Belle fête du Fourth of July!...How France helped make America…Impressionists at Honfleur…
| Friday, July 4th, 2020
Dear Friend,
It’s the Fourth of July, and a lovely day for a pique-nique! And while we wonder where to have it, we think of those immortal words, “Lafayette, we are here!”
U.S. Secretary of State Charles Stanton and General Pershing stood at the tomb of Lafayette. It was 1917, three years into the First World War. The United States had just joined forces with the Allied Powers.
France and the United States have a long and deep, if sometimes stormy relationship. The recent announcement by Burger King of the new vegetarian Croissan’wich prompted outrage. “Y a eu des croisades pour moins!” (“There were Crusades launched for less!”), tweeted one Frenchman, appalled at the notion of combining the time-honored component of le petit déjeuner with an imitation meat patty. But rest assured, les Ameriloches are still regarded with affection and even gratitude, especially in the Normandy countryside.
One Frenchman tweeted “Hey, Burger King, we killed our king, maybe it’s your turn now?”
Up in arms about the Croissan’wich!
Although France does not officially celebrate the Fourth of July, it’s an important event here. French philosophers inspired the American Revolution. French arms and treasure paid for much of it. And, in turn, France tried to recreate the young America’s successful experiment with her own tragically flawed Revolution.
It’s easy to forget that when the United States was formed, it was the only country that did not have a state religion, the only country that did not censor books or speech, and one of the very few without a hereditary monarch or ruling class. It was, in short, very unlike France.
It was the only country that explicitly stated that all citizens were to be equal before the law. It was the only country with a formal separation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, the “checks and balances” that would protect an American citizen’s rights and freedoms. The young United States was a country that took theoretical ideas and risked making them into something real.
The philosopher Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers to safeguard civil liberties. The Founders adopted his idea in the U.S. Constitution.
And the French are justly proud of their contribution! The French philosopher Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws famously proposed the separation of powers as an antidote to tyranny. Published in 1748, the book was an international success, despite being banned by the Vatican. Voltaire’s open attacks on religious intolerance strengthened the Founders’ commitment to freedom of expression and conscience. The “Siècle des Lumières,” the French Enlightenment, with its spirit of intellectual curiosity, its faith in human progress and scientific reasoning, and its lively defense of liberté, had a profound influence on the young United States.
Besides ideas, the French were generous with their Treasury. They sent men and arms, gunpowder, gold and ships to help the Americans. The Battle of the Chesapeake was won by the French navy. The Battle of Yorktown by a French commander and French regiments.
So, where should we celebrate the Fourth of July?
Our own parc at the Chateau is equipped with a picnic table and benches. Here, you can spread a cloth and enjoy the dappled shade at the edge of the woods.
But sometimes, especially after the long confinement due to le virus, it’s refreshing to go on an expedition. And we thought it would be a nice gesture, on this day, to honor those who sailed from France to join the American Revolution. Many of the officers and matelots, or sailors, came from fishing and small commercial ports in Normandy, like Cherbourg, Granville, and Honfleur.
The Vieux Bassin at Honfleur. Honfleur was an ancient port of departure for Viking raiders, medieval traders, French explorers and fishermen. It was home to many of the French officers and sailors who fought for American independence.
Honfleur is certainly the prettiest of the three – and also the closest to the Chateau. Unlike other ports in Normandy, Honfleur was not bombarded during the Second World War. Its venerable seafaring charm is intact. Cobbled streets, the Vieux Bassin lined with handsome 16th and 17th century houses, water lapping against colorful fishing boats, medieval houses and churches…there are also restaurants, boutiques and shops, and a fish market where you can buy gleaming fresh fruits de mer to cook at home for dinner.
Honfleur seems to have been founded by the Vikings – the name comes from Old Norse, meaning Húni’s estuary. The Norsemen probably used Honfleur to plunder the English coast; the French were still using it to raid England in the 1400s. English and French traded places here during the 100 Years War.
The great French expeditions of discovery departed for the Americas from Honfleur. Jehan Denis found Terre-Neuve, or Newfoundland in 1504, and Samuel Champlain claimed Nouvelle France for France in 1607. For the next 300 years, ships sailed from Honfleur for cod in the rich fishing banks off the Canadian shores.
The glory days of Honfleur began during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. The Vieux Bassin, allowing large ships to anchor, was built in 1684. Throughout the 17th and 18thcenturies, Honfleur was a key port for transatlantic commerce, enriching its merchants and seamen. The guerre de course, privateering, during the Napoleonic Wars was another source of wealth. It all came to an end with the loss of France’s colonies in the Caribbean and North America and the defeat of Napoleon, leaving a lovely town and a picturesque port.
Impressionist painters and their precursors flocked here. Look for their works at the Musée Eugène Boudin, founded in 1868.
Gustave Courbet’s “Rivage près de Honfleur » of 1866. Honfleur was an artist’s colony for painters including Monet, Corot and Pissarro.
But wherever we decide to go, this is a lovely day for a picnic…and if you can’t buy a Croissan’wich anywhere in France, you can definitely pack a hamper with wine, bread, cheese and pâté in the village of Courtomer! Some lovely little gateaux from the delicately smiling Madame Ludivine at the boulangerie won’t be amiss, either.
Belle fête du Fourth of July!
