| Popis: |
The discovery in the India Office Library in 1971 of a manuscrit entitled Mœurs et Coutumes des Indiens with a dedication signed Desvaulx to the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies under Louis XVI raised a doubt as to the originality of the famous work by the Abbé Dubois.Careful comparison shows a remarkable number of similarities between the Desvaulx manuscript and the first version of the Mœurs by the Abbé Dubois; the concordance of titles, numbers and order of chapters is such as to rule out any purely chance resemblance.It has been possible to identify Nicolas Jacques Desvaulx (ou des Vaulx), Baron d’Oinville, né à Chandernagor en 1745 et officier d’artillerie. His signature on letters in the colonial file "Sieur Desvaulx", which has been preserved in the Archives Nationales, appears identical with that on the dedication of the India Office Library manuscript. In addition, chronological references in these letters suggest that the text was prepared in 1776 at which time the Abbé Dubois was still a schoolboy. |
