Assigning a Value to Valor
Assigning a Value to Valor
This chapter details a confluence of events in 1757 that radically changed the composition of the royal council and the direction of the war in Europe and North America. These include the foiled assassination of Louis XV; the disgrace of Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, Comte d’Argenson which undermined the war effort; and the fall of naval minister Jean-Baptiste de Machault d’Arnouville, which thrust the ministry into a period of constant upheaval. Dismissals and tension at court added to the Crown’s military misfortunes in Europe. Frederick II and a small Prussian army inflicted a humiliating defeat on the French at Rossbach (in Saxony) in November 1757, which placed France on the defensive and fueled public and court concerns about war strategy, alliances, and finance. In response to these upheavals, the king’s ministers constantly referred to honor and zeal and sought positive examples of war to prove to the more pragmatically minded public that attention to the king’s honor motivated the success of French arms. The French court made sure to monitor the international press for news in order to place any French success, wherever it occurred, in the service of propaganda.
Keywords: European war, American war, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, North America, France, Louis XV, French court
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