In the news1720–1721
The Great Plague of Marseilles
The Great Plague of Marseilles, the last major plague epidemic in France, devastated the region between 1720 and 1721.
Paris, 25 Sep 1721 – Turin, 16 Dec 1778
7 facts3 sources
25 Sep 1721
Born in Paris
8 Sep 1749
A daughter is born
16 Dec 1778
Dies in Turin, aged 57
He lived through 6 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Paris.
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
In the news1720–1721
The Great Plague of Marseilles, the last major plague epidemic in France, devastated the region between 1720 and 1721.
Getting around
Travel times between major French cities
Traveling between cities often involved water coaches (coches d'eau) for rivers or road carriages, with a journey from Lyon to Paris taking six days at a slow pace or three days at a faster pace in 1742.
At the table
Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals
The staple of the ordinary diet was bread, often consumed as a soup by soaking pieces in water, broth, or vegetable mixtures. This meal structure, centered on a starchy base accompanied by secondary savory foods, remained remarkably stable for centuries.
In Europe · 1700–1721The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.
What people wore
Aprons as Occupational Markers
On working days, both men and women typically wore aprons, which often became stained by their specific occupations, such as printing or butchery.
Music
Public concert series started in Paris
Starting in 1725, Parisians could attend public concerts organized by the Concert Spirituel society, which performed in the Tuileries Gardens when the Opéra was closed for religious festivals.
Daily life
Daily struggles for light and water
Domestic lighting relied on oil lamps, tallow candles, or wax candles, which were expensive and labor-intensive to manage. Families often had to fetch water manually from communal fountains, as running water in homes was not available.