Unnaturally French

In recent decades the combined pressures of immigration, European integration, and globalization have sparked profound crises of identity in France. Against this backdrop, scholars of France have begun to investigate the genealogy of nationality and citizenship. In his rich and learned new book, Peter Sahlins treats these themes historically, from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, from an unusual and unexpected perspective: how and why foreigners became French citizens in the Old Regime and after. "Unnaturally French is a brilliant synthesis of social, legal, and political history. At its core are the histories of thousands of individual foreigners and their families whose social identities and geographic origins are presented here for the first time. In his comprehensive account of the theory, procedure, and practice of naturalization, Sahlins draws on a wide range of juridical and political writings to consider the neglected problems of citizenship and state membership in the making and unmaking of the French absolute monarchy. Rather than date t