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Village Of Cannibals Essay

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The Village of Cannibals, by Alain Corbin, describes the factors that lead to the murder of an innocent noble. The peasants in the town of Hautefaye were gathered at the local fairgrounds where a dispute erupted between a group of men and a noble. The conflict derived from political issues that were brought to attention through the rumors that spread through France. The government responded swiftly to the crime and reacted with the execution of the alleged murders. The French public reacted, in statements made, that violence as a form of political expression would no longer be tolerable. Rumor and politics were the two factors that led to the judgment of the peasants to commit the crime and the judgment of the government to sentence the murders to punishment and death. Rumor and politics intermix as the factors related to the murder. Opinions about the social …show more content…

The peasants were enthused for the Second Republic because the peasants assumed there would be liberation from their burdens. The rumors were false and the peasants received no liberation from their burdens. When the 45-centime tax passed, peasants refused to pay the tax and threatened anyone who did pay the tax. The threats made would be the same threats made to Alain de Money when he is accused of shouting “Vive la Republique.” When rumors spread that Bonaparte would be emperor and he would force Louis-Philippe to pay the tax, peasants supported Bonaparte and voted for him. When in power, the government had no intention to pay the tax and riots broke out which caused the peasants to relate the army as the symbol of the republic. When Louis-Napoleon reestablished universal suffrage and dismissed the 25 francs he won the support of the peasants which caused them to become aware that their identity involved the support of the emperor. The rural bourgeoisie further strengthened the support for the emperor through

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