Les lumières contre la guerre de course (1763-1795)

Abstract

Privateering was one of the Old Regime's methods of warfare that was most criticised by Enlightenment thinkers. For most Philosophes, it symbolised the persistence of barbarism in a century that defended human rights even in combat. Criticism intensified during the War of American Independence, helping to change the laws on privateers, and putting the abolition of privateering on the agenda. The Revolution prolonged Enlightenment debates. Although the Constituent Assembly did not fundamentally change matters from 1789 to 1791, the declaration of war in April 1792, and especially the changing relations with Britain, altered the situation. In May 1792, a debate between defenders and enemies of privateering in the Legislative Assembly cast the problem in terms of the rules of warfare that a 'regenerated' France should observe. Finally, the declaration of war against Britain in February 1793 made privateering a new issue in the Convention's political debates.