Comte de Cagliostro - Mémoire pour le Comte de Cagliostro - 1786

Memoir for the Count of Cagliostro (1786)
Historical context
This document is a legal memoir drafted in 1786 for the defense of the Count of Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), accused in the Affair of the Queen's Necklace. This affair, which broke out in France at the end of Louis XVI's reign, involved several notable figures, including Cardinal de Rohan and the Countess de la Motte, and contributed to tarnishing the reputation of Queen Marie-Antoinette.

Content of the memoir
The text is presented as a plea against the Attorney General, in the presence of the other accused. It also contains an excerpt from a letter by Count de Vergennes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed to M. Gérard, provost of Strasbourg, dated March 17, 1787, stating that Cagliostro requested only tranquility, security and hospitality.

Historical significance
This memoir is a valuable source for historians, as it illustrates the defense strategies in the trials of the Ancien Régime and provides a glimpse into the political and social tensions of the time. It is also a direct testimony of how Cagliostro sought to defend himself against the accusations.

A rare and precious work for historians...