Jean-Pierre
The Grand Mémoire is a history of the War of American Independence written by Jean-François de Bourgoing, a French diplomat stationed in Madrid. To enlighten Leisure World residents of the significance of the information contained in the Grand Mémoire about the history of our country in its earliest days, the Center for Lifelong Learning will host a presentation by Dr. Jean-Pierre Cap in Clubhouse 1’s Chesapeake Room on August 24th at 2:00 PM.. There is no cost to attend the program. Register with E&R in Clubhouse 1. For more details, contact the Center’s website at https://www.cllmd.com.
The Grand Mémoire is a history of the War of American Independence written between 1778 and 1783 by Jean-François de Bourgoing, a French diplomat stationed in Madrid. As an assistant and military attaché to the ambassador Montmorin, well informed, he recorded events and decisions as they occurred. Lacking the information contained in the Grand Mémoire, historians, both Spanish and American, have not recognized that Spain did not play an important role in securing the independence of the United States. On the contrary, the Grand Mémoire leads to the conclusion that without the alliance with Spain, the War of American Independence could have been shorter and cost less.
Spain remained in the war only thanks to French support in virtually all its military operations. Thus, the alliance with Spain became counterproductive for France. The Spanish categorically refused to participate in operations designed to help the United States, especially in the campaign leading to Yorktown. To have sought the alliance with Spain was Vergennes’ greatest error, ignored by even French historians.
Lacking the information contained in the Grand Mémoire, historians, both Spanish and American, have not recognized that Spain did not play an important role in securing the independence of the United States. On the contrary, the Grand Mémoire leads to the conclusion that without the alliance with Spain, the War of American Independence could have been shorter and cost less.
Jean-Pierre Cap is a recent resident of Leisure world, with an apartment in Overlook. He was born in France where he received a classical secondary education. He then attended Temple University for a B.A. and M.A. in History, the Univ. of Pennsylvania for an M.A. in Romance Languages, and Rutgers University for his Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures. Jean-Pierre then taught French language, literature and civilization at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, Rutgers, the University of Maryland and Lafayette College where, as Edwin Oliver Williams Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures, he developed the course on French civilization and programs of study abroad.
When Jean-Pierre Cap discovered in France the handwritten original document entitled Grand Mémoire by Jean-François de Bourgoing, which had been decomposing on the stone floor of a château for two centuries, he realized its importance as the work of a participant in the most crucial period in American history. This led to a decades-long project to decipher, transcribe and find a publisher. The sheer bulk of the manuscript (1100 plus pages) and that it was redacted in French made American publishers hesitant until Dr. Cap found a way to make it more accessible to American scholars by summarizing each “chapter” in English to follow the full French text. His version of The Grand Mémoire was Published in 2019 by the American Philosophical Society, founded by Ben Franklin, and is available from the Diane Publishing Co.
Register early to assure a seat at the program.