The linguistic makeup of Revolutionary France
I feel that one of the most overlooked aspects of studying the French Revolution is that, in 18th-century France, most people did not speak French. Yes, you read that correctly. On 26 Prairial, Year II (14 June 1794), Abbé Henri Grégoire (1) stood before the Convention and delivered a report called The Report on the […]
The Last Letter of Camille Desmoulins
April 5th, 1794: Camille Desmoulins went to the Place de la Révolution to die.
There was no journal left to write, no crowd to stir, no chance to rewrite the last page. He had already said too much.
The Revolution had eaten through its own flesh, and Camille, once its poet, was now just another name on the list.
He left behind one final letter. Not quite a manifesto. Just a man, waiting to die, writing to his wife.
