Analysis Of Edme Restif De La Bretonne

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Nicole Morandi Hist201 European History Professor Rucano 11/19/09 Source Report I. Purpose • This source is description of the massacres as seen by the author that took place in the jails in France. • The author of the document is Nicolas-Edme Restif de la Bretonne, he was an influential writer in France at the time. • The document was written in 1793 in France • In the document Restif de la Bretonne writes about what he witnessed on the second day of the massacres. The Massacres were fueled by fear of the invasion from Prussia, food shortages and radical propaganda. About 150 people broke into jails, attacked and killed prisoners because they feared the prisoners would aid in Prussia’s invasion…show more content…
The tone of the document is very somber. • The author is concerned with the amount of violence that took place. When he says “what pointless cruelty”, it illustrates his concern. III. Presuppositions • The ideas and values that the author discusses are different from the ideas and values of America; however they are not that much different from that of developing nations. For example, in the Middle East many people are killed as a result of religious and ethnic differences. • In 1792 the murders believed that they were just in killing innocent people under the assumption that they would aid Prussia in the invasion of France. However, I find this questionable because they acted on their assumptions which led to the death of many innocent people. I believe that innocent people with out a fair trial or without valid evidence. The murders thought they were protecting France by taking these drastic measures. These people were acting out of fear more than on evidence as shown in the following quote “The were feared to be counterrevolutionaries who would aid the invading Prussians IV.
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