Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The History of the Game of the Goose and its Variants, from its earliest appearance to the end of the 19th century
- Part II The Legacy of the Game of the Goose in the Modern Era
- Conclusion
- Glossary of technical terms
- Figures
- Literature quoted with abbreviated titles
- Index of Games
- Index of Subjects
4 - French games after the Revolution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 November 2020
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The History of the Game of the Goose and its Variants, from its earliest appearance to the end of the 19th century
- Part II The Legacy of the Game of the Goose in the Modern Era
- Conclusion
- Glossary of technical terms
- Figures
- Literature quoted with abbreviated titles
- Index of Games
- Index of Subjects
Summary
The effects of regime change
The development of printed games in France was strongly influenced by the regime changes that followed the Revolution:
1789 The Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille.
1792 (September) Monarchy is abolished and the Republic is proclaimed.
1793 The National Convention seizes power; King Louis XVI is later executed.
1799 Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Directory, replacing it with the Consulate.
1804 Napoleon is declared Emperor by the Senate and is later crowned.
1814 First Restoration: Louis XVIII is briefly declared King.
1815 Defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo; Second Restoration of Louis XVIII.
1821 Death of Napoleon I.
1824 Death of Louis XVIII.
1830 July Revolution overthrows Charles X and the elder branch of the Bourbons; Louis-Philippe d’Orléans becomes King.
1848 February Revolution: Louis-Philippe abdicates. In December, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte becomes President of the Republic.
1852 Second Empire: Louis-Napoleon becomes Napoleon III.
1870 Third Republic.
The present chapter begins by analysing the games that trace the history of the Revolution itself, as it unfolds. They provide valuable contemporary sources, showing how the Revolution was viewed in its earliest years. A second theme to examine is how publishers adapted their games to the political exigencies of each new regime by changing the iconography and amending the text to suit. The new games also reflected changes in society in a wider sense. The increasing affluence and leisure of the bourgeoisie meant that there was a wider market for games, extending beyond the young aristocrats of the preceding century. There were new themes reflecting the activities of this market, notably theatres and other public spectacles. Towards the end of the 19th century, chromolithography developed as a cheap means of mass production, especially in the Alsace-Lorraine area. Thereafter, French games were widely diffused, both in France and within Continental Europe.
Chronicling the French Revolution
A number of contemporary games exist, chronicling the Revolution. That shown in Figure 4.1 is entitled the Jeu de la Révolution Française. The publisher is not given but a line of text below the game image says: ‘A Paris rue S. Hyacinthe pres la Place S. Michel No. 38’: the Bibliothèque nationale de France attributes it to P. E. Lépine (engraver) and gives the date as between 1789 and 1791.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cultural Legacy of the Royal Game of the Goose400 Years of Printed Board Games, pp. 83 - 106Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2019