Abstract EN:

This thesis tries to explore the Chouan movement and to identify its partisans, keeping as close as possible to the sources in order to avoid preconceived ideas. First of all, the movement is studied from inside, with the help of an unpublished manuscript written by a Chouan leader of the Ancenis area (in south-eastern Brittany) : Michel Gourlet. This study brings out the influence of the Vendee example, the rudimentary military organisation of the Chouan army (particularly of the cavalry), and the social aspect of recruitment. The guerrilla warfare appears as an almost unavoidable choice for the rebellion in the north of the Loire River. Secondly, Chouannerie is studied from a wider point of view, from archive documents concerning the Ancenis district and the borders of Brittany and Anjou. We can notice how thin and, at the same time, stable and young the fighting manpower is. The recruitment is more easily carried out in areas where centrifugal political elements have gathered, such as a modest country class which benefited little by the revolution, the impact of salt smuggling, the influence of oral culture and mentalities (especially religious). . . In the last part, a more general reflection brings into light the regional strength as well as the strategic isolation of Chouannerie. It shows the Chouan' yearning for a representative, moderate and legitimate political regime. It finally underlines the appeasement due to the restoration of religious freedom, the hazards of the alliance between the nobility and the country people, and shows that the disappointed Chouans gradually neglect the idea of the monarchy