The newspaper did not exist anywhere in the beginning of the 17th century. Those rudimen tary periodicals that were irregularly published in Holland, England and Germany cannot be considered as newspapers. They were for the most part circulated secretly, were chiefly of a licentious nature, and went under the name of (nouvelles a la (news to hand). They related mainly the scandalous news of the court or the town, and the writers thereof not inf re quently expiated their indiscretions in prison. On 30 May 1631 a Parisian doctor named Theophraste Renaudot (b. London 1586), who was also the founder of pawnbroking estab lishments, conceived the idea of selling a real newspaper of four pages every Saturday, which he called 'the Gazette, from *Gazetta,* a Venetian coin. This enterprise, which under his care was to last till his death, had its vicis situdes. The novel idea pleased Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, who, almost at once, assisted by Father Joseph, °His gray Eminence,* wanted to make use of it to answer the enemies of the Court. But Renaudot's success aroused jealousies. His receiving a pension of 800 livres provoked irritation. The word °gazeteers be came an insult. The first of all journalists an swered the envious in 1632 in his paper. His articles were printed next to those of the king himself, who nevertheless did not sign, and to those of Richelieu. The paper had a great suc cess, and was sold by little newsboys at about six centimes. From 1649 it became necessary to print supplements and extra numbers. The first number bore this device: °On one point alone, shall I yield to no one: the research of truth, which, nevertheless, I will not vouch for, as out of 500 pieces of news, sent post haste from one country to another, many a one from our own correspondents may have to be cor rected by Father' Time.* Louis XIII, delighted with his own first contributions, continued to write, and besides articles on general politics he related his quarrels with his wife about affairs concerning the welfare of the kingdom. Much later, under Louis XIV, the Gazette printed the following avowal: °Every one knows that the late king not only read my gazettes, but that he sent me, almost daily, matter to be in serted.* Thus, from year to year, until the very last (1792), the newspaper of daring Renaudot (he had died poor and miserable) came to make up a huge collection of 163 quarto volumes. During the lifetime of its °inventor* it had known many competitors who, for the greater part, were satisfied with copying it servilely, word for word. By a strange proscription, several states bordering upon France had forbidden the Gazette to pass their frontiers.
From 1651 to 1659 the Muse Historique was published. A man named Loret related the week's occurrences in very bad verse; during the eight years he wrote some 400,000 lines. The readers enjoyed these lucubrations, each number of which ended with something like °Written, in April, on the 28th, before my supper was ready-cooked." The Journal des Savants appeared in 1665 and treated of litera ture and new books. Next appeared the Mer cure Galant in 1672, published by Donneau de Vizi, which became the Mercure de France in 1724. It contained chronicles, letters, feuille tons or serials and dramas, notices of mar riages and deaths, stories of intrigues, religious, academical and judicial news, riddles, songs, etc. The Journal de Trevoux appeared in 1701 under the direction of the Jesuits and in op position to the Journal des Savants. This new corner was profoundly religious and bore the brunt of Voltaire's irony. Many new papers sprang up almost at once, the best known being the Annie Litteraire of Freron, It was pub lished every 10 days on 72 sheets; it fought the encyclopedists, continuously abused Voltaire, and lasted from 1754 to 1776. Besides the Pour et le Contre of the Abbe Prevost and the Ob servateur Littiraire of Marmontel there ap peared the Journal de Geneve, printed in Paris, an entirely political paper; the Annales poli tigues et Linen:ire:, a great success, in which can be found a foretaste of the virulence that became customary during the Revolution. In
1776 the Anglo-French paper, the Courrier de VEurope (issued twice weekly in London), had its share in awakening the enthusiasm for the American War. It sowea the political passions in the minds and prepared for its own part the great events of 1789. In 1788 were read in addition the Journal General (on science and art), the Journal de Paris and the Correspond ante Secrete (Strassburg).
Then came the Revolution, which gave birth to the freedom of the press. In the Tableau de Paris a few years before Mercier had shown °the readers of gazettes, sitting on benches in the Tuileries or at the Palais Royal, at the .Arsenal, on the Quai des Augustin, deeply en grossed in their reading, three times a week.* Now there was a very different sight: a thou sand daily papers sprang into existence be tween May 1789 and May 1793. Mirabeau issued the Etats-Gineraux, and among the most noteworthy followed the Patriote Fran cais of Brissot, who wrote as early as 16 March 1789 that °an untrammeled gazette is a sentry ever keeping watch by the people*; the Revo lution de Paris by Condorcet, the Point du Jour of Barrere, the newspapers of Chenier, Fon tanes, Tallien, Camille Desmoulins, Marat, Robespierre, Babeuf and the Logographe of Dehody: °In the space of a few months,* wrote the historian Louis Blanc, °there was an unheard-of issuing of papers, monthly, weekly and daily, royalist and popular, elegiac or satirical, wary or unbridled, distilling poison or vomiting insults, sowing errors, proclaiming the truth, making an echo to all passions, dropping flashes of lightning on all ideas.* Besides the papers which were sold, there were others dis tributed gratis. Printed journalism, hurled-out journalism, journalism in bright posters stuck on the walls, all vied with each other for an eager public. Some newspapers had very queer titles, such as The Republican Soap-ball, the Patriot-Hen, Saint Anthony's Pig, • Mustard after Dinner, Journal of the Oilier World, Hunt for Stinking Beasts, The People's Patri otic Breakfast, Everybody's Cousin, etc.
The press enjoyed unlimited freedom from 1789 till 12 Aug. 1792, when the royalist papers were suppressed. Marat, ever fierce, had issued the Courrier de Provence and Desmoulins his Vieux Cordelier, an antagonist of the rude Pere Duchesne of Hebert. Young Camille, in seven numbers, drew up a passionate list of accusations against the men of the guillotine, overwhelming them with brands borrowed from Tacitus. Then Marat struck harder, creating the Ami du Peuple, in which he clamored suc cessively for 600, 10,000, 20,000 and 270,000 heads. Maximilien Robespierre upheld the Defenseur de la Constitution and Babeuf fought in the Tribun du Peuple. The very exe cutioners had their organ; it was the Bulletin du Tribunal Revolutionnaire, with the follow ing device borrowed from the of Racine:. "Celui que met un f rein 1 la fureur des Hots, salt aussi des mechants arreter les complots' (He who can bridle the raging waves knows also how to check the plots of the wicked), Meanwhile, public fury rose ever higher. On 10 March 1793 the printing presses of the Girondin papers were smashed by the mob; Robespierre suffered with the Jacobins of the Montagne. Long ago they had silenced the Journal des Holies, which upheld the kingship in the coarsest "Billingsgate.' On 25 July 1794 Chenier died for his papers on the scaffold, and three days later the head of Robespierre fell Opposition sheets now sprang into existence; royalist papers revived: L'Agonie du Jacobin, L'Alleluia des Honnetes Gens and La France Sauvie. The Directoire fought for its life. The law of 23 Germinal Anno IV was a first step toward the great reactions. On 18 Fruc tidor Anno V a decree suppressed 42 papers; seven more were stopped on 17 Frucditor Anno VII. The press remained fettered for a long period after the downfall of the Directoire.