ANCIEN REGIME IN TURMOIL?

Commerce, Politics and Society in France, c.1682-1793

The Gazette Manuscrite, 1775-1793, and related sources from the John Rylands University Library of Manchester

Publisher's Note

This project brings together a variety of original manuscript sources from the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, dominated by the Gazette Manuscrite, a manuscript newsletter documenting the period 1775-1793.

These manuscript sources provide unique evidence on commerce, politics and society in France, particularly during the years 1775-1793, but also stretching back as far as the reign of Louis XIV with fragments from the Mélanges Littéraires dating from 1682, when the Court moved to Versailles, and the sudden death of Colbert in 1683. There are many letters which indicate that commerce, ‘mercantilism’ and new ’industrial’ enterprises were thriving by the 1770s. This begs the question … Was Society in Crisis? Why a Revolution? … Was the Ancien Regime in Turmoil?

The Gazette Manuscrite 1775 – 1793, 10 volumes, Fr. Mss. 42-51

This series of volumes consists of letters sent on a weekly basis from Paris to Rennes. There are also a number of personal letters sent from various towns in Brittany which are included with the Gazette. Many of the letters are addressed to Monsieur le Comte, or Madame La Comtesse de Chauteaugiron. In October 1790 he becomes Monsieur René Le Prêtre de Chauteaugiron, and Commandant de la garde nationale de Lavaux, département dé la Loire Inférieure; in September 1792 he becomes known more simply as Citoyen René Le Prêtre. Important areas covered include:

- Trade and Commerce
- French provincial life and society
- Provincial towns in Brittany
- New enterprises and mercantilism
- Revolutionary events and the regime in crisis
- The effect of the political situation on every day life and society

This unique documentary source records in a most readable and appealing fashion the dramatic changes in France from 1775 to 1793 through eye witness accounts:

Covering the years 1775-1793 and also reaching as far back as the reign of Louis XIV we have also chosen to include the following related historical and literary manuscripts from the John Rylands University of Manchester:

Comité Révolutionnaire. Émargement des Membres du Comité Révolutionnaire des Sections de Paris, 1793. Each sheet is signed by the chief officials and bears the imprint of the sectional seal or stamp. (Fr. Mss. 110)

Révolution Française. Le Dine du grénadier à Brest. Dialogue patriotique. (Fr. Mss. 115)

Mirabeau. Épitaphes de Mirabeau Riquetti l’aîné mort le 2 avril, 1791. Eighteen satirical epitaphs. (Fr. Mss. 116)

Pièces Diverses. A letter from General Dumourier of the thirty administrators of the town of Mons, from Liège, 1792; fragments from a `Rucueil concernant M. d’Orléans, 1789-1791; papers of M. Micholet, avocat à Cuiseaux, 1807-1809; and various proceedings of the Tribunal Révolutionnaire in 1793 in the Affaire de Clariere. (Fr. Mss. 177)

Mélanges Littéraires. (Fr. Mss. 76-85 and 111). Epitaphs and verses of a political and satirical nature about members of the French court and other well-known contemporary figures, numerous Chansons, including copies of letters of Voltaire and Rousseau. All have tables of contents. Examples include:

- Le Diable Banquier
- Les Rats d’Angleterre
- Réflexions sur le Bonheur. Par Madame La Marquise du Châtelet
- Ode sur l’Insensibilité, à M. Franklin

This collection provides easy and immediate access to a small but fascinating source. It will be of interest to all scholars of the French Revolution, French Society and Politics, Mercantilism, Parisian, Provincial and European Affairs, 1775-1793.

Professor Gwynne Lewis, Department of History, University of Warwick comments:

“Recently, attention has been focused upon the linkages between the Ancien Regime and the Revolution. Here is an excellent source which will enable students to challenge or corroborate many of the conclusions reached by historians over the past two decades concerning the relationship between the crises of the Ancien Regime and those of the Revolution, as well as between Paris and the heart of the Vendéean revolt of 1793 in the west of France.”

A detailed listing provides information on the frequency of the letters making up the Gazette Manuscrite. In addition to the regular despatches from Paris to Rennes, there are letters with reports from Brest, Lorient, Nantes, Lesneven, Paimboeuf, Bayonne and St Malo. The listing also gives further details on the related sources of a literary and historical nature which complete this collection.

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