Histoire de la Vendée et des Chouans

Histoire de la Vendée et des Chouans is a historical work by Alphonse de Beauchamp, published in three volumes in 1806. The book chronicles the counterrevolutionary uprisings in western France during the 1790s, known as the Wars of the Vendée and the Chouan revolts.12

The Chouans were peasants, often involved in smuggling, who joined the royalist Vendéans in revolt against the French Republic. Their discontent stemmed from government interference with their traditional practices, the abolition of the salt tax (gabelle), measures against the clergy, and forced conscription. The Wars of the Vendée (1793–1796) were a significant internal threat to the Revolution, fueled by religious sentiment and economic backwardness in the region. Beauchamp's work, though based on authentic documents, is largely a compilation and not entirely reliable.321