Louis Ange Pitou (April 1767 in Valainville, a commune of

Moléans Moléans () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department References

Communes of Eure-et-Loir {{EureLoir ...

from

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45& ...

– 8 May 1846 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French author and counterrevolutionary.

Biography

He entered the priesthood, but after the beginning of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

he abandoned his profession. A zealous

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

, he was arrested sixteen times, and finally transported to

Guiana The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

under

the Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced b ...

. Shortly after his arrival at

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

he escaped, and after many adventures among the natives he returned to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He engaged in new conspiracies under the consulate, and was a few years in prison. After the return of the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

, Pitou received a small pension.

Works

He published ''Relation de mon voyage à Cayenne et chez les anthropophages'' ("Story of my journey to Cayenne and among the cannibals"; Paris, 1805). This work, although full of inaccuracies, excited the public curiosity, and a second, enlarged edition was published (2 vols., 1808).

Notes

References

External links

* * 1767 births 1846 deaths People of the French Revolution People from Eure-et-Loir French male writers French memoirists {{France-nonfiction-writer-stub