"Since as long ago as I can
remember" (an old refrain), I have found it impossible to look up information on
any famous person from the past. The moment I open dictionary, history book or
encyclopedia I find myself turning to the words "Vendée", "Charette",
"Chouans". And what I read never fails to shock me.Let's look at the "Petit
Robert" dictionary of proper names: Vence... Venceslas... Vendée." "Counter-revolutionary
uprising // brought about by the conscription of 300,000 men // and more deeply by
economic difficulties (food shortages, poverty), fostered and directed by the nobility and
numerous priests disloyal to the Convention"... [followed by a rather inaccurate
description of the military facts]. "The massacres of the Republicans by the
Vendeans were succeeded by the organisation and the development of the Terror."There.
Typical... A tissue of lies. But "useful" lies, which help legitimatise
a repression that was little short of genocide.Well, I'll admit that my first idea was to
look at books from the beginning of the 20th century, the history books of our state
education system - you might as well call them the bible of the black hussars of the
Republic (as they proudly styled themselves).But that would have been to move the debate
into too distant a context: that of the period where radicals and clergy threw history in
one another's faces. "Give me the Albigenesian Crusade and I'll brandish the
Terror at you". "If that's how you feel, I'll sock you with the St Bartholomew's
Day Massacre!"
It's strange, too, how atheists can choose martyrs among the faithful of certain
religions. However, the enemies of my enemies are my friends.Admittedly, contemporary
historical documents are sadly lacking. Such books would allow me to trace the way stories
of the Vendée Wars were, and are still, told. How can massacres of such vast numbers be
so little known by French people? At least 250,000 - counter-revolutionaries and
"patriots" [Republicans] - dead (though on one side there were very few civil
casualties). But it's no good going over the same old ground. In case you had not yet
grasped the fact, the baddies in this story are the Republicans; the victims the Vendeans
(I nearly said "goodies" in place of victims, but I would have been accused -
quite rightly - of bias).Eventually, for this introduction, I chose a 20-year-old work:
"A Comic-Strip History of France", published by Larousse.
As you'll see, it's worth its weight in peanuts.
And I recently came across another book, written by Alain Decaux in 1988: "The French Revolution Retold for Children". Not bad
either for a man who, five years later, was to proclaim rather different opinions during
the inauguration of the Memorial at Les Lucs sur Boulogne |
