WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.580 Welcome to today's Deep Dive. We have a really 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:05.719 fascinating journey ahead today. We really do. 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:07.679 And for you, the learner tuning in, our mission 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:10.419 today is to unpack a life that honestly reads 00:00:10.419 --> 00:00:12.859 like a high -spaced political thriller. Completely. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:15.560 We are looking at a historical overview from 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.980 our sources detailing the life of a woman who 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:21.079 started out hawking trinkets on the grimy streets 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.079 of Paris, eventually ruled the private boudoir 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.440 of King Louis the Kiffith at Versailles, and, 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:30.379 uh... ultimately met a tragic end to the guillotine. 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.299 It is just a staggering trajectory. I mean, we 00:00:33.299 --> 00:00:36.079 are focusing on Jean Bécu, though you might recognize 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:38.920 her by her later, much more famous title, Madame 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:41.159 du Barry. Right. She holds the distinction of 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.579 being the very last maîtresse en titre. The official 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:46.840 chief mistress. Exactly. The official chief mistress 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:48.979 of the French court. Our source material today 00:00:48.979 --> 00:00:51.560 provides a really comprehensive look at her life. 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:54.000 We're going to extract the most critical insights 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:57.320 about her improbable ascent, the sheer extravagance 00:00:57.320 --> 00:00:59.920 of her time at court, her infamous rivalries. 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:04.079 and, well, her harrowing execution. For a listener 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.200 who just wants to understand the mechanics of 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:08.980 power or the realities of extreme social mobility 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:11.939 and the brutal whiplash of the French Revolution, 00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:15.939 this story serves as a masterclass. It really 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:18.980 does. It is a narrative built on unimaginable 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.280 wealth, forged documents, and a society teetering 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:25.939 on the brink of total collapse. Okay, let's unpack 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:28.819 this. Starting with her humble beginnings. Because 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:31.620 you have to imagine being dropped into 18th century 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:35.359 Paris with zero safety net. Zero. That was Jean's 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.459 reality in 1743. She was the illegitimate daughter 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:40.939 of a 30 -year -old seamstress named Anne Becu. 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.540 Officially, her father is unidentified, though 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:46.319 the sources do mention rumors he might have been 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:48.959 a friar. The lack of a safety net in that era, 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:51.760 it dictated every single choice. Yeah. Without 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.019 family wealth or a recognized name, survival 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:56.480 required constant hustle. Hustle is the perfect 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:58.980 word for it. She received some basic education 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:01.760 at a convent. But by the time she was 15, she 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:03.340 was out on the streets of Paris selling cheap 00:02:03.340 --> 00:02:05.819 trinkets just to get by. From there, she becomes 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:09.199 an assistant to a young hairdresser. Then she 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.500 pivots to working as a companion to an elderly 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:14.840 widow. But that didn't last long. No, it ended 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.240 abruptly when she was fired for attracting the 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.439 romantic attentions of the widow's two married 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.939 sons. And that detail points to a recurring theme 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:25.900 in her life. Her presence disrupted the established 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:28.860 order, often through her physical appeal. She 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:31.360 eventually lands a position as a milliner's assistant 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.939 in a highly fashionable haberdashery shop called 00:02:34.939 --> 00:02:38.610 La Toilette. And the sources emphasize that she 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:42.050 possessed striking looks. Thick blonde ringlets. 00:02:42.270 --> 00:02:45.150 Yes, and distinctive almond -shaped blue eyes. 00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:48.430 So in 1763, while visiting a brothel casino, 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:51.490 she catches the eye of a man named Jean -Baptiste 00:02:51.490 --> 00:02:53.830 Duberry. Right, and he installs her in his household 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:56.169 and gives her the professional moniker Mademoiselle 00:02:56.169 --> 00:02:58.629 Lange. Which is a huge turning point. That moment 00:02:58.629 --> 00:03:01.150 marks a fundamental shift. Becoming a high class 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:03.810 courtesan in 18th century Paris was a strategic 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:06.270 enterprise. It wasn't just about looks. Not at 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:08.729 all. It required far more than physical beauty. 00:03:08.909 --> 00:03:12.129 It demanded sharp social intelligence. She had 00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:15.810 to build and manage an elite aristocratic clientele. 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:18.789 And she proved to be brilliant at this, cultivating 00:03:18.789 --> 00:03:21.490 a roster of government ministers and royal courtiers. 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:24.620 It was essentially high profile networking. Exactly. 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:26.939 She leveraged those connections so effectively 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:30.460 that by 1768, she was brought to Versailles, 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:33.319 where she managed to draw the attention of King 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:35.599 Louis the Kiffkeith himself. And the king was 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.599 entirely captivated. He was. But Versailles was 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.479 governed by this absurd bureaucracy. To become 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.000 the maitresse en titre, you could not be a commoner. 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:46.060 You had to be married to a high courtier and 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:48.379 possess a title. And Jeanne was a single woman 00:03:48.379 --> 00:03:51.120 from the working class. What's fascinating here 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.180 is how easily the highest echelons of power bent 00:03:54.180 --> 00:03:56.860 their own rigid rules to accommodate the king's 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:58.960 desires. Oh, absolutely. I mean, Versailles was 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.099 built on the strictest etiquette imaginable. 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:04.219 It was an entire ecosystem obsessed with bloodlines 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:06.780 and protocol. Right. Yet when the absolute monarch 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:09.039 wanted something, they casually falsified reality 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.780 to make it happen. They fabricated a new reality 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:14.639 out of thin air. The king ordered that she be 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:17.699 married off to a man of good lineage. So Jean 00:04:17.699 --> 00:04:20.769 -Baptiste du Barry... Her former lover orchestrated 00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:23.829 a hasty marriage between Jean and his own younger 00:04:23.829 --> 00:04:26.189 brother. Comte de Guillaume de Berry. Yes, in 00:04:26.189 --> 00:04:30.329 September 1768. The paperwork involved is astounding. 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:33.610 To justify her presence at court, Jean -Baptiste 00:04:33.610 --> 00:04:36.310 forged a fake birth certificate for the wedding 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:38.649 ceremony. He shaved three years off her age. 00:04:38.829 --> 00:04:42.029 And invented a fictitious noble lineage for her. 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:44.889 Just like that. The illegitimate daughter of 00:04:44.889 --> 00:04:47.550 a seamstress became a countess. It raises an 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:49.310 interesting question about the nature of power, 00:04:49.430 --> 00:04:51.810 really. The courtiers at Versailles weren't foolish. 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:54.870 They likely suspected or even outright knew the 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:56.769 documents were forged. Of course they did. But 00:04:56.769 --> 00:04:58.949 the absolute power of the king made the objective 00:04:58.949 --> 00:05:01.970 truth irrelevant. The paperwork was just a polite 00:05:01.970 --> 00:05:04.209 fiction they all implicitly agreed to uphold 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:06.389 because challenging it meant challenging the 00:05:06.389 --> 00:05:09.610 king. Having the paperwork is one thing, but 00:05:09.610 --> 00:05:12.750 getting the snobbish nobility to actually accept 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:16.600 her was another battle entirely. At first, she 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:19.439 lived a very lonely life at Versailles. Protocol 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.339 dictated that no one could acknowledge her until 00:05:22.339 --> 00:05:24.720 she had been formally presented at court. And 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.319 getting that presentation was a logistical nightmare. 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:31.439 She needed a noble sponsor. Right. And finding 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.420 someone willing to risk their social standing 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:37.120 to sponsor a known former courtesan proved extremely 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.720 difficult. They eventually found Madame de Bayarn, 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.920 but they had to heavily bribe her. by paying 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.579 off her massive gambling debts. And even with 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:48.360 the debts paid, Madame de Bearn panicked. She 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:50.959 did. On the first scheduled attempt, she faked 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.939 a sprained ankle to get out of it. You can't 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.019 make this up. They rescheduled, but the second 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:57.040 attempt was canceled because the king fell off 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:59.540 his horse while hunting and broke his arm. The 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:02.199 anticipation, combined with the vicious gossip 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:04.839 echoing through the halls of Versailles, must 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.550 have made the atmosphere incredibly tense. When 00:06:07.550 --> 00:06:09.689 she finally made her grand entrance on April 00:06:09.689 --> 00:06:14.410 20, 1769, she ensured it was unforgettable. She 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.509 arrived in a spectacular silvery white down. 00:06:17.899 --> 00:06:20.360 brocaded with gold. And the side panniers? Oh, 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:23.839 yes. She wore massive side panniers, those giant 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.220 hoops built into the undergarments that extended 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:28.439 a woman's skirt several feet on either side. 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:31.680 Right. She was covered in royal jewels and her 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.279 coiffure, her hairstyle was so enormous they 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:36.459 had to keep the entire court waiting just to 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:39.060 finish styling it. It was a visual declaration 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:41.839 of her newly cemented power, but the sources 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:43.939 highlight a striking duality in her character. 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:47.240 She engaged in staggering extravagance. Massive 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:49.019 extravagance. She received an allowance of up 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:52.500 to 3 ,000 lever a month and still remained perpetually 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.860 in debt due to her spending on diamonds and fashion. 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.360 But alongside that financial drain, she demonstrated 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.939 a remarkable capacity for mercy. She really did. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:04.279 She used her unprecedented access to bypass the 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:08.300 sluggish, often cruel legal system. For instance, 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:11.560 there was an older, noble couple, the Delusines. 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:14.199 They were being forcibly evicted due to heavy 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.120 debts, and during the chaos, the Comtesse shot 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.819 and killed a bailiff and a police officer. Wow. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.660 They were sentenced to death. When Jeanne heard 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:24.839 about this, she threw herself at the king's feet. 00:07:25.220 --> 00:07:28.420 She refused to rise from her knees until he pardoned 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:31.339 them. And Louis V was moved by the gesture. He 00:07:31.339 --> 00:07:33.500 reportedly told her he was delighted that the 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:35.899 very first favor she ever asked of him was an 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:38.610 act of mercy. She also saved a young girl who 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:40.689 had been condemned to the gallows for infanticide 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:42.670 simply by writing a letter to the chancellor. 00:07:42.870 --> 00:07:45.610 But saving lives didn't endear her to everyone. 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:47.529 No, it certainly didn't save her from the ultimate 00:07:47.529 --> 00:07:50.310 rival at Versailles. A 14 -year -old Marie Antoinette. 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:52.410 The clash between the two of them is legendary. 00:07:52.750 --> 00:07:54.589 And here's where it gets really interesting. 00:07:55.569 --> 00:07:58.029 Marie Antoinette arrived as the new Dauphine, 00:07:58.209 --> 00:08:01.629 the future queen. She was deeply offended by 00:08:01.629 --> 00:08:04.389 Jeanne's lower -class background and open immorality. 00:08:05.209 --> 00:08:07.870 Marie Antoinette decided to defy court protocol 00:08:07.870 --> 00:08:11.009 by outright refusing to speak to Madame du Barry. 00:08:11.209 --> 00:08:13.629 To a modern listener, that might sound like standard 00:08:13.629 --> 00:08:16.290 high school drama. But in the highly codified 00:08:16.290 --> 00:08:19.490 world of Versailles, a royal refusing to address 00:08:19.490 --> 00:08:22.110 the king's official representative was akin to 00:08:22.110 --> 00:08:24.529 an earthquake. It escalated to the point of a 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:27.649 diplomatic crisis. Jeanne complained to the king. 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.180 The king complained to the Austrian ambassador. 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:32.379 And the ambassador had to step in. He had to 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.080 beg Marie Antoinette to say just one word to 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.480 Jeanne to prevent the political alliance between 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.659 France and Austria from fracturing over the silent 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:43.320 treatment. The situation finally resolved on 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:47.139 New Year's Day 1772. Marie Antoinette capitulated, 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:49.860 but she did so with a masterful stroke of passive 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:52.740 aggression. It is arguably the most famous indirect 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:55.580 greeting in history. Think about the most passive 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:57.399 -aggressive thing a co -worker has ever said 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.590 to you. It doesn't top this. Not even close. 00:08:59.990 --> 00:09:02.230 Marie Antoinette walks past Shane in a crowded 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:04.750 room and casually remarks to no one in particular, 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:07.450 there are many people at Versailles today. That 00:09:07.450 --> 00:09:10.970 was it. It technically broke the silence, satisfying 00:09:10.970 --> 00:09:13.850 the diplomatic requirement while perfectly maintaining 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:16.570 her disdain. That interaction underscores how 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:20.330 precarious Jeanne's power really was. Her influence 00:09:20.330 --> 00:09:23.590 was entirely dependent on the king's favor. However, 00:09:23.750 --> 00:09:26.570 while she had that favor, she wielded significant 00:09:26.570 --> 00:09:29.509 influence. She did. Unlike her predecessor, Madame 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.389 de Pompadour, Jeanne generally preferred fashion 00:09:32.389 --> 00:09:35.330 over statecraft, but she still engaged in high 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:37.610 -stakes politics when necessary. She actually 00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:40.570 sat in on state councils. She dismantled political 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:43.210 rivals with lethal efficiency. Like the Duke 00:09:43.210 --> 00:09:46.309 de Choiseul. Exactly. The Duc de Choiseul, a 00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:48.929 powerful minister, despised her and constantly 00:09:48.929 --> 00:09:51.350 plotted her downfall. Choiseul was attempting 00:09:51.350 --> 00:09:53.610 to orchestrate a war with Britain over the Falkland 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:56.250 Islands. Right. Jean uncovered his plot, exposed 00:09:56.250 --> 00:09:59.450 it to the king on Christmas Eve 1770, and successfully 00:09:59.450 --> 00:10:01.830 orchestrated Choiseul's dismissal and exile. 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:04.529 Amidst this political maneuvering and extreme 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:07.190 luxury, the king gifted her a young enslaved 00:10:07.190 --> 00:10:10.370 boy named Zamor. The sources indicate Zamor was 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:13.940 likely of city origin, born in Bengal. Jeanne 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.659 dressed him in elegant clothes, developed a fondness 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:19.019 for him, and took it upon herself to educate 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:21.340 him. His education is a crucial detail to keep 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:24.000 in mind, as Zemmour plays a devastating role 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.460 in the final act of her life. Before we reach 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:28.559 that final act, we need to discuss a legendary 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:33.320 piece of jewelry. Ah, yes. Louis V was so infatuated 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:37.600 with Jeanne that in 1772 he commissioned an unfathomably 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.259 expensive gift, a diamond necklace created by 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:44.470 Parisian jewelers. estimated at two million leaf 00:10:44.470 --> 00:10:47.350 a staggering amount it was designed to be a piece 00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:50.269 of unprecedented extravagance the king died before 00:10:50.269 --> 00:10:52.450 the necklace was finished and crucially before 00:10:52.450 --> 00:10:55.250 it was paid for and the historical ripples of 00:10:55.250 --> 00:10:57.789 that single piece of jewelry are astounding they 00:10:57.789 --> 00:11:00.610 really are that exact unpaid necklace eventually 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:03.029 became the centerpiece of the infamous affair 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:05.690 of the diamond necklace this was a massive scandal 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:08.070 where marie antoinette was falsely accused of 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:10.190 attempting to fraudulently acquire it and it 00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:12.590 was devastating for her The scandal irreparably 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:15.389 damaged the Queen's reputation, serving as a 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:18.049 major catalyst in turning the French public against 00:11:18.049 --> 00:11:20.110 the monarchy and helping to ignite the French 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.570 Revolution. It is wild to consider that a diamond 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:25.230 necklace commissioned from Madame du Barry ended 00:11:25.230 --> 00:11:27.529 up contributing to the downfall of her great 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:30.470 rival, Marie Antoinette. The irony is incredible. 00:11:30.769 --> 00:11:32.909 But Jeanne was far away from Versailles when 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:36.830 that fallout occurred. In May of 1774, Louis 00:11:36.830 --> 00:11:39.450 the Kith contracted smallpox. Knowing he was 00:11:39.450 --> 00:11:41.649 dying and needed to prepare for his last rites, 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:44.409 he sent Jeanne away to a convent, the Abbey de 00:11:44.409 --> 00:11:46.929 Pont -au -Dame. In an instant, her absolute power 00:11:46.929 --> 00:11:49.529 vanished. Upon the king's death, Marie Antoinette 00:11:49.529 --> 00:11:52.009 became queen, and one of her first acts was to 00:11:52.009 --> 00:11:55.090 formalize Jeanne's exile. Jeanne eventually charmed 00:11:55.090 --> 00:11:56.950 the nuns at the convent and was granted permission 00:11:56.950 --> 00:12:00.149 to move to her Chateau de Loupsienne. But her 00:12:00.149 --> 00:12:02.309 life took a deeply morbid turn as the French 00:12:02.309 --> 00:12:05.230 Revolution began to boil over. It did. She entered 00:12:05.230 --> 00:12:08.110 into a romance with the Duc de Brissac. As the 00:12:08.110 --> 00:12:10.409 reign of terror swept the nation, the violence 00:12:10.409 --> 00:12:12.549 of the revolution quite literally arrived at 00:12:12.549 --> 00:12:15.669 her doorstep. Brissac was captured by a revolutionary 00:12:15.669 --> 00:12:18.850 mob in Paris and lynched. It is a horrifying 00:12:18.850 --> 00:12:21.350 scene. Late one night, she heard a screaming 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:24.259 crowd approaching her chateau. When she looked 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:27.120 out her open window, the mob threw a blood -stained 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:31.379 cloth straight into her room. My goodness. Inside 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.980 it was the severed head of her lover, the Duc 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.220 du Brissac. The sources note she fainted on the 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:40.220 spot. That brutal act signaled that her past 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:42.639 as the ultimate symbol of royal excess made her 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.799 a prime target. Which brings us back to Zamor. 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.039 Zamor, the enslaved boy she had educated, had 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:51.879 grown up and embraced the revolution. He joined 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.740 the radical Jacobin Club. For context, the Jacobin 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:57.039 Club was the extremist political group driving 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.940 the reign of terror. Zaymor also became an office 00:12:59.940 --> 00:13:02.220 bearer in the Committee of Public Safety, which 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:04.799 operated essentially as the secret police responsible 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:07.080 for sending thousands to the guillotine. When 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:08.840 Jean discovered the depth of his revolutionary 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:11.779 involvement in 1792, she gave him three days' 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:14.820 notice to quit her service. In retaliation, Zaymor 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:16.940 denounced her to the Revolutionary Tribunal. 00:13:17.210 --> 00:13:19.350 Based largely on his testimony, she was accused 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:21.889 of treason. Specifically, she was charged with 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:24.389 financially assisting emigres. The aristocrats 00:13:24.389 --> 00:13:26.250 who were fleeing France to escape the revolution. 00:13:26.529 --> 00:13:29.590 Exactly. She was arrested in 1793 and condemned 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:32.509 to death. Her final moments were harrowing. Unlike 00:13:32.509 --> 00:13:34.789 many of the stoic nobles who went to the guillotine 00:13:34.789 --> 00:13:38.730 trying to maintain a brave, defiant face, Jeanne 00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:43.110 unraveled. She did. On December 8th, 1793, on 00:13:43.110 --> 00:13:45.610 her way to the scaffold, she collapsed in the 00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.620 cart. She wept, crying out to the crowd, You're 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:51.700 going to hurt me. Why? It's heartbreaking. She 00:13:51.700 --> 00:13:54.039 vainly tried to bargain for her life by offering 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.039 up the secret locations where she had hidden 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:59.059 her gemstones. Her final heartbreaking words 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:01.879 to the executioner were, De grâce, Monsieur Le 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:05.860 Barreau. Encore un petit moment. Which translates 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:08.620 to, One more moment, Mr. Executioner. I beg you. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:11.200 If we connect this to the bigger picture, her 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.360 death encapsulates the chaotic tragedy of the 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.500 Reign of Terror. And to be clear, we aren't taking 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:18.879 sides or endorsing the political viewpoints of 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.080 the historical sources regarding the Jacobins, 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:23.820 the Royalists, or any faction of the French Revolution. 00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:26.799 Absolutely not. We are simply unpacking the historical 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.320 reality our source material presents. Here was 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:31.720 a woman born into poverty, a woman of the working 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.759 class, who used the only avenues available to 00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:37.179 her to survive and climb to the pinnacle of society. 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:41.120 Yet, she was ultimately executed by a revolution 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:44.460 of the people, targeted because she had assimilated 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:48.460 so fully into the aristocracy. It is a profound 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:51.960 historical irony. It is a staggering irony. Despite 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.539 her tragic end, she managed to leave a legacy 00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:56.960 that outlasted the revolution, slipping into 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.879 our everyday lives in some unexpected ways. That's 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:02.460 true. For instance, Lerner, if you've ever ordered 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:04.559 soup to berry at a restaurant, you're eating 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.700 a dish named directly after her. I didn't know 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:09.299 that. Yeah. The soup features a creamy white 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:11.700 sauce and cauliflower, which is an homage to 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:14.340 her massive powdered wigs, which were piled high 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:17.039 with curls resembling cauliflower florets. A 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:19.500 slightly more domestic legacy than The Diamonds, 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.759 but a lasting one nonetheless. She has also lived 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.279 on extensively in pop culture. She has been portrayed 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.759 on screen by everyone from Lucille Ball in the 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:30.480 1940s to Asia Argento, and recently by Maywin, 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:33.000 starring alongside Johnny Depp. She even received 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:35.460 a poignant mention in classic Russian literature. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.340 A character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:41.500 Idiot recounts the story of her execution and 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:44.220 prays for her soul. Her cultural footprint remains 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:47.419 significant. It is incredible to step back and 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:50.200 look at the sheer whiplash of Jean Bacuse's life. 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:53.299 From hawking trinkets on the streets to dodging 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:55.899 the guillotine. Truly a wild ride. When you consider 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:58.980 the extreme information she navigated, the vicious 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:02.000 court gossip she managed. and the survival tactics 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.779 she employed in the 1700s, it isn't entirely 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:07.080 removed from how we navigate our own complex, 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.340 information -heavy world today. That's a great 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:12.039 point. The literal stakes may be different, but 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:14.799 the underlying human behaviors, the networking, 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:18.480 the rivalries, the pursuit of security, are remarkably 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.250 similar. So what does this all mean? To fully 00:16:21.250 --> 00:16:23.269 grasp the scope of her story, we should look 00:16:23.269 --> 00:16:25.789 at one final lingering detail from the sources. 00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:28.629 We mentioned earlier that Madame du Barry tried 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:31.110 to trade the location of her hidden gems to save 00:16:31.110 --> 00:16:33.730 her life. Well, prior to her arrest, she had 00:16:33.730 --> 00:16:35.889 successfully smuggled a fortune in jewels out 00:16:35.889 --> 00:16:38.730 of France to London. Even after her execution, 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:41.990 she continued to influence global events. In 00:16:41.990 --> 00:16:45.830 1795, those smuggled jewels were sold at a Christie's 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:48.389 auction in London. And the British government 00:16:48.389 --> 00:16:50.769 took the money generated from that exact sale 00:16:50.769 --> 00:16:53.700 and used it to pay Hessian mercenaries. Those 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:56.120 mercenaries then marched off to fight in the 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:59.360 Battle of Mainz. I invite you to mull over that 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:02.299 strange, echoing butterfly effect of history. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:04.539 It's unbelievable. The diamonds belonging to 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:06.740 the executed mistress of a French king ended 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:09.599 up funding German mercenaries, paid by the British, 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.359 to fight against the very same French revolution 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.880 that had just put her to death. That is an unbelievable 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:16.839 connection and the perfect place to leave our 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.039 discussion. Lerner, thank you for joining us 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.700 as we unpack this incredible source material. 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:23.460 We hope you found this deep. dive as captivating 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:25.700 as we did. Farewell and keep exploring.