« Entrez bien, Monsieur, dans le style, vous allez devenir sauvage en lisant ceci» presse d’actualité et rôle du temps présent dans la construction de la figure de l’Autre

Abstract

The February 1706 issue of the Mercure galant offered its readers the account of an “Accommodation made between the Iroquois and the Ottawa in 1705.” Given the context in which this negotiation was received, the Mercure’s journalist decides to render each party’s remarks, as he writes, in “savage style”. This style’s characterization and the function it plays within the article’s overarching narrative invite us to question received notions on the colonial imaginary of Ancien Régime news periodicals. Moreover, this article rethinks the essential role played by mondain fashions’ short historical time and the present moment in the construction of the Other’s figure.