the environs of the Palais-Royal and St. Sulpice two new towns sprang up in Paris, both vastly superior to the old. It was about this time that those magnificent spring carriages with mirrors were invented, so that a citizen of Paris could ride through the streets of that great city in greater luxury than the first Roman triumvirs along the road to the Capitol. Inaugurated in Paris, the custom soon spread throughout the whole of Europe, and, become general, it is no longer a luxury. The suppression of dueling was one of the greatest services rendered to the country. Formerly such duels had been sanctioned by kings, even by parliament and by the Church, and though forbidden since the days of Henry IV, the pernicious practice was more prevalent than ever. The famous combat of 1663, when eight combatants were engaged, determined Louis XIV to pardon such duels no longer. His well-timed severity gradually reformed the nation and even neighboring nations who conformed to our wise customs after having copied our bad ones. Legislator of his people, he was no less so of his armies. It is astonishing that before his time the troops had no uniform dress. It was he who in the first year of his administration decreed that each regiment should be distinguished by the color of their uniform, or by different badges—a regulation which was soon adopted by all other nations. It was he who organized the brigadiers and gave the king's household troops the status they hold at the present day. He formed a company of musketeers and fixed the number of men for the two companies at five hundred. It will be seen by this cursory glance what great changes Louis XIV brought about in the state; and that such changes were useful since they are still in force. His ministers vied with each other in their eagerness to assist him. The details, indeed the whole execution of such schemes was doubtless due to them, but his was the general organization. There can be no shadow of doubt that the magistrates would never have reformed the laws, the finances of the country would not have been put on a sound basis, nor discipline introduced into the army, nor a regular police force instituted throughout the kingdom; there would have been no fleets, no encouragement accorded to the arts; all these things would never have been peacefully and steadily accomplished in such a short period and under so many different ministers, had there not been a ruler to conceive of such great schemes, and with a will strong enough to carry them out. Every king who loves glory loves the public weal; about 1698 he commanded each comptroller to present a detailed description of his province for the instruction of the Duke of Burgundy. By this means it was possible to have an exact record of the whole kingdom and a correct census of the population. Sortable Date 1756-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Voltaire, The Age of Louis XIV, translated by W. F. Flemming, 2 vols. (London: E. R. Dumont, [1756] 1901), 2:320–33. Description An account of the resource François–Marie Arouet, who wrote under the name Voltaire, was both the best–known and most tireless advocate of the Enlightenment and also a close associate of several European kings and many French aristocrats. In his widely read history, The Age of Louis XIV, he exalted the achievements of the Bourbon monarchy, which had brought such glory and honor to France. In this passage, Voltaire lauds the reforms Louis XIV made in the royal government, implying that such reforms might again be useful in advancing France’s greatness. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 253 Title A name given to the resource Voltaire, "Internal Government" (1756) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/253/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1756 Economic Conditions Enlightenment Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Monarchy Nobility Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The main fruit you will get from the study of our History will not be to convince you that your authority is absolute. Instead, it will be to know its purpose, its measure and its rule. You will also learn—through the experience of centuries—that . . . the most independent Sovereignty is like all human matters. It is conserved through good use, changed by abuse and destroyed if used wrongly. . . . Indeed, to reign does not mean to be delighted, it rather means to delight others; it means to provide them with the benefits of Nature and to defend society against its own injustice as well as against its neighbors. . . . To govern a State implies to ensure men with all the advantages the Author of Nature attributed to the establishment of Societies, and this through steady and regular rules. The choice and the enforcement of these rules is what we call Public Administration, and we refer to Public Law as the science that teaches the principles of this administration and the Laws that are responsible for guiding it. . . . Through comparisons, you will be convinced of the inalienable rights of humanity, these same rights are the true and fundamental principles of all societies and represent the dedicated outlines of all human Laws. After examining the nature of the Government throughout our history, you will then look for the one that should always exist so that Kings are powerful and Peoples free and happy. You will notice that the Public Law of a Nation can never be arbitrary, because natural Law is the base of it. Art can always improve its tools, but can never change its principles or invert its end. Sortable Date 1773-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jacob-Nicolas Moreau, Leçons de Morale, de politique et de droit public (Versailles: De l'imprimerie du Département des affaires étrangères, 1773), 15–16, 21–26, 49, 76–80, 139–48. Description An account of the resource Jacob–Nicolas Moreau wrote his "lessons of morality, politics and law" for the instruction of the Dauphin. Throughout the 200–page book, Moreau defends the power of the King to rule France without opposition. In this passage, he emphasized that the current King must be actively involved in governing and could no longer inspire respect from his subjects merely by occupying the throne, as had monarchs in earlier times. Furthermore, Moreau wrote, only an active King could defend order and thus preserve the liberty of his people. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 254 Title A name given to the resource Moreau, "Principles of Monarchy" (1773) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/254/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1773 Enlightenment Monarchy Nobility Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document To know whether it is worthwhile creating municipalities in those cantons of France where they do not exist, whether those already in existence need to be improved or changed, and how to create them if deemed necessary, it is not necessary to look at the origin of municipal administrations, recount the historical vicissitudes they have undergone, or even enter into great detail on their various forms today. It has become much too common a practice when making serious decisions, to resort to examining past examples of what our ancestors did during their times of ignorance and barbarism. This methodology only serves to mislead justice by presenting a multiplicity of seemingly authoritative facts. It also has a tendency to result in the prince's disgust with his most important functions, because he is convinced that he needs to be prodigiously knowledgeable if he wants to be able to fruitfully and gloriously discharge his duties. However, it is really only a matter of thoroughly understanding and carefully weighing the rights and interests of men. Because in fact these rights are not very numerous, the science of their study is very narrow in scope and it does not require long hours to have become very knowledgeable. Nor is it beyond the capabilities of any able man. To understand these rights, one need merely apply the principles of justice that each of us bears in our heart, and the intimate conviction of our own feelings. . . . This nation is large. Its obedience is not enough in itself . . . one must also be sure that it can be effectively led. In order to do so, it seems that it is necessary to know, in fairly great detail, the nation's situation, its needs, and its capabilities. This information would no doubt be more useful than any historical overview. . . . Sire, the root of the problem is that your nation has no constitution. It is a society composed of diverse, poorly united orders, and of a people with very few social ties between them. Consequently, each individual is occupied only with his own individual interests, and almost no one can be bothered to fulfill his duties or to understand his relationship to others. The result is this continuous war of claims and ventures that reason and mutual understanding can never settle, obligating Your Majesty to decide everything, either personally or through your agents. Everyone awaits your specific orders before contributing to the public good, before respecting others' property, or sometimes even before making use of his own. You are forced to decree on everything, in most cases by specific acts, whereas if the integral parts of your kingdom had a regular organization and identified relationships, you would be able govern by issuing general laws, as God does. Your kingdom is made up of provinces. These provinces are composed of cantons or districts (arrondissements) which, depending on the province, are called bailliages, élections, vigueries or some other name. These districts are formed by a certain number of towns and villages. These towns and villages are inhabited by families that own these lands that yield produce, provide for the livelihood of the inhabitants, furnish the revenues from which salaries are paid to those without land, and pay the taxes reserved for public expenditures. Finally, these families are made up of individuals who have many duties to fulfill towards one another and towards society . . . duties based on the benefits they have received and which they continue to receive daily. But these individuals are rather poorly educated regarding their duties within the family, and not educated at all regarding those duties which connect them to the State. Families themselves are barely aware that they depend on this State to which they belong . . . they have no idea of the nature of their relationship to it. They believe that when the authorities levy the taxes required to maintain public order, it is nothing more than the law of the strongest, and the only reason for them to obey is that they are powerless to resist. As a result, everyone seeks to cheat the authorities and to pass his welfare costs on to his neighbors. Income is hidden and can only be partially uncovered by means of a kind of inquisition that makes it appear that Your Majesty is at war with his people. And although it only seems like a war, it is still detrimental, with dire consequences, and with the result being that no one has an interest in supporting the government. And anyone who sides with the government is viewed with hostility. There is no public spirit because there is no visible or identifiable common interest, nor do these divided members of villages and towns have any greater ties to the districts where they live. They disagree on all of the public works that might be necessary. The same divisions exist between the provinces themselves, and between the provinces and the realm as a whole. However, some of these provinces do have a constitution of a sort, with assemblies and a kind of public will, known as the Pays d'Etats. But since these Estates are composed of orders which have very diverse claims and which have very different interests between themselves and between them and the nation, these Estates are still far from able to bring about all the improvements needed by the provinces in the administrative areas where they are located. These local 'half-estates' are perhaps harmful in that the provinces that have them are less aware of the need to implement reform. But Your Majesty can lead them to recognize what is needed by giving those provinces without constitutions an even more organized constitution than those which currently take pride in their Pays d'Etats. Sire, by setting an example by means of your power and authorization you can entice them to want to change the defects of their present system. This divisive mindset vastly increases the work of your servants and of Your Majesty, and necessarily and prodigiously diminishes your power. To dispel this attitude, it must be replaced with a spirit of order and union that would mobilize your nation's forces and means for the common good, placing them together under your direct control and making them easy to lead. A plan would be required that would tie individuals to their families, families to their village or town, towns and villages to their district, districts to their province, and finally provinces to the state. This plan would tie by the binds of mandatory education, by obvious common interests, by making everyone aware of those interests, and by discussing and complying with the plan. . . . On How to Prepare Individuals and Families to Enter Effectively into a Well-Constituted Society Sire, the first and perhaps most important of all the institutions which I believe necessary, which would seem to me the most fitting to immortalize Your Majesty's reign, and which would have the greatest influence on the kingdom as a whole, would be the creation of a National Education Council. This council would be responsible for academies, universities, secondary schools, and elementary schools. Mores are a nations most important bond, and they are primarily based on the education received, starting in childhood, which deals with all of a man's obligations to society. It is astonishing that this knowledge is so rudimentary. There are methods and institutions for training grammarians, surveyors, doctors, and painters, but there are none for training citizens. This would not be the case if national education was under the direction of one of Your Majesty's councils, if it aimed at serving the public interest, and if it followed your uniform principles. This council would not need to be very large, because it too would need to be of one mind. Accordingly, standard textbooks would be commissioned in accordance with a master plan, written in such a way that one would lead logically to another. Also, the study of each citizen's duties, as a member of a family and the state, would serve as the basis for all other studies, which in turn would be prioritized according to their usefulness to society. Literary bodies would serve this council by supervising all educational policy. Currently, these literary bodies tend only to create scholars, poets, and men of wit and taste. Those unable to aspire to these goals are abandoned and amount to nothing. A new system of education, which only Your Majesty's total authority could establish and which would be seconded by a very well-chosen council, would lead to the formation, among all classes of society, of virtuous and useful men, just souls, pure hearts, and zealous citizens. Those among them who could and would devote themselves particularly to the sciences and the fine arts would be diverted from frivolous matters by the importance of the basic principles which they had received, and would approach their work with a more vigorous and steady character. Both individual as well the national taste itself would improve . . . becoming more serious and more elevated but, above all, more concerned with honorable things. This would be the fruit of having uniform patriotic attitudes that the education council would disseminate through all the teaching given to the young. At present there is but one type of instruction that has any uniformity: religious instruction. And even this is not completely uniform. Textbooks vary from one diocese to another; the Paris catechism is not the same as the Montpellier catechism, and neither is identical to that of Besançon. This diversity of textbooks is unavoidable in an educational system that has several independent heads. The education organized by your council would not have that drawback, which would be all the more necessary in that religious instruction is limited to heavenly things. This education is not sufficient for citizens to demonstrate morality to one another, and especially between different groups of citizens. The proof of this lies in the multitude of issues arising every day in which Your Majesty sees one part of your subjects seeking to upset another through the use of exclusive privileges. The result is that your Council is forced to suppress these requests and proscribe the pretexts they invoke as unjust. Sire, your kingdom is of this world. It is your subjects' conduct, towards one another and towards the state, which Your Majesty is obliged to watch over for the sake of your conscience and the welfare of your crown. I do not wish to place any obstacle in the way of that instruction which has a higher cause, and which already has completely established rules and ministers . . . quite the contrary. However, I do not believe I can propose anything more advantageous for your people, more conducive to the maintenance of peace and good order and to the encouragement of all useful works, more fitting to endear your authority and your person more every day to your subjects, than to provide them all with an education which clearly shows them their obligations towards society and towards your power which protects it, the duties which these obligations impose upon them, and their interest in fulfilling these duties both for the public good as well as their own. This moral and social instruction requires textbooks written expressly for the purpose, in cooperation with others, and with great care, and also requires a schoolmaster in each parish who will teach these texts to the children, along with reading, writing, arithmetic, measurement, and the principles of mechanics. More learned instruction, progressively incorporating the knowledge necessary for those citizens whose position requires more extensive enlightenment, would be taught in the secondary schools. But always in accordance with the same principles, more fully developed according to the functions that each student's rank requires them to fill in society. Sire, if Your Majesty approves this plan, I shall submit for your consideration a special memorandum containing the relevant details. But I dare to say that ten years from now your nation will be unrecognizable. That by virtue of its intelligence, its good customs, its enlightened zeal for your service and for that of the country, your nation would be infinitely superior to all other peoples past or present. Children who are now ten years old would then be men of twenty, prepared for the State, attached to their homeland, submissive to authority. This would not be from fear but by reason, they would be supportive of their fellow citizens and accustomed to knowing and respecting the justice that is the basic foundation of any society. Such men will behave well within their families, and will doubtless raise families that will be easy to govern in their villages. Sortable Date 1775-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gustave Schelle, ed., Oeuvres de Turgot, 4 vols. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1913Ð23), 4:568Ð628. Description An account of the resource In 1774, on the accession of Louis XVI, Anne–Robert–Jacques Turgot was named Controller–General of Finances. In this position, he also became responsible for administrative policies relating to taxation, the economy, and local government. With his recent experience as an intendant in mind, Turgot directed his secretary (the economist, Pierre–Samuel Dupont de Nemours) to draft a long memorandum diagnosing the problems of provincial administration and outlining the plans for national regeneration that the controller general intended to submit to the King. Although this Mémoire sur les Municipalitiés was written in 1775, Turgot fell from power before it could be presented to Louis XVI . However, its arguments exercised a powerful influence on administrative thinking in the remaining years of the old regime. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 255 Title A name given to the resource Turgot, "Memorandum on Local Government" (1775) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/255/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1775 Enlightenment Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Monarchy Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Having devoted all my time and my strength in the service of YOUR MAJESTY since you appointed me to this position, it is important for me to give you some public explanations concerning the success of my works and the actual state of the Finances. I would have renounced to the satisfaction of . . . explaining my behavior, if I had not thought that by doing so, all this [information] could have been very useful to YOUR MAJESTY's affairs. Such an institution, if it became permanent, would be the source of the most important advantages because the obligation to publicly show his administration would influence a Finance Minister from the first steps in his career. Darkness and obscurity favor nonchalance. . . . This report would also allow each of the people—who are part of YOUR MAJESTY's Councils—to study and follow the situation of the Finances. . . . Such an institution could have the greatest influence on public confidence. In fact, if one fixes his attention on the huge credit England enjoys, and which constitutes their main strength in war, it would be impossible to attribute it entirely to the nature of its Government. Because whatever the authority of the French Monarch is, his interests will always depend on fidelity and justice. . . . Another reason for the great credit of England is the public notoriety to which the state of Finances is submitted. Each year this state is presented to the Parliament, then it is printed. And all the lenders who regularly know the proportion that is maintained between incomes and expenses are not troubled by suspicions and fanciful fears, which are always part of darkness. In France, the state of Finances has always been a mystery. If sometimes somebody talked about it, it was only in the preambles of Edicts, and always when money had to be borrowed. But these words, too often the same to be true, have necessarily lost their authority, and men of experience only believe in it because of the moral nature of the Finance Minister. It is important to found confidence on more solid bases. . . . The sovereign of a kingdom such as France can always, when he wants, maintain the balance between ordinary expenses and incomes. The reduction of expenses—which is always the wish of the public—belongs to the King. When circumstances require, only he has the power to increase taxes. But the most dangerous, as well as the fairest of resources, is to blindly look for some temporary aid, and to borrow either through increases of income or through savings. Such an Administration, which seduces because there seems to have no more immediate problems, only increases difficulties and leads to the precipice. On the other hand, a more simple and frank behavior would multiply the means of the Sovereign and would save him forever from any kind of injustice. It is then a great view of Administration from YOUR MAJESTY to have been allowed to give a public report on the state of your Finances. And I wish, for the happiness and the strength of the Kingdom, that this happy institution is not temporary. What is there to fear from such a report if [you] . . . make expenses proportional to incomes, and guarantee lenders, every time the needs of the State require their confidence! Sortable Date 1781-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jacques Necker, Compte rendu au Roi (Geneva: Duvillard, 1781), 1–3. Description An account of the resource Unlike the British, where the crown’s finance minister gave an annual report to Parliament, the French royal treasury’s accounts were a closely guarded secret. Yet Louis XVI’s second finance minister, Jacques Necker, a Swiss banker, who claimed to be more attuned to the benefits of public confidence than to palace intrigue at court, thought the crown would be better able to raise funds if it were to issue a public report of its budget, and to this end he wrote and had published 100,000 copies of his Account to the King in 1781. He hoped this report would win support for reforms among the Parlementary magistrates and other regional elites; however, the result was the opposite—Necker was dismissed again, preventing once again any public discussion of the disastrous state of the royal finances. This excerpt comes from the introduction to Necker’s report. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 256 Title A name given to the resource Necker, "Account to the King" (1781) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/256/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1781 Monarchy Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Sire, I will confine myself to showing how M. Necker and his works must look strange and harmful to all the good administrators of the state. M. Necker suggests that the state has always hidden statements of finances. He goes on to say that the Kings talked about it only in the preamble of edicts which he suggests have no authority at all by affirming that experienced men do not believe in it anymore. Finally he says that the Finance Minister's moral characteristics have become the Monarch's only guarantee. . . . I suggest that Your Majesty pay more specific attention to these strange assumptions. It is said that twenty-thousand copies of the report are on the street now. So twenty-thousand French citizens, curious about Your Majesty's business, are told that the King's word means nothing in the preamble of edicts. It is said all over France that experienced men do not believe in the King's word anymore. Also, the Minister's moral characteristics represent the last safety for the State. No, Sire, I am not inspired by a feeling of flattery; nor by M. Necker's character. I am only inspired by an outstanding monarch with integrity. M. Necker has only obtained just and striking criticism on the improper and costly ways he borrowed money. He will not succeed in convincing the French people that he represents your only guarantee. He will nourish unhappy people's malice by maintaining that a state in disorder does not deserve credit. Nevertheless, I am sure of the French people's patriotism and devotion. If in the last century events wore them out, this new reign has revitalized all feelings. The English example of publishing accounts concerns only a worried calculator and selfish people. To apply it to France is to insult French patriotism. In fact, the French are sentimentalists, confident and entirely devoted to their kings. Everything will be lost in France, Sire, if Your Majesty allows His ministers to imitate the English administration for which Your Majesty's ancestors have shown so many and just aversions. . . . Without misleading Your Majesty, I affirm that, until now, the state has only been insulted by unhappy people. It is then new in our history when M. Necker tells the party, that he calls public opinion, that, under a good king, a monarchical friend of the people, that the Finance Minister has become the only hope, the only guarantee to the experts who observe the government. M. Necker will not terminate the damage done to the dignity of the throne. Sortable Date 1781-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Vergennes, "Mémoire contre Necker" (1781), in J.-L. Soulavie, ed., Mémoires historiques et politiques du règne de Louis XVI, vol. 4 (Paris: 1801), 56–59. Description An account of the resource In 1781, after the failure of two successive finance ministers, Turgot and then Necker, to reform the royal bureaucracy, and after the death of his politically astute first minister Maurepas, Louis XVI turned to a more conservative politician, Count Charles Gravier de Vergennes, to shore up his support at court and with the Parlements. Vergennes was, for several years, quite successful, partly by blaming the monarchy’s woes on the now–departed reformers. In this pamphlet, Vergennes attacks Necker and denies the need for any reforms or limits on royal power. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 257 Title A name given to the resource Vergennes, "Memorandum against Necker" (1781) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/257/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1781 Monarchy Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Abuses Abuses [in tax payment] . . . are defended by self-interest, influence, wealth and ancient prejudices which seem to be hallowed by time; but what are all these together compared with the common good and the necessity of the state? These abuses oppress the wealth-producing, laboring class: the abuses of pecuniary privilege; exceptions to the general rule, and so many unjust; exemptions which only relieve one section of taxpayers by aggravating the condition of the others. . . . The projects which the King intends to impart to you . . . . are neither doctrinaire nor novelties. They represent a summary of . . . the plans for the public good long contemplated by experienced statesmen and by the government itself. Some have been attempted in part and all seem to have the backing of the nation, but hitherto their complete implementation appeared impracticable because of the difficulty of reconciling a host of local customs, claims, privileges and conflicting interests. To this end, His Majesty has first of all considered the various forms of administration which occur in those provinces without [local] Estates. In order that the distribution of taxation may cease to be unequal and arbitrary, He has decided to confide the task to the landowners and he has derived from the first principles of the monarchy the general plan of a graduated series of deliberative assemblies whereby the expression of the taxpayers' wishes and their observations on everything which concerns them will be transmitted from parish to district assemblies, thence to provincial assemblies and through them to the throne. Next His Majesty brought all his personal attention to bear on establishing the same principle of uniformity . . . . in the distribution of the land tax. . . . He recognized that . . . the vingtièmes [one-twentieth], instead of being assessed as they should be on all the land in his kingdom in true proportion to the value of the crop, suffer an infinity of exceptions which are tolerated rather than regarded as legitimate. . . . The revenue of this general tax, instead of providing the government with vital information about the produce of the kingdom and the relative wealth of each province, serve only to demonstrate the offensive inequality between their various contributions. . . . His Majesty has decided to remedy these defects by applying the rules of a strictly distributive justice, by restoring the original intention behind the tax, and by raising it to its true value without increasing anyone's contribution (indeed granting some relief to the people), and finally by making every kind of privilege incompatible. The vingtièmes will be replaced by a general land tax covering the whole area of the kingdom on a proportion of all produce, payable in kind where feasible, otherwise in money, and admitting of no exception, even the crown lands other than those resulting from the varying fertility of the soil and the varying harvests. The lands of the [Roman Catholic] Church would necessarily be included in this general assessment which, to be fair, must include all land as does the protection for which it is the price. But in order that these lands should not be overburdened by continuing to pay the taxes collected to fund the debt of the clergy, the King, sovereign protector of the churches of his kingdom, has decided to provide for the repayment of this debt by granting the clergy the necessary authorization to make the repayment [by selling off feudal rights, etc.] . . . . Complete freedom of the grain trade . . . with the one exception of deferring to the wishes of the provinces when any of them think it necessary temporarily to suspend export abroad. . . . The King also proposes the abolition of the corvée [forced labor on public highways] and the conversion of this excessively harsh exaction to a monetary contribution distributed more justly and spent in such a way that it can never be diverted to other purposes. Internal free trade, customs houses removed to the frontiers, the establishment of a uniform tariff taking the needs of commerce into consideration, the suppression of several taxes which are harmful to industry or lead too easily to harassment and the alleviation of the burden of the gabelle [the obligation to purchase salt from the state] (which I have never mentioned to His Majesty without his being deeply grieved that he cannot rid his subjects of it altogether). These, gentlemen, are so many salutary measures which enter into the plan upon which His Majesty will enlarge and which all conform to the principles of order and uniformity which are its basis. Sortable Date 1787-02-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jules Flammermont, Remonstrances du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe siècle, vol. 1 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1888–98), 189–98. Description An account of the resource In 1783 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a provincial noble, became royal finance minister. At first, he, like Vergennes, saw no need to rationalize the royal treasury or to appease the Parlements. By 1786, however, the deficit had become so huge—one–sixth of the total royal budget—that Calonne knew that reforms—meaning more taxes, or at least more loans—could no longer be put off. To obtain the support of regional nobles for such changes, the King called an Assembly of Notables. At the opening session, on 22 February 1787, Calonne addressed the assembly and proposed a uniform tax across the kingdom, to be administered by provincial assemblies of nobles and other elites. In other words, a royal minister was now suggesting that taxation privileges should be replaced by a fiscal policy that would apply to all equally. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 258 Title A name given to the resource Calonne, "Programs of Reform," Address to Assembly of Notables (1787) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/258/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 22, 1787 Economic Conditions Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Monarchy Nobility Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document A kind of dialogue was printed . . . it is a text that needs to be studied. "The King could manage without you, said the Marshal of France. The Gentleman replies: What do you mean by that? WHAT WOULD THE KING BE WITHOUT THE NOBILITY?" People admired this passage . . . [but] it is considered as a real insult to the rest of the Nation. What! Some Gentlemen from Dauphiné dared to ask what the King of France would do at the end of the eighteenth century without the Nobility? What would He be? He would be what He is: a Sovereign; the venerated Chief of a brave, industrious, polite, and faithful people. The Nobility probably constitutes a distinguished part [of that people], but if this part was eliminated, would everyone else be wiped out? . . . The Nobility were hardly bearable in the times when they constituted with the Clergy the Political Body. If you wanted to be a renowned citizen, you had to be a Baron or a Priest. Then these Barons personally took care of the soldiers based on their domains. They could then call themselves the true supports of the throne and it was worthy to allow them so many privileges. At that time, this active class was legitimated by the real services given to the State. Sortable Date 1789-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet, Annales politiques, civiles et littéraires du dix-huitième siècle, 19 vols. (London and Paris, 1777–92), 19:98–99. Description An account of the resource Simon–Henri Linguet was one of the most active and irascible old regime figures. Among his many careers, he was a lawyer (who was disbarred in 1775) and a journalist (who was forced to give up his newspaper and flee to England in 1776). Throughout his life, he remained both a resolute monarchist and an intemperate critic of the excesses of royal ministers, Parlementary magistrates, lawyers—anyone he considered to be exercising too much power. In this passage, from early 1789, he attacks the old regime nobility on behalf of the French "nation," by which he meant those who truly wanted to help their fellow countrymen, not merely to serve themselves (of which he accused the nobles). Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 259 Title A name given to the resource Linguet, "Attack on the Nobility" from Annales politiques (1789) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/259/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1789 Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Nobility Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document THE party, Sir, which twelve months ago raised you to the administration, amused us with the most lofty presages of your future operations. They said, it is not intrigue, and it is not chance, which has raised this man to office, it is his personal merit. Far different from those who have gone before him, he will dedicate his attention to doing what the duties of his position require not to keeping his place as long as he can. The system of his predecessor will not be his. He is a man of genius, who will find his own agents while developing a plan based on his principles, which will alleviate oppression, diminish the taxes, and revive agriculture and commerce. The public has now patiently waited for a whole year, expecting the execution of these promises. I could, however, if I pleased, compose an interesting and instructive volume of the faults you have committed; first against the French financial well-being; and second, against the principles of a sound statesman and a good politician. More fortunate at your accession to office than I was, I left you nothing but good deeds to perform; the ill was completed before you took office. I had established an equilibrium between receipts and expenditures. I left the royal coffers amply replenished. You had nothing to do but to receive. All then that remained for you was to invent the best means of relieving the public burdens, which you decided that I had increased beyond all just proportion to the ability of the subject or the necessities of the King. When you came into office, you found the state without a system, and your predecessors shifting at random from day to day as they could. What is it you have done? Given yourself over body and soul to a sect which has elected you their chief. You act only as they dictate, and you see only with their eyes. Their doctrines of administration are a tissue of ignorance, narrow views, and sophistry. The principles of their system are groundless and mistaken; the injury, therefore, that they do in office, and the mischiefs they inflict on the people of France, are continually growing more formidable. You have weakened the love of his subjects towards the best of kings. You have involved your sovereign, without his being aware of it, in a chaos of errors, from which you can never extricate him. Sortable Date 1781-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jean-Louis Soulavie, Historical and Political Memoirs of the Reign of Lewis XVI from His Marriage to His Death, Translated from the French...in Six Volumes..., vol. 3 (London: G. and J. Robinson, 1802), 431-438. Description An account of the resource In the 1780s, following the fall of the reform–minded Turgot and Necker ministries, traditionalists felt certain that they had seen the last of the crass, pro–commerce ideas that these men and their supporters had promoted. In this pamphlet, Turgot personally is mocked by an author writing as if he were the abbé Terray, who had preceded Turgot as finance minister; the fictional "Terray" takes Turgot to task for thinking that he was justified in promoting such drastic changes on his own rather than deferring to his social betters, such as the noble magistrates of the Parlements and the aristocrats in the King’s entourage. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 260 Title A name given to the resource Fictional Attack by "Terray" on Turgot (1781[?]) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/260/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1781 Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Monarchy Nobility Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Because of successive losses that he had experienced, the King had emptied the Parc-Aux-Cerfs [the location for the harem] and yielded himself entirely to grief [over the loss of his wife and children from 1765 to 1768]. Advancing age and the ability of a great prince to satisfy all his passions had dulled his attraction towards women. But this need, though diminished, continued; and the courtiers judged it necessary to distract His Majesty from the long and grievous spectacle which the illness of the Queen had created. The doctors assured the King that it was dangerous to give up so abruptly a pleasure necessary for his existence. The monarch believed his doctors since the decline of the state and the loss of his companion, (such as he called the Queen in his letter to the archbishop to tell him of her death) had left him despondent. He told the Sieur le Bel to take care of this responsibility. This very zealous servant often undertook research to better serve His Majesty. It was on one of these hunting trips that le Bel spoke to the Count du Barry of his fatigue from these efforts. The latter, who had a sure sense in such matters and who was also known by le Bel as a man who could be useful, had no trouble in coming to his assistance. Le Bel told him of his despair of having found nothing in all these trips which could be desirable for his master. . . . -- "No," the impudent Count said to him, "I’ve got your business for you. You know I don’t lack taste. Trust me: you come to dinner at my house and tell me that I’m a cad if I don’t give you the most beautiful woman, the most fresh, the most seductive; a true morsel for a king." The King’s purveyor, enchanted with a proposition so consoling, embraced him and promised to go to find a convenient time. Du Barry had nothing more pressing than to return to his house and getting Mademoiselle l’Ange [the Angel] all dressed up. (This nickname, "the angel" was used by Mademoiselle Vaubernier following the practice of courtesans who also took a nom de guerre when they entered and displayed themselves before the world.) Du Barry taught her the role she had to play, giving her the hope that he regarded as chimerical but which was, however, realized. He gave her the picture of a brilliant destiny: he declared to her that it wasn’t a question of simply appearing at Versailles and satisfying incognito the desires of the King; he wished to make her mistress in title and to have her replace Madame du Pompadour. For this, it was necessary that she pretend to le Bel that she was his sister-in-law, married to his fat brother. She had to sustain well this persona, while deploying all the coquetterie and gracefulness that she had at her disposal. In such a case, all would go well.Mademoiselle L’Ange, for a joke, had already posed several times with the title Countess du Barry. It’s a current usage among kept girls to esteem themselves with the titles of their lovers. It was scarcely difficult to take on this persona with Sieur le Bel, who delighted by the face of this young person, who by her playfulness, by her lascivious look and various remarks, soon understood how to rejuvenate the old man. Through his experience he conceived what a happy effect a woman with such resources would have on his master. The dinner was exceptionally delightful, and the valet would have been glad to try himself so that he could vouch for his discovery. The Sieur du Barry profited from the enthusiasm of this lecher to make him understand that his sister-in-law could not be presented to the King like a common prostitute. And that she could not be simply disposed of without difficulty. This was a woman of quality who would doubtless be very honored with the bed of a prince or of such a desirable great king. However, she had the ambition to conquer his heart, as she already felt a terrific attachment for his sacred person -- an attachment which could only grow with greater intimacy. The valet was not too love struck to not see immediately this truth and thus to lend himself to all the arrangements which would appear necessary. It was decided from this moment that the so-called Countess would be a sacred morsel for the King. And that the Sieur le Bel would report to the monarch what he had seen. He would represent to His Majesty the desire of the woman in question to please him and the entire devotion of her husband to the will of the sovereign. Further, he would tell of the happiness that this faithful couple aspired to add to his pleasures. However, this beauty flattered herself to be able to be able to prove her love over a long time. And she would have the right to expect the same from her august lover and the general exclusion of all competitors. Evil courtiers have claimed that, according to the conversation, the valet was permitted to take possession of this future mistress in the name of the King. Others avow that du Barry induced the ambassador by promising a reward were he successful in presenting the woman. Whatever it be, as he was very smitten himself and he placed in his story to the King so much heat and energy that he strongly excited the love of the prince. But to inflame him more and before His Majesty had actually had an encounter, he proposed to have him see the object without the woman knowing of it, so that the King would be in a position to judge himself.The valet had a small house arranged where he invited the Countess to dine. It appears that the latter was warned of the secret observer who was to be there. The company fitted the scene, and the meal so voluptuous that the monarch couldn’t hold back. On that very night, he had Mademoiselle L’Ange come to him and he found in her possession more secret charms than exterior ones. In effect, those who preceded the King in this sexual pleasure unanimously attest that she had all that was necessary to reanimate the dullest existence. And she was effective with this jaded lover, overcoming the general disgust that he found with women who, up to then even in the middle of his pleasures were restrained by respect and adoration. Thus he really didn’t know the diverse resources that he could find in a new world of voluptuousness which offered him inexhaustible delights. In such a situation, what discovery, what treasure!Without doubt there had been in the bed of the prince, women as instructed as Mademoiselle L’Ange, but they did not have a character so free, so true, so adventurous that they could flaunt their savoir-faire and dare to use it. On the contrary, this ingenue, candid and focused, was also led by a man experienced in the most refined libertinage. He anticipated that this prodigious sensation would produce a striking contrast between the lessons that he had given his student and the cold and inhibited caresses of the initial mistresses of the King. All he had to do was await the effect of this indoctrinated nymph; the success of the first triumph would marvelously encourage her to deploy the total extent of her art. If men accustomed to the techniques of prostitutes with their lively and energetic style still feel with them sensations of pleasure, what an impression must these powerful methods produce on a voluptuous person who had never experienced them! Such was the case of the monarch, according to the courtesans who knew the most of his private life and secret amusements.This daughter of Venus was so able that the King could no longer do without her, and he had to take her along through the entire trip to Compiègne. She was totally incognito, because His Majesty being still in official mourning over the Queen, did not find it convenient to publicize his pleasures. Besides the King was very committed to appearances, in that on the exterior his behavior would comport to the maintenance of good morals. But these little inconveniences only aroused his passion and gave it more force to the point that Sieur le Bel, seeing the decided taste that his master took for Mademoiselle l’Ange and that things were going much farther than he would have believed, somewhat repented having become involved in the Count’s maneuver, especially as he understood it. He believed it was his duty, before this new favorite could be set up, to throw himself at the knees of the King and to declare to him how he had discovered this beauty: that he had been surprised; that she was no woman of quality; and that she wasn’t even married. "So what!" exclaimed the King, following the usual tradition among the courtiers. "So what! Let someone marry her promptly, so that one could keep me from having an indiscretion." Someone added that his counsel [the valet] wanted to go into more details, but that a severe look from the King obliged him to be silent. Struck with grief to have produced such a creature and envisioning the results that such a violent passion could create in a prince who approached old age, this zealous servant developed a grief that led him to the grave. Others claimed that in order to prevent indiscreet revelations that he could make, his enemies had him poisoned.Whatever the case may be, the words of the King greatly heated up the hopes of the Count du Barry, called the Great du Barry to distinguish him from his brothers. He had one sibling, that we will name the Fat du Barry, a drunkard, a pig, wallowing night and day in the dirtiest debauchery. It was decided that he would be the one who would marry Mademoiselle l’Ange. He was warned in advance, and he had no trouble accepting, as he easily understood that this willingness on his part would allow him to lead more freely the kind of life which agreed with him and would procure him all the money that he would need. This hope would have been able to corrupt a less vile soul. He submitted to the ceremony, and the marriage was made in the parish Saint-Laurent September 1, 1768. The notary Pot of Auteil drew up the contract. He did not yet know the high destiny of the beauty whose civil alliance he constructed. But struck by her charms and her graces, he wished to enjoy the customary privilege among his colleagues in such a situation: he gallantly advanced to embrace the young person who, not expecting this, resisted as her role of maiden required. Her future brother-in-law encouraged her to permit this public officer to brush her cheeks, and then said to him, "Remember this favor well, sir, because it is the last that you will receive from Madame."The august lover was enchanted to learn that the ceremony was complete. He appeared to yield himself with more confidence to the new Countess; and each day his passion, far from diminishing through pleasure, so augmented that the du Barry brothers raised their expectations to the most vast ambition. But they had to carefully direct the favorite, the new Madame du Barry. And this plan demanded a lot of care and circumspection.Madame du Barry had no inclination for this, especially a sense of intrigue that her position demanded. One sees by the course of her adventures up to the moment of her elevation, that she was lacking the ploys that are found commonly among courtesans and which serve them well in their attack on men. As she was neither self-interested nor ambitious, she was not caught up in the powerful webs of these two passions, so energetic in most spirits. Rather the new Countess carried in the role that she undertook a quality that was perhaps better: it is a sort of good sense to adopt the opinions that one gave her to make the situation worthwhile and to profit from it. In a word, she had a marvelous docility to the counsels of her brother-in-law whose success in the project that he had developed assured more than ever the confidence of his sister-in-law. The only point of difficulty was then concealing from the eyes of the courtiers the secret wire managing the favorite. Too much assiduousness on his part might have made the monarch suspicious of her and would lay her open to the malignity of the courtiers, yet the unexpected expulsion of this counselor would leave the favorite unprotected and in the position of making a lot of foolish mistakes.The Count du Barry imagined then a plan of conduct that one can regard as a political chef d’oeuvre. This was to appear to absolutely abandon his sister-in-law to her brilliant destiny and to not show himself at court. At the same time he placed near her Mademoiselle du Barry, his sister, that he judged totally proper for the job he wanted her to do. The latter was too ugly to awaken any jealousy in the Countess, nor would she involve herself in the amorous intrigues which would turn her away from her principal object. She had besides some spirit; it was a certain virtuosity which evidenced itself in literary talent and she had even had a letter published in the Mercure. She was very ingratiating and did not hesitate to master the favorite, which was essential. There was thus established a continual circulation from brother to sister, from the latter to the Countess, from the Countess back to Mademoiselle du Barry, and then from sister to brother. Young emissaries, trained by the Count, were continually on the road from Versailles and carried his orders, verbal or written, according to circumstances. The messengers were multiplied as needed; and by that, the favorite was led from minute to minute. Sometimes she made little trips to Paris where not having a house, she lodged at that of her brother-in-law and received general instructions which she applied in particular circumstances.[The story continues and leads Madame du Barry to increasing heights. Here she is credited with felling the ministry of Choiseul and replacing it with the anti-Parlement Triumvirate that would exile the magistrates in 1770.]It was especially at Fontainebleau that the Countess du Barry triumphed in all her glory and humiliated the Duke of Choiseul. The regiment of the King had come to camp near this city to be reviewed by His Majesty. This review required the minister of war. Madame du Barry assisted, escorted by the Duchess of Valentinois and the Marquise of Montmorency. The Court du Châtelet, a lieutenant colonel, held a supper party in his tent with these women in attendance. Madame du Barry sat beside His Majesty and replaced the Dauphine who was supposed to be there but did not arrive. This was the first spectacular schism between her and the favorite. The Duke of Choiseul, who was beside himself with rage, claimed to be indisposed to avoid the review and the meal. [Yet] the King; even in the most minor things showed the interest that he took in all that concerned his charming mistress. . . .All these little individual favors were only a prelude to the important acheivement that Madame du Barry was going to develop in the revolution [a change in the ministry] which was going to occur, and to which the Duke of Aiguillon and the Chancellor worked together, to serve separately their respective ambitions. Both used the Countess as the person most able to get the King to agree to the plan. They made her understand that it was absolutely necessary that she second their views for her own interest; and that she would not be secure at all as long as Choiseul remained in place. Further, he could not be sacked until he became suspect to the King because of his connections to the Parlement. Finally, to blacken him better, it was necessary to blacken this company and to represent it to the monarch as an ambitious body, always ready to trash and invade his authority and to usurp the rights of the throne. His expulsion would produce first the attack on the Duke and then, not less essential, of facilitating taxes, and consequently the general appreciation of her by her august lover. So many advantages, presented under a point of view so sensitive and seductive, strongly alienated the favorite from the magistracy. She soon made pass into the heart of the monarch the hate that she had conceived for the Parlement and to which he was already strongly disposed. At this point, this feeble prince, who had no free will, finally took the decision to relax the new law that emerged as the famous edict of December 1770, registered by a lit de justice the third of that month. [This effectively quashed the political powers of all parlements.]But the Chancellor and the Duke of Aiguillon knew well the pusillanimous character of the monarch and did not at all rely on his apparent firmness. They profited from it only by making the important coups that they contemplated, in order to go so far that it was impossible to withdraw. Madame du Barry served them marvellously in that. As the King supped almost every evening with her, they warned her what she had to say to him. When her lover -- his mind muddled from the exquisite wines she poured him, and his heart burning from love as he rested in her arms -- begged for her ultimate favors and could do nothing to refuse her, she extorted the fatal signatures and nothing went to the council for discussion. At least the other ministers complained loudly to have no knowledge of these violent acts, exerted against the Parlement of Paris. Thus as well was finally expedited the lettre de cachet [direct arrest by monarchical order] of the Duke of Choiseul. This was a letter signed several times in moments of drunken love-making, and the king repented [too late] the next day.[And the memoir heads toward its end with the following passages.]It was time that so many depredations be stopped; France tended toward inevitable ruin if the death of Louis XV had not changed the face of the kingdom. What is most unusual about the event is that it issued from those who had the most reason to save him.His Majesty was the most despondent in some time. The sudden death of the Marquis of Chauvelin, one of his favorites, enjoying a flourishing health, a friend in all the King’s pleasure parties, had died right before his eyes. He ceaselessly thought about it. The death of the Marshal of Armentières, very similar to Chauvelin and the same age as the King, had augmented the melancholy. He was also racked by the remorse created in his heart by the Bishop of Senes, from a sermon that was extremely strong and pathetic. The committee of the favorite decided that it was necessary to redouble their efforts to draw the King from this condition, even by lively orgies that could give a shake to his system. Consequently, it was decided to propose a voyage to the Trianon [a small palace on the Versailles grounds], where they would be more at ease inspired by the liberty of the place. One noticed that the King had admiringly lusted over a little daughter of a carpenter. They sent for the child, cleaned her up, perfumed her, introduced her to the bed of the august lecher. This morsel would have been hard from him to digest if they hadn’t administered some strong stimulants. For the moment this gave him sweet assistance, and procured more pleasure than a libertine in his sixties might ordinarily experience. This child, unfortunately was already sick, and had a lot of trouble doing what one demanded, and only went through with it because of threats and in the hope of receiving a fortune. No one knew that she had the smallpox germ which soon developed in her in the cruelest manner, and she promptly died. The venom was communicated to the King and on the next day His Majesty felt sick without foreseeing its cause. Consequently, they advised Madame du Barry to keep him there and to remain in charge of him. But the sieur La Martinière, his first surgeon, insisted that he be immediately transported to Versailles. The next day everyone knew that the King had smallpox. It was easy to see he would not recover. Sortable Date 1775-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived [Pidansat de Mairobert], Anécdotes sur la comtesse du Barry, Nouvelle édition augmentée et corrigée (London [Paris], [1775] 1776). Description An account of the resource Since the royal family’s ability to procreate was crucial to the perpetuation of the reign and thus to the continuity of the monarchy, the obsession shown in pamphlets about the bodies and sexual activities of King and Queen must be seen as having not just prurient interest for readers but also political overtones.This particular pamphlet, by a journalist named Mathieu Pidansat de Mairobert who had been an active supporter of the pro–Parlement party in the magistrates’ recent conflicts with the crown, was published anonymously early in the reign of Louis XVI. It purportedly described the liaison between the recently deceased Louis XV and his long–term mistress, the "Countess" of Barry, a common courtesan who had supposedly been procured to satisfy the aging King’s lusts. The entire book could be (and was) read as a parody of the mounting problems facing Louis XV, all of which center on the disorder he had created at Versailles by giving such a prominent place to a wholly inappropriate person, a woman, a courtesan, and a commoner.Whether or not the "anecdotes" were true is of less historical interest than the wide readership they drew and the negative influence they had on the reputation of the current King, Louis XVI, and the Queen, Marie Antoinette. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 261 Title A name given to the resource Anecdotes on the Countess du Barry (1775) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/261/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1775 Enlightenment Monarchy Public Opinion Text Women Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The public calls the hero wicked, and the wicked a hero; it also calls the virtuous a harlot and a harlot virtuous. . . . So were the Countess Du Barry and Marie Antoinette. Through her dissolute and revolting debauchery, Du Barry amazed the universe in the alleys, and the crossroads of Paris. She did all these things in evil ways. The same debauchery and agitation of passions were observed in Marie Antoinette's life. Men, women, everything was as she liked. She was satisfied with everything. Her clumsiness as well as her careless mistakes involuntarily gave her behavior the publicity du Barry sought. These two famous women were much alike when it came to misleading and degrading the one they owed respect to. Until his death, du Barry fooled Louis XV. She would sleep with any valet as well as with courtiers. Marie Antoinette also was unfaithful to Louis XVI and fooled him too. . . . Marie Antoinette arrived in France in 1768 in order to marry. This marriage was the most amazing that could ever be imagined. At this point it is interesting to talk about the life at the Court during these years. This will explain the reasons for this marriage and why it ended up in such a dissolute way. The Duke of Choiseul, who was considered to be as good as Richelieu and Mazarin, was a sort of Prime Minister. Louis XV was the weakest of men and the most despicable prince of his century. This Duke, who was as scheming as he was bold, had paid for his favor through submission, a servile obedience, and the accomplishment of the most awful political crime one could ever imagine. Even though he had power, he was afraid of du Barry's intrigues. He despised her and even insulted her in public. The Du Barry organized a conspiracy. Her side was powerful. The Duke had enemies. He had made some reforms and he had been in office for a long time—at court, people like to see change. Finally he was afraid of a coming fall. It was natural he was looking for a protection. He thought he had found one by organizing the marriage of the pretty archduchess and the Dauphin. . . . this marriage made the Duke become odious to the eyes of the nation. Du Barry was a courtesan criticized because she was a villain and because of her debaucheries . . . . This woman was scheming and haughty. She was used to dominating everybody around her and she wanted to extend her domination on Marie Antoinette. . . . She had judged—according to the weakness of the son—how easy it would be to dominate his spirit. It was done. The Prince was under the yoke, and France was going to be racked by the pride and the ambition of these two persons. . . . Marie Antoinette had to become pregnant. This constituted the essential instructions she had received from her mother when she left Vienna. She allowed her august husband to use every possible resources on this matter: they were as short as empty. A lover was then necessary. He had to be handsome, kind, and avowed. . . . Everybody argued about this pregnancy. The women who were around her did not forgive her for having a lover. This is how these religious women were. Sortable Date 1783-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Anonymous, Essais historiques sur la vie de Marie-Antoinette, d'autriche (London, 1789), 1–69. Description An account of the resource Although by law, political power could not pass through the Queen’s body (only male heirs could succeed to the throne in France), there was great political interest in the body of Louis XVI’s Queen, Marie Antoinette, a Habsburg princess whose marriage into the Bourbon household solidified a diplomatic alliance between France and Austria. From nearly the moment she arrived at Versailles in 1770, she was widely suspected of deviousness, and by the late 1770s (by which time she had become Queen), her reputation was being maligned in clandestinely published, pornographic pamphlets known as "libels." The Historical Essays on the Life of Marie–Antoinette of Austria, first published in 1783 and immediately suppressed by the royal censors, was republished secretly several times in the ensuing years, and as many as 20,000 copies may have been in circulation by 1789. It compared Marie Antoinette to the Countess du Barry, suggesting that they had the same fondness for nighttime walks in the gardens of Versailles, which often degenerated into orgies with courtiers of all sexes, ranks, and ages. Again, what is of interest is not whether or not the stories were true but that they further contributed to the view that the monarchy was degenerating—physically, morally, and politically. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 262 Title A name given to the resource Historical Essays on the Life of Marie–Antoinette, of Austria (1783) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/262/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1783 Enlightenment Europe in Revolution Monarchy Public Opinion Text Women