In 1757, in the midst of the Seven Years War, François Damiens was put to death for his attempt to assassinate Louis XV. It was as cruel a death as could be devised—Damiens’s right arm was burnt in sulphur, other portions of his body torn off by red-hot pincers, and so on. In North America, where the king’s regulars were then fighting the English for control of the…
Philip Marchand
Philip Marchand is the author of Ghost Empire: How the French Almost Conquered North America (McClelland and Stewart, 2009) and books columnist for the National Post.