French Rev - Social 20 IB

Social Terms for French Rev

Active Citizens

Citizens who, depending on the amount of taxes paid, could vote and stand as deputies

Agents nationaux

National agents appointed by, and responsible to, the central government. Their role was to monitor the enforcement of all revolutionary laws

Altar of the fatherland

A large memorial to commemorate the Revolution

Ancien Regime

French society and government before the Revolution of 1789

Annates

Payments made by the French Church to the Pope

Annex

To incorporate foreign territory into a state usually forcibly and against the will of the local people

Anti-clericalism

Opposition to the Catholic Church

Anti-republican opposition

Roces opposed to the Republic, mainly former members of the nobility, refractory priests and monarchists

Appel nominal

Each deputy was required to declare publicly his decision on the guilt or innocence of Louis XVI

Armee revolutionnaire

Sans-culottes sent to the provinces to confront counter-revolutionary forces and ensure the movement of food supplies

Armistice

An agreement between two countries to end hostilities. This would preceded a peace settlement that would formally mark the end of a war

Artisan

A skilled worker or craftsman

Assignat

Bonds backed up by the Church lan that circulated as a form of paper currency.

Austrian Committee

Influential politicians and close confidants of Marie Antionette who kept in close secret contract with Vienna, capital of the Habsburg Empire.

Avignon

Territory controlled by the Pope in southern France

Balance the budget

To create a situation in which the government’s expenditure is equal to its income

Bankruptcy of the two-thirds

The government wrote off two-thirds of the debt it owed its creditors

Biens nationaux

The nationalised property of the Church as ordered by the decree of 2 November 1789

Bourgeoisie

Middle-class urban dwellers who made a living through their intellectual skills or business practices

Brigandage

Outbreaks of lawlessness and violence by groups of bandits

Brissotins

Supporters of Jacques Brissot who later merged with the Girondins

Cahiers

Lists of grievances and suggestions for reform drawn up by representatives of each estate and each community and presented to the Estates-General for consideration.

Canton

An administrative subdivision of a department

Centralisation

Direct central control of the various parts of government, with less power to the regions.

Centre

Those who sat facing the speaker of the Legislative Assembly favouring neither left nor right.

Certificates of citizenship

Proof of good citizenship and support for the Republic, without which no one could be employed.

Checks and balances

Ensuring that the power given to the executive was balanced by the power granted to the legislature.

Chouan

Guerrilla groups operating in the Vendee between 1794 and 1769

Citizens’ militia

A bourgeois defence force set up to protect the interests of property owners in Paris. After the storming of the Bastille it become the National Guard

Collective bargaining

Where a trade union negotiates with employers on behalf of workers who are members

Comites de surveillance

Surveillance or watch committees, sometimes known simply as revolutionary committees.

Committee of General Security

Had overall responsibility for police security, surveillance and spying

Committee of Public Safety

Effectively, the government of France during 1793-4 and one of the twin pillars of the Terror along with the Committee of General Security.

Commune

The smallest administrative unit in France

Communist

A follower of the political belief that centres on social and economic equality as outlined by Karl Marx

Concordat

An agreement between Napoleon and the Pop to try and end the divisions between the Church and State.

Conscription

Compulsory military service

Conservatives

Those who did not want any reforms. They were deeply suspicious and sceptical of the need for any social or political change.

Conspiracy of Equals

Babeuf’s theory of how to organise a revolution, using a small group of committed revolutionaries rather than a mass movement

Constitution

A written document detailing how a country is to be governed, laws made, powers apportioned and elections conducted.

Constitutional monarchists

Supporters of Louis who welcomed the granting of limited democratic rights to the French people

Constitutional monarchy

Where the powers of the Crown are limited by a constitution. Also known as a limited monarchy

Consulate

The system of government that replaced the Directory. It took its name from the three consuls of whom Napoleon was the most important as first consul. They formed the executive in the new constitution of 1799

Continental System

The attempt by Napoleon to bring economic chaos to Britain by preventing its exports entering Europe

Conventionnels

Members of the Convention between 1792 and 1795

Corvee

Unpaid labour service to maintain roads. In many places money replaced service.

Cottage industry

Small-scale textile production (spinning, weaving and iron work) carried out in a peasant’s cottage or workshop and used to supplement income from farming.

Counter-revolutionaries

Groups and individuals hostile to the Revolution, who wished to reverse any changes it made at the earliest opportunity

Coup of Thermidor

The overthrow of Robespierre and his closest supporters, which marked the end of the Terror

Cult of the Supreme Being

Robespierre’s alternative civic religion to the Catholic faith

Decentralized

Decision-making devolved from the centre to the regions of a country

Dechristianisation

Ruthless anti-religious policies conducted by some Jacobin supporters against the Church, aimed at destroying its influence.

Decree of Fraternity

The Convention offered support to those in any state wishing to overthrow their rulers and establish democratic political systems

Deficit

When expenditure is greater than income it results in a deficit

Deflation

A fall in prices and in money value a demand for goods and services falls

Departments

On 26 February 1790, 83 new divisions for local administration in France were created to replace the old divisions of the ancien regime

Diocese

An area served by a bishop. It is made up of a large number of parishes

Disenfranchised

Stripped of the right to vote

Draft-dodgers

Men who avoided the call to serve in the army

Egalitarian society

Where citizens enjoy equal rights and are not discriminated against on the basis of gender or social class. This is neatly summed up by the phrase most frequently linked with the Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Egalitarianism

Derived from ‘equality’ - the aim to have all citizens equal, with no disparities in wealth, status or opportunity.

Elan

Patriotic enthusiasm, commitment and identity with the revolutionary cause within the army.

Emigres

People, mainly aristocrats, who fled France during the Revolution. Many emerges joined foreign opponents of the Revolution.

Enrages

An extreme revolutionary group led by Jacques Roux which had considerable influence on the Parisian sans-culottes

Entrepreneurs

Individuals prepared to take risks with their capital to support business schemes that will secure a profit

Estates-general

Elected representatives of all three estates of the realm. This body was only summoned in times of extreme national crisis, and had last met in 1614.

Executive power

The power to make decisions relating to the government of a country

Federalism

A rejection of the central authority of the State in favour of regional authority

Federes

National guardsmen from the provinces who arrived in Paris to display during the Fete de a Federation commemorating the fall of the Bastille, 14 July 1792.

Feudal dues

Financial or work obligations imposed on the peasantry by landowners

Feuillants

Constitutional monarchists, among them Lafayette, who split from the Jacobin Club following the flight to Varennes

First Coalition

A loose anti-French alliance created by Britain and consisting of the Netherlands, Spain, Piedmont, Naples, Prussia, Russia, Austria and Portugal. Russia refused to commit soldiers to the coalition when Britain did not send money to support Russia’s armies.

Forced loan

A measure compelling the wealthy to load money to the government

Francs

On 7 April 1795 the Convention introduced the silver franc as the official unit of currency replacing the livre

Free market

A trading system with no artificial price controls. Prices are determined solely by supply and demand

Free trade

Trade without the imposition of taxes and duties on the goods

Gardes-francaises

An elite royal infantry regiment, many of whom deserted to join opponents of the King in July 1789

Gendarmes

An organisation set up by the National Assembly in December 1790, which operated as an armed police force.

General Maximum

Tables that fix the prices of a wide range of foods and commodities

Generalites

The 34 areas into which France was divided for the purpose of collecting taxes and other administrative functions; each area was under the control of an intendant.

Germinal

Popular demonstration 1 April 1795 in Paris. Named after a month in the new revolutionary calendar.

Girondins

A small group of deputies from the Gironde and their associates, notably Brissot

Grande Armee

Napoleon’s renamed army after 1805. At it’s largest in 1812 it numbered over 600,000 men, among them Poles, Italians, Swiss, and Bavarians.

Great Powers

Countries that were more powerful than other on the basis of their military, economic and territorial strength - the major ones were Austria, France Prussia, Russia and Britain.

Gross domestic product

The total value of goods and services produced by an economy

Guerrilla warfare

Military action by irregular bands avoiding direct confrontation with the larger opposing forces. They did not wear uniforms in order to blend in with civilians.

Guild

An organisation that tightly controls entry into a trade

Guillotine

A machine introduced in 1792 for decapitating victims in a relatively painless way. It became synonymous with the Terror.

Habsburg Empire

Territory that roughly corresponds to modern-day Austria, HUngary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The empire also considered itself to be the leading German state.

Hoarders

Those who bought up supplies of food, keeping them until prices rose and then selling them at a large profit.

Iberian peninsula

Spain and Portugal combined

Indulgents

Supporters of Danton and Desmoulins who wished to see a relaxation of the Terror.

Industrial capitalism

An economic system where money (capital) is invested in industry for the purpose of making a profit

Inflation

A decline in the value of money, which leads to an increase in the price of goods

Insurrection

An uprising of ordinary people, predominantly sans-culottes

Intendants

Officials directly appointed by and answerable to the Crown who were mainly responsible for police, justice, finance, public works, and trade and industry.

Irish Nationalists

Irish who were staunchly anti-British and wished to be free from what they considered foreign rule. During the Revolution they approached the republicans for support.

Jeunesse doree

‘Gilded youth’: young men who dressed extravagantly as a reaction to the restrictions of the Terror. They were also known as Muscadins.

Journee

Day of popular action and disturbance linked to great political change

La Marseillaise

The rousing song composed by Rouget de I‘Isle in 1792 and adopted as the anthem of the Republic on 14 July 1795