Catalogue description State Papers: Gazettes and Pamphlets: France

Gazettes, proclamations and pamphlets printed in France, nearly all in French. Proclamations comprise the majority of this series. They take many forms: edicts, ordonnances, déclarations, letters patent, judgements, sentences, relations, ordres, mandements, harangues, discours, letters, extracts from registers, and most commonly, arrests du Conseil d'Estat du Roy. The latter are the proclamations of the King in council, although he might not always be present. When he is, this is indicated by the formula: Le roi étant en son conseil. Other authorities issuing proclamations include: la Cour des Monnoyes, le prévot des marchands et echevins de Paris, la Cour du Parlement de Paris, le Conseil Royal des Finances, la Cour des Aids, les élus de Paris, le Lieutenant General de Police de Paris, les fermiers generaux, and the Archbishop of Paris.

The subject matter of the proclamations covers every aspect of life in the kingdom, and particularly in Paris. Areas particularly well-represented include:

• taxation, including the setting of rates of duty and the appointment and dismissal of tax-farmers
• military and naval affairs, ranging from the formation and disbandment of units down to the detail of uniforms
• religion, of which the majority are measures against the Protestants, but there is also material on Jansenism
• commodities - there are detailed regulations on all types of goods, with much emphasis on salt, wine, various foodstuffs, slate, gold and silver and clothing. Most of the edicts on clothing forbid excessive luxury
• postal services
• coinage
• shipping and fishing - many detailed regulations, especially in time of war
• justice and public order, including many individual sentences ranging from the trivial to sentences to death, to the galleys, and breaking on the wheel. There are many prescriptions on books and pamphlets, mostly on religious subjects
• colonies, with many references to the activities of the East India Company
• political or polemical, often in the form of an apologia for a declaration of war or peace, etc

A wide range of other subjects is covered, especially in the reign of Louis XV, on subjects as diverse as lotteries, fire precautions, woods and forests, etc.

Only two proclamations predate Henri IV. Those in the reign of Henri IV consist mainly of déclarations and ordonnances and include an affirmation of Catholicism, an exhortation to wage war on Protestants, and reasons for his decision in 1690 to attack the Duke of Savoy. In the period of Louis XIII there are pieces relating to the rising at La Rochelle in 1627, including a declaration by the Duc de Rohan explaining why he has taken up arms against the King.

Until 1666 the proclamations issued under Louis XIV deal largely with coinage regulations. Some deal with the declaration of war against Britain and the alliance with the United Provinces. There is also a great deal of material on the campaign against the United Provinces in 1672-1674. The declaration of the War of the Spanish Succession is also included.

The majority of proclamations fall within the reign of Louis XV. The remainder fall chiefly within the 1720s and deal mostly with domestic matters, many specific to Paris. On 11 June 1726, Cardinal Fleuri succeeded the Duc de Bourbon as Chief Minister, and his name is thereafter to be seen on many proclamations.

The pamphlets fall mainly within the reign of Louis XIV, and include descriptions of military actions, political tracts, verses, a programme for the King's carousel of 1662, lists of book titles and general miscellanea.