Academic literature on the topic 'History, Louis XVI, 1774-1793'

In April 1793, France was waging war both inside and outside its borders. Over the previous year, the French government had taken up arms against Austria, Sardinia, Prussia, Great Britain, Holland and Spain. In its first seizure of new territory since the Revolution began in 1789, it had recently annexed the previously Austrian region we now call Belgium. Revolutionaries had dissolved the French monarchy in September 1792, then guillotined former king Louis XVI in January 1793. If France spawned violence in victory, it redoubled domestic bloodshed in defeat; a major French loss to Austrian forces at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793, followed by the defection of General Dumouriez, precipitated both a call for expanded military recruitment and a great struggle for control of the revolutionary state. April saw the formation of the Committee of Public Safety, fearsome instrument of organizational combat. France's domestic battle was to culminate in a Jacobin seizure of power.

This article re-examines a crucial aspect of French history between 1789 and 1793, and one which remains controversial : the attitude of Louis XVI towards the Revolution. It does this by exploiting an important and unpublished source, the letters of the king's secret plenipotentiary to the European powers, the baron de Breteuil, to the foreign monarch most trusted by the French royal family, Gustavus III of Sweden. Since Louis XVI's precarious position in Paris from the October Days until his death prevented him from expressing his true feelings except very rarely, historians since have found it difficult to reach firm conclusions on his political views and motivation during the Revolution, and the result has often been partisan judgements from left and right. The issue has been further clouded by persistent claims for over a century that several of Louis's most important letters of this period are forgeries. While they do not resolve all these problems, the letters of Breteuil to Gustavus III, which are incontestably genuine, reveal Louis XVI's views on critical events between 1791 and 1792 as represented by the politician closest to his real policy, to the fellow-ruler in whom he had the most faith. The most important subjects covered are Breteuil's interpretation of Louis XVI's true attitude to the constitution of September 1791, his distrust of his brothers, the comtes de Provence and d'Artois, and the plan for an armed congress of the European powers to put pressure on revolutionary France. These letters, and Gustavus III's replies to them, are published at the end of the article in an appendix.

-Bridget Brereton, Emilia Viotti Da Costa, Crowns of glory, tears of blood: The Demerara slave rebellion of 1823. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. xix + 378 pp.-Grant D. Jones, Assad Shoman, 13 Chapters of a history of Belize. Belize city: Angelus, 1994. xviii + 344 pp.-Donald Wood, K.O. Laurence, Tobago in wartime 1793-1815. Kingston: The Press, University of the West Indies, 1995. viii + 280 pp.-Trevor Burnard, Howard A. Fergus, Montserrat: History of a Caribbean colony. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1994. x + 294 pp.-John L. Offner, Joseph Smith, The Spanish-American War: Conflict in the Caribbean and the Pacific, 1895-1902. London: Longman, 1994. ix + 262 pp.-Louis Allaire, John M. Weeks ,Ancient Caribbean. New York: Garland, 1994. lxxi + 325 pp., Peter J. Ferbel (eds)-Aaron Segal, Hilbourne A. Watson, The Caribbean in the global political economy. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994. ix + 261 pp.-Aaron Segal, Anthony P. Maingot, The United States and the Caribbean. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1994. xi + 260 pp.-Bill Maurer, Helen I. Safa, The myth of the male breadwinner: Women and industrialization in the Caribbean. Boulder CO: Westview, 1995. xvi + 208 pp.-Peter Meel, Edward M. Dew, The trouble in Suriname, 1975-1993. Westport CT: Praeger, 1994. xv + 243 pp.-Henry Wells, Jorge Heine, The last Cacique: Leadership and politics in a Puerto Rican city. Pittsburgh PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993. ix + 310 pp.-Susan Eckstein, Jorge F. Pérez-López, Cuba at a crossroads: Politics and economics after the fourth party congress. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994. xviii + 282 pp.-David A.B. Murray, Marvin Leiner, Sexual politics in Cuba: Machismo, homosexuality, and AIDS. Boulder CO: Westview, 1994. xv + 184 pp.-Kevin A. Yelvington, Selwyn Ryan ,Sharks and sardines: Blacks in business in Trinidad and Tobago. St. Augustine, Trinidad: Institute of social and economic studies, University of the West Indies, 1992. xiv + 217 pp., Lou Anne Barclay (eds)-Catherine Levesque, Allison Blakely, Blacks in the Dutch world: The evolution of racial imagery in a modern society. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. xix + 327 pp.-Dennis J. Gayle, Frank Fonda Taylor, 'To hell with paradise': A history of the Jamaican tourist industry. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993. ix + 239 pp.-John P. Homiak, Frank Jan van Dijk, Jahmaica: Rastafari and Jamaican society, 1930-1990. Utrecht: ISOR, 1993. 483 pp.-Peter Mason, Arthur MacGregor, Sir Hans Sloane: Collector, scientist, antiquary, founding Father of the British Museum. London: British Museum Press, 1994.-Philip Morgan, James Walvin, The life and times of Henry Clarke of Jamaica, 1828-1907. London: Frank Cass, 1994. xvi + 155 pp.-Werner Zips, E. Kofi Agorsah, Maroon heritage: Archaeological, ethnographic and historical perspectives. Kingston: Canoe Press, 1994. xx + 210 pp.-Michael Hoenisch, Werner Zips, Schwarze Rebellen: Afrikanisch-karibischer Freiheitskampf in Jamaica. Vienna Promedia, 1993. 301 pp.-Elizabeth McAlister, Paul Farmer, The uses of Haiti. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1994. 432 pp.-Robert Lawless, James Ridgeway, The Haiti files: Decoding the crisis. Washington DC: Essential Books, 1994. 243 pp.-Bernadette Cailler, Michael Dash, Edouard Glissant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. xii + 202 pp.-Peter Hulme, Veronica Marie Gregg, Jean Rhys's historical imagination: Reading and writing the Creole. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. xi + 228 pp.-Silvia Kouwenberg, Francis Byrne ,Focus and grammatical relations in Creole languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1993. xvi + 329 pp., Donald Winford (eds)-John H. McWhorter, Ingo Plag, Sentential complementation in Sranan: On the formation of an English-based Creole language. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1993. ix + 174 pp.-Percy C. Hintzen, Madan M. Gopal, Politics, race, and youth in Guyana. San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1992. xvi + 289 pp.-W.C.J. Koot, Hans van Hulst ,Pan i rèspèt: Criminaliteit van geïmmigreerde Curacaose jongeren. Utrecht: OKU. 1994. 226 pp., Jeanette Bos (eds)-Han Jordaan, Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, Een zweem van weemoed: Verhalen uit de Antilliaanse slaventijd. Curacao: Caribbean Publishing, 1993. 175 pp.-Han Jordaan, Ingvar Kristensen, Plantage Savonet: Verleden en toekomst. Curacao: STINAPA, 1993, 73 pp.-Gerrit Noort, Hesdie Stuart Zamuel, Johannes King: Profeet en apostel in het Surinaamse bosland. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 1994. vi + 241 pp.

-Stanley L. Engerman, B.W. Higman, Slave populations of the British Caribbean, 1807-1834. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, Johns Hopkins Studies in Atlantic History and Culture, 1984. xxxiii + 781 pp.-Susan Lowes, Gad J. Heuman, Between black and white: race, politics, and the free coloureds in Jamaica, 1792-1865. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies No. 5, 1981. 20 + 321 pp.-Anthony Payne, Lester D. Langley, The banana wars: an inner history of American empire, 1900-1934. Lexington KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1983. VIII + 255 pp.-Roger N. Buckley, David Geggus, Slavery, war and revolution: the British occupation of Saint Domingue, 1793-1798. New York: The Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1982. xli + 492 pp.-Gabriel Debien, George Breathett, The Catholic Church in Haiti (1704-1785): selected letters, memoirs and documents. Chapel Hill NC: Documentary Publications, 1983. xii + 202 pp.-Alex Stepick, Michel S. Laguerre, American Odyssey: Haitians in New York City. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1984. 198 pp-Andres Serbin, H. Michael Erisman, The Caribbean challenge: U.S. policy in a volatile region. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1984. xiii + 208 pp.-Andres Serbin, Ransford W. Palmer, Problems of development in beautiful countries: perspectives on the Caribbean. Lanham MD: The North-South Publishing Company, 1984. xvii + 91 pp.-Carl Stone, Anthony Payne, The politics of the Caribbean community 1961-79: regional integration among new states. Oxford: Manchester University Press, 1980. xi + 299 pp.-Evelyne Huber Stephens, Michael Manley, Jamaica: struggle in the periphery. London: Third World Media, in association with Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative Society, 1982. xi + 259 pp.-Rhoda Reddock, Epica Task Force, Grenada: the peaceful revolution. Washington D.C., 1982. 132 pp.-Rhoda Reddock, W. Richard Jacobs ,Grenada: the route to revolution. Havana: Casa de Las Americas, 1979. 157 pp., Ian Jacobs (eds)-Jacqueline Anne Braveboy-Wagner, Andres Serbin, Geopolitica de las relaciones de Venezuela con el Caribe. Caracas: Fundación Fondo Editorial Acta Cientifica Venezolana, 1983.-Idsa E. Alegria-Ortega, Jorge Heine, Time for decision: the United States and Puerto Rico. Lanham MD: North-South Publishing Co., 1983. xi + 303 pp.-Richard Hart, Edward A. Alpers ,Walter Rodney, revolutionary and scholar: a tribute. Los Angeles: Center for Afro-American Studies and African Studies Center, University of California, 1982. xi + 187 pp., Pierre-Michel Fontaine (eds)-Paul Sutton, Patrick Solomon, Solomon: an autobiography. Trinidad: Inprint Caribbean, 1981. x + 253 pp.-Paul Sutton, Selwyn R. Cudjoe, Movement of the people: essays on independence. Ithaca NY: Calaloux Publications, 1983. xii + 217 pp.-David Barry Gaspar, Richard Price, To slay the Hydra: Dutch colonial perspectives on the Saramaka wars. Ann Arbor MI: Karoma Publishers, 1983. 249 pp.-Gary Brana-Shute, R. van Lier, Bonuman: een studie van zeven religieuze specialisten in Suriname. Leiden: Institute of Cultural and Social Studies, ICA Publication no. 60, 1983. iii + 132 pp.-W. van Wetering, Charles J. Wooding, Evolving culture: a cross-cultural study of Suriname, West Africa and the Caribbean. Washington: University Press of America 1981. 343 pp.-Humphrey E. Lamur, Sergio Diaz-Briquets, The health revolution in Cuba. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983. xvii + 227 pp.-Forrest D. Colburn, Ramesh F. Ramsaran, The monetary and financial system of the Bahamas: growth, structure and operation. Mona, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1984. xiii + 409 pp.-Wim Statius Muller, A.M.G. Rutten, Leven en werken van de dichter-musicus J.S. Corsen. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum, 1983. xiv + 340 pp.-Louis Allaire, Ricardo E. Alegria, Ball courts and ceremonial plazas in the West Indies. New Haven: Department of Anthropology of Yale University, Yale University Publications in Anthropology No. 79, 1983. lx + 185 pp.-Kenneth Ramchand, Sandra Paquet, The Novels of George Lamming. London: Heinemann, 1982. 132 pp.

This thesis examines the portraiture and patronage of Marie Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan, the princesse de Lamballe (1749-1792). It is the first comprehensive and detailed study to be undertaken of the princess's activities as patron. Lamballe was Marie-Antoinette's longest-serving confidante and Superintendent of the Queen's Household. Through close formal analysis of the portraits combined with careful consideration of the sitter's personal circumstances and the wider cultural and historical context, the thesis challenges scholarly assumptions that the princess had only negligible influence as a sitter and patron. As a case study of an independent, professionally ambitious and childless widow, it identifies a wider range of motives and cultural meanings than has previously been ascribed to female court patronage of this period. The first chapter demonstrates that the early depictions of Lamballe as a docile and grieving princess were largely dictated by her father-in-law, an identity the princess subsequently discarded when she assumed a professional role at court. Chapter two examines portraits executed during the princess's rise to political and social prominence and shows that her attachment to the queen and the length of time she spent in her company and service, together with her publicly visible roles as freemason and salonnière, made her a figure of considerable renown and influence and thereby a highly significant patron at the French court. This was enhanced by the princess's international reputation as a talented amateur artist in her own right and by her financial and social support of aspiring artists and art institutions. The princess's engagement with the cult of sentiment and advocacy of women artists is allied to the sorority encouraged by Marie-Antoinette within the women of her select circle. Complementary chapters on the princess's previously unknown anglophile inclinations (discussed in Chapter three) and her private collections, library, and musical and literary patronage (considered in Chapter four) further reveal that Lamballe was an informed and cultivated female patron who operated at the very centre of Marie-Antoinette's circle.

Cette étude sur l'hôtel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne de 1774 à 1798, actuel Hôtel de la Marine place de la Concorde, comprend trois parties; les directeurs au XVIIIe siècle, le décor et le mobilier de leur appartement et les collections royales. Les Fontanieu possédaient la charge d'intendant des meubles de la Couronne depuis Louis XIV. Pierre Elisabeth (1767-1784), cultivé et amateur, connaissait bien le milieu artistique parisien. Thierry de Ville d'Avray (1784-1792) était l'aboutissement de l'ascension sociale de sa famille par l'achat de charges. Moins cultivé que son prédécesseur, il géra le Garde-Meuble en administrateur. Pour la réalisation de son appartement, Fontanieu fit appel aux artisans des équipes royales. Ils réalisèrent un des plus beaux ensembles du début des années 1770. Thierry agrandit l'appartement et choisit un mobilier plus spectaculaire. Pour eux, la richesse des décors reflétait le prestige de leur administration. Réunies par Louis XIV par goût et pour témoigner de l'éclat de sa couronne, les collections d'objets d'art quittèrent Versailles au XVIIIe siècle, par l'indifférence de Louis XV. Exposées au public au Garde-Meuble à partir de 1776, elles témoignaient du faste de la monarchie. La Révolution les intégra au patrimoine national mais les considéra comme une réserve de bibelots. Malgré son prestige, à son apogée au XVIIIe siècle, la Révolution refusa au Garde-Meuble le rôle de musée pour le cantonner à la stricte gestion du mobilier. Il devint l'actuel Mobilier national
This research about the hotel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne from 1774 to 1798, now the French navy headquarters place de la Concorde at Paris, is made up three parts: the directors at the XVIIIe century, decoration and furniture of their apartment and the royal collections. The office of intendant des meubles de la Couronne belonged to the Fontanieu's family since Louis XIV. Pierre Elisabeth (1764-1784), cultured and art lover, knew very well the Parisian artistic sphere. Thierry de Ville d'Avray (1784-179z) was the result of the social ascension of his family with offices. Less cultured than his predecessor, he managed the garde-meuble as an administrator. For the realisation of his apartment, Fontanieu appeal to the royal craftsmen. They realized one of the most beautiful decoration of the beginning of the 1770's. Thierry extended the apartment and choose spectacular furniture. For them, sumptuousness of the apartment reflected the administration's prestige. Collected by Louis XIV by pleasure and for ostentation, the royal collections of objets d'art left Versailles during the XVIIIth century by the lack of interest from Louis XV and Louis XVI. Exhibit at the Garde-Meuble since 1776, the collections showed the monarchy's pomp. The revolution considered them as national patrimony, but they became a reserve of curios. The prestige of the garde-meuble was at the height in the XVIIIth century, but the Revolution did not accept it was a museum: the Garde-Meuble had just to manage the furniture: it became the present French Mobilier national

Il faut voir dans le procès de Louis XVI un acte de justice politique. Le roi fut effectivement jugé mais son procès fut adapté à la nature politique de l'affaire qui fut, par ailleurs, le théâtre d'affrontements partisans entre la Gironde et la Montagne. Les montagnards l'emportèrent finalement : à l'issue de ce jugement, les girondins n'étaient plus majoritaires au sein de l'assemblée. Mais surtout, le procès et l'execution du roi portèrent un coup fatal à l'absolutisme de droit divin.

Louis 16, dernier roi d'Ancien Régime, fut un des sujets privilégiés de la biographie romantique. Cette dernière reconstruit dans son discours l'image du monarque et s'interroge sur la révolution, sur le sens de la vie du roi, décrite comme une légende pathétique du royalisme et de la religion

Comment s'organiser pour influencer les décisions du monarque absolu? À travers l'étude du «parti dévot », ce travail analyse la mutation d’une forme de parti à la Cour de France. Sous le règne de Louis XIV et dans la première moitié de celui de Louis XV, le « parti dévot » était une faction (forme de parti structuré autour de familles et d'amitiés héréditaires). Il défendait le catholicisme d'Etat, dans la lignée du cardinal de Richelieu. Parlementaires, l'avènement des Lumières et l'émergence de l'individu bouleversèrent le «parti dévot », qui devint un proto-parti absolutiste et antiparlementaire. La prise de parti ne dépendait plus des fidélités sociales, mais des idées défendues par des individus. Cependant, l’usure du pouvoir et les querelles internes provoquèrent la dissolution du proto-parti, sous Louis XVI
How did people influence the decisions of the absolute King? This work analyses the mutation of the "devout party" configuration at the Court of France, under King Louis XIV, King Louis XV and King Louis XVI. The first part of this thesis shows that the "devout party" represented a royal catholic faction in the XVII century and at the beginning of the XVIII century. This kind of organized party was based on patronages and families that defended State Catholicism ideas in the same vein as cardinal de Richelieu. A second part deals with the change of the royal catholic faction into a proto-party which was supporting absolutism against Parliaments. Progressively, people entering this party were mostly defending ideas rather than being loyal ta social conventions. Since 1769, the "devout party" was confronted in the government to the wearing down of the power and to internal quarrel. At the beginning of 1780, the "devout party" had lost its political weight

L'intérêt scientifique pour l'image de Louis XV et Louis XVI a été jusqu'ici bien moindre que celui manifesté pour celle de leur glorieux ancêtre, Louis XIV. Cette situation a pu être encouragée par une historiographie inclinant à l'hypothèse de la désacralisation de la monarchie au XVIIIe siècle. Il en aurait résulté une dégradation de l'image royale, la monarchie étant incapable de faire face au rôle de plus en plus déterminant joué par la sphère publique. Or, ce travail cherche à montrer que c'est précisément en raison de la prise en compte de l'opinion que cette image royale se redéfinit à cette période, une redéfinition qui apparaissait d'autant plus nécessaire après la défaite dans la Guerre de Sept Ans. C'est bientôt la représentation d'un roi simple et bienfaisant, inspirée par Stanislas Leszczynski, qui s'impose et qui contribue à la popularité de Louis XVI pendant son règne. Ainsi, la représentation royale évolue en se donnant de nouveaux modèles. Elle tire en outre parti d'une multiplicité de supports de diffusion dont la démocratisation permet de toucher un large public. Enfin, cette image ne se conçoit plus sans un nouvel acteur : la presse qui sert à la fois à promouvoir l'iconographie royale, à préciser son sens et à lui donner consistance
Up to now, scholarly studies have shown less interest in the image of Louis XV and Louis XVI than in the one of their glorious ancestor, Louis XIV. This situation may have been encouraged by a historiography fostering the hypothesis of the desacralization of the monarchy in the 18th century. It would have led to a degradation of the royal image, with the monarchy being unable to face up to the growing influence of the public sphere. Yet, this dissertation tries to show that it precisely was because public opinion was taken into account that the royal image was redifined at the period. It appeared all the more necessary after the defeat in the Seven Years War. Soon afterwards, the representation of a simple and benevolent king, inspired by Stanislas Leszczynski, began to prevail and contributed much to the popularity of Louis XVI during his reign. Thus, the royal representation evolved and refered to new models. It also made good use of the democratization of multiple diffusion mediums enabling it to reach a larger public. Finally, the royal image could not be contemplated without paying attention to a major new actor: the press. It was used to promote the new royal iconography but it also precised its meaning and gave it some intellectual substance

L'histoire du 5e Régiment de Hussards, de sa création dans les dernières années de l'Ancien Régime à la fin des Cent Jours, permet d'étudier sa composition sociale et l'évolution de son recrutement, de connaître le rôle de la cavalerie en général et de la cavalerie légère en particulier dans ses missions de guerre et d'aborder les aléas de l'histoire militaire à travers l'histoire d'une unité. Grâce aux archives du Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, il est possible de connaître la composition réelle du régiment en utilisant ses registres administratifs : origine géographique, âge, taille, situation sociale, caractéristiques physiques, recrutement, mais aussi les phénomènes liés à la vie militaire de cette époque : insoumission, remplacement militaire, émigration, réaction des officiers et des hussards aux différents changements politiques. L'analyse systématique de tous les dossiers des officiers et cavaliers du 5e Hussards, permet d'étudier, la vie et la mort de ces soldats entre 1783 et 1815 : les grades et les distinctions, la loge maçonnique du régiment, les pertes effectives du fait des campagnes militaires : morts, blessés (causes de la mort, natures des blessures), prisonniers, mais aussi les pertes liées à la vie militaire : les maladies (types de maladies rencontrées), les décès dans les hôpitaux, les duels, la désertion, les réformes, les changements de régiment. Cette recherche aborde aussi toutes les opérations militaires auxquelles le 5e Régiment de Hussards prit part de 1783 à 1815 et la place du régiment dans ces différentes campagnes
History of the 5th Hussars, from its creation in the last years of the Old Regime to the end of the Hundred Days, allows to study its social composition and the evolution of its recruitment, to know more about role of cavalry and the light cavalry in particular in its mission of war and to deal with the risks of the military history through the history of a military unit. Tanks to the archives of the “Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre”, it is possible to be acquainted with the real composition of the regiment by using its administrative registers : geographic origin, age, size, social condition, physical characteristics, recruitment, but also phenomena related to military life of the time : insubordination, military replacement, emigration, reaction from the officers and hussars to the various political changes. Systematic analysis of all the files of the officers and riders of the 5th Hussars, allows to study the life, the deaths of these soldiers from 1783 to 1815 : ranks and distinctions, the Masonic lodge of the regiment, losses because of military campaigns (the dead, wounded – the causes of death, nature of wounds), prisoners but also losses related to military life : diseases (type of the disease), deaths in hospitals, duels, desertion, short listed, changes of regiment. This research also tackles all the military operations the 5th Hussars took part into from 1783 to 1815 and the place of the regiment in these various campaigns

Jeanne Bécu, an illegitimate child from the Vaucouleurs area in France, ascended the ranks of the Ancien régime to become the Countess du Barry and take her place as Royal Mistress of Louis XV. During her tenure as Royal Mistress, Jeanne amassed a jewel collection that rivaled all private collections. During the course of the French Revolution, more specifically the Reign of Terror, Jeanne was forced to hatch a plot to secure the remainder of her wealth as she lost a significant portion of her revenue on the night of 4 August 1789. To protect her wealth, Jeanne enlisted Nathaniel Parker Forth, a British spy, to help her plan a fake jewel theft at Louveciennes so that she could remove her economic capital from France while also reducing her total wealth and capital with the intent of reducing her tax payments. As a result of the theft, her jewelry was transported to London, where she would travel four times during the French Revolution on the pretext of recovering her jewelry. This thesis examines her actions while abroad during the Revolution and her culpability in the plot. While traveling to and from London, Jeanne was able to move information, money, and people out of France. Jeanne was arrested and charged with aiding the counter-revolution, for which the Revolutionary Tribunal sentenced her to death. Madame du Barry represented the extravagance and waste of Versailles and of Bourbon absolutism, and this symbolic representation of waste was what eventually inhibited Jeanne’s success.