As part of the Nocturnes de l'histoire, the Archives départementales de la Mayenne invite you to discover an exotic subject on Wednesday 25 March at 6pm: the "petits fonds Saint-Domingue", a testimony to a troubled marriage history.
Les Nocturnes de l'histoire is a national event held once a year to promote historical research and knowledge through a wide range of events aimed at the general public.
Programme for the evening of Wednesday 25 March:
Theme of the 2026 event: When archives make women speak: the "petit fonds Saint-Domingue", witness to a tormented matrimonial history.
- 6pm: Dramatised reading "1787-1799: Qu'est-il arrivé à Marie-Laurence?" by the In Paradisum company.
The C.C.R., Club des Cinq sur le Retour, explores the Château de Fresnay in Bourgneuf-la-Forêt and discovers some very mysterious letters... They mention "separation of property", "sugar cane plantations", "slaves", "colonies", "rebels"... They all refer to one woman, or are addressed directly to her: Marie-Laurence de Chabanon. But only one is in her own handwriting...
- 7.15pm: Discussion with the audience and drinks
- 8pm: Lecture "The Pardaillan-Gondrin family: a transcontinental alliance weakened in the century of the Revolutions (1760-1828)" by Léa Cabannes, Master's student at Bordeaux Montaigne University
The approach adopted by the speaker is the matrimonial angle of the management of the property of the Chabanon and Pardaillan families. Emphasis will be placed on the research work and the problems encountered by the researcher, who was confronted, for example, with a significant geographical disparity (between Santo Domingo and France). It will look at the stages involved in constructing a research subject, the relationship with archives, and the challenge of making archives speak by comparing them with other sources.
- 9pm: Discussion with the public
You can attend the whole evening or just part of it.