franecdote – je parle américain

franecdote 1670 : Mission Impossible

Posted on 6 August 20136 August 2013 by je parle américain

Detail of a portrait of King Charles II of England
by Thomas Hawker

It’s time for the next “franecdote” — an interesting fact or story from “THAT year in French history“ where “THAT year” is this year minus the number of Facebook fans je parle américain has every Thursday.

Today’s franecdote is from August 1,
when je parle américain had 343 Facebook fans.
So …

The year 2013 — 343 fans = 1670

I’ll never forget from my South Carolina history classes how important the year 1670 was: it’s when England first settled the Carolina colony at Charles Towne, now known as Charleston. Carolina had been named for King Charles I, but Charles Towne was named for his son, Charles II. And it’s that King Charles who figures prominently in today’s franecdote. “But this is about French history, right?” Indeed it is, because the franecdote for today involves not only King Charles II of England, but also King Louis XIV of France. It’s …

Usually there’s a <drumroll> here,
but today this is more appropriate:

The Secret Treaty of Dover Continue reading franecdote 1670 : Mission Impossible

franecdote 1681 : Digging Ditches

Posted on 29 July 20136 August 2013 by je parle américain

Today’s franecdote is from July 25,
when je parle américain had 332 Facebook fans.
So …

The year 2013 — 332 fans = 1681

There were a lot of interesting things that happened in 1681: King Charles II of England granted a land charter to William Penn, who went on to found the colony of Pennsylvania, a woman was flogged in London for “involving herself in politics,” and the last dodo bird was killed … maybe.

But, since this is about France, the franecdote for today is …

The Grand Opening of
The Canal Royal de Languedoc Continue reading franecdote 1681 : Digging Ditches

franecdote 1684 : La Salle’s Last Hurrah

Posted on 24 July 20136 August 2013 by je parle américain

The image is a painting by Theodore Gudin depicting the
the entry of La Salle’s expedition into Matagorda Bay in 1684.
The ship on the left is La Belle, in the middle is Le Joly,
and L’Aimable is to the right.

Today’s franecdote is from July 18,
when je parle américain had 329 Facebook fans.
So …

The year 2013 — 329 fans = 1684, and the franecdote is …

The Final Expedition of
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle Continue reading franecdote 1684 : La Salle’s Last Hurrah

franecdote 1685 : I Won’t Tolerate It

Posted on 17 July 20136 May 2014 by je parle américain

Detail from a 1701 portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud

It’s time for yet another “franecdote” — an interesting fact or story from “THAT year in French history“ where “THAT year” is this year minus the number of Facebook fans je parle américain has every Thursday.

Today’s franecdote is from July 11, when je parle américain had 328 Facebook fans. So …

The year 2013 — 328 fans = 1685, and the franecdote is …

The Edict of Fontainebleau Continue reading franecdote 1685 : I Won’t Tolerate It

franecdote 1688 : King William’s War

Posted on 9 July 20136 August 2013 by je parle américain

You might remember from this recent post that a “franecdote” is an interesting fact or story from “THAT year in French history” where “THAT year” is this year minus the number of Facebook fans je parle américain has every Thursday night.

You might also recall that I’m in the process of publishing these little tidbits on the blog itself after having published them already on Facebook. Today’s franecdote is from last Thursday, in fact, when je parle américain had 325 Facebook fans. So …

The year 2013 — 325 fans = 1688, and the franecdote is …

King William’s War

<cue dramatic music> Continue reading franecdote 1688 : King William’s War

franecdote 1694 : In So Many Words

Posted on 7 July 20136 August 2013 by je parle américain

Used under Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License

I started a new Thursday night tradition a few weeks ago called “THAT year in French history” where I publish a “franecdote” (an interesting fact or story from French history) on the blog’s Facebook fanpage. The key is that “THAT year” depends on the number of Facebook fans je parle américain has every Thursday night. Without going into a long explanation since you can read more about it here …

… the first franecdote was published on June 20, 2013, when je parle américain had 319 Facebook fans, so it was for the year

1694

And now, here it is for the first time on the blog itself … Continue reading franecdote 1694 : In So Many Words