Obviously, the draft constitutes an economic loss, but is there any evidence that Bretagne and the other areas of royalist uprising were less able than others to bear this loss? It seems to me that there must be another explanation, but stubbornness in way of religion might not necessarily account for it all--the statistics I mentioned about the high incidence of non-juring priests in other regions, for example.
And even assuming that religion did account for most of their reasons for fighting, I suppose my main point is, an ignorant 18th century peasant, who, believing himself to be fighting for what is right-- according to his indoctrination since earliest childhood--, but really fighting against his own best interests by taking the side of the authority figures who continue to pull the wool over his eyes, so to speak, for their own ends, is to be pitied. However, the two groups of people I can't have any pity for are a) the priests and lords who knew that the real fight was not about religion, but about "democracy vs. feudalism," but, also knowing that the peasants would be unwilling to fight for their cause thus articulated, framed it to the peasants as a religious war; and b) people living today who support the "whites," though, with historical perspective, they really ought to know better. I mostly just find the latter pathetic though.
And the goings-on in the Midi were just an example; I by no means meant to imply that the Bretons had any knowledge or appreciation of events there.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-07-19 03:31 am (UTC)And even assuming that religion did account for most of their reasons for fighting, I suppose my main point is, an ignorant 18th century peasant, who, believing himself to be fighting for what is right-- according to his indoctrination since earliest childhood--, but really fighting against his own best interests by taking the side of the authority figures who continue to pull the wool over his eyes, so to speak, for their own ends, is to be pitied. However, the two groups of people I can't have any pity for are a) the priests and lords who knew that the real fight was not about religion, but about "democracy vs. feudalism," but, also knowing that the peasants would be unwilling to fight for their cause thus articulated, framed it to the peasants as a religious war; and b) people living today who support the "whites," though, with historical perspective, they really ought to know better. I mostly just find the latter pathetic though.
And the goings-on in the Midi were just an example; I by no means meant to imply that the Bretons had any knowledge or appreciation of events there.