Unit 1: The origins and onset of revolution, 1774-89

what was the ancien regime?

the french system of government, ruled by absolute monarchy

what were 3 issues within the ancien regime that eventually led to revolution?

1. the royal government
2. the taxation system
3. societal structure

before 1789, which dynasty ruled france?

the bourbon dynasty

how would laws have to be passed in the royal government, and what was the issue with this?

the king would consult ministers and advisors - this places a considerable amount of power in a small group of men

how was the government run in provinces?

run by officials called ‘intendants’, who were responsible for police, justice, taxes, etc. in their specific province

in which 3 ways was french societal structure split and what title was given to this?

‘Estates of the Realm’

* first estate → clergy
* second estate → nobility
* third estate → everyone else

what was the main issue in the societal structure?

there was great disparity in privileges between the third estate to the first and second

what is direct tax?

standard income tax

what is indirect tax?

tax on goods (like food and products)

what is the french word for the main direct tax?

tailles

what was the main direct tax in france?

income tax paid by anyone that wasnt in the first or second estates

set percentage

what was the capitation tax?

tax calculated from a percentage of your personal income

not paid by the church (first estate)

what were 3 types of indirect taxes?

• salt (gabelle)

• food and drink (aides)

• goods when entering a town (octrois) e.g. cigarettes

why was it hard to collect tax in france in the 1780s?

so many things were taxed that it was hard to keep track of what needed to be collected from whom

what were some criticisms of the absolute monarchy regarding ministers?

• king took credit for ministers work/ideas

• king had favourite ministers

• ministers were working for their own interests - not in the interest of the nation

• internal hierarchy within ministers

what percentage of the population did the First Estate make up?

2%

who was the First Estate made up of?

* higher clergy (bishops)
* lower clergy (parish priests, monks, nuns)

what percentage of the population did the Second Estate make up?

less than 1%

who was the Second Estate made up of?

* ministers at the Royal court
* military officers
* other nobility

when did the Second Estate have to pay tax?

only paid tax during war; completed no work, but very rich

when did the First Estate have to pay tax?

never; completed no work, but very rich

when did the Third Estate have to pay tax?

paid high taxes consistently; did all the work to keep nation running

what percentage of the population did the Third Estate make up?

the remaining 97% (numbers increased with increasing population)

what was a guild and who formed them?

* people in the Third Estates would form guilds
* guild → an association/group of craftspeople from the same trade who joined together to protect their industry and their own interests
* some guilds had significant local power

what was the bougeoisie?

owners of factories, banks, mines, etc. under capitalism

what perks did the Second Estate recieve?

* exclusive hunting and fishing rights
* noblemen granted monopolies on a local scale over:
* some good (such as wine)
* some small businesses (such as bakeries)

what are the 2 underlying causes of revolution with regard to the Estates?

1. resentment from the Third Estate towards First and Second
2. lack of social mobility due to hereditary titles

why was the First Estate particularly powerful?

* power came from their wealth, but was more concentrated due to God
* members had strong religious presence in society
* the main benefactors are priests and members of the church (due to the church being corrupt - endowments, etc.)

how was the Third Estate made particularly powerless?

* they were given no say in political matters
* they were forced to work for little monetary value
* still tied to feudalism → aristocracy ran the land

why was it in the kings interest to keep his citizens ‘weak and miserable’?

* lingering desperation
* keeping people unsatisfied with their quality of life so that they have deflated expectations of what is considered ‘good’
* to seem heroic and omnibenevolent for solving their problems
* to be relied on meant they could not escape his power
* weak people cannot fight back

what was the enlightenment?

a philosophical movement that embraced science and individualism, and rejected traditional values such as the churches teachings, absolute monarchy, and the ancien regime

who were 4 key enlightenment thinkers?

1. Rousseau

2. Voltaire

3. Montesquieu

4. Diderot

what was ‘vingtieme’ tax?

set amount of tax, 1/20 of your income - equivalent to 5%

everyone but the church (first estate) had to pay

who was tax-farming run by?

a group of men called Farmers-General (Ferme Generade) → collected indirect taxes for the government

how did the farmers-generals gain profit from tax-farming

they paid the treasury an agreed sum and kept anything above that for themselves (as pocket-money/profit)

why did tax-farming cause financial issues for the crown?

french govt. never received enough of the taxation to cover their expenses and had to borrow money - the interest on this became increasingly burdensome for the crown

define venality (in relation to tax collecters)

venality is a system by which tax collectors could buy the right to keep their job → by law, they could not lose their jobs

what was the palais royale?

the ‘enlightenment hub’ where the centre of criticism for the royal family was based

who owned the palais royale?

duc d’orleans (one of the richest men in france)

what did the duc d’orleans do with the palais royale?

he opened it to the public → shops, cafes, etc. (the police were powerless to interfere as it was his own private property)

why would nobility be supportive of criticisms of the ancien regime?

• security of power

• genuine sense of injustice → reverance of enlightenment thinkers

• louis’ XVI timidity - lack of faith in monarch

• socialising with british and american thinkers (british and american (1774) revolutions)

define historiography.

the study of what historians argue about history

what are the two main historiographical schools regarding the causes of revolution?

• the enlightenment and political discontent at the ancien regime

• declining economic conditions

what were the 4 causes of economic decline in France in the 1770-80s

1. bad harvests

2. debt and taxation

3. court corruption

4. american revolution

how did bad harvests affect the rural population?

• it became very common for people living in rural areas to become impoverished → many relied on charitable relief from churches

  • typically lived hand-to-mouth

how did bad harvests affect the urban population?

• bread was the main component of their diet

• inflation caused prices to raise exponentially as population growth made demand increase with no increase in supply

• bread cost 85% of their income

how was urban employment affected by bad harvests?

urban unemployment came as a result of decreased demand for manufactured goods (e.g. carpets) as more people were worried about affording food

where did frances debt come from (1770-80)?

• huge debts accumulated during the seven years’ war

  • inefficiencies in the system meant the bourbons took huge loans out for the war

what was the biggest proportion of state expenditure on in 1780?

• loan repayments

  • state expenditure was higher than income

how did the american revolution contribute to frances declining economy?

• france wanted to reduce the british power and get revenge for the seven years’ war

• louis XVI signed military alliance with america (1778)

• france provided arms and resources over the next 5 years to the estimated cost of 1.3 billion livre

how did court corruption contribute to frances declining economy?

• venal titles meant previous tax-paying third estate members became tax-exempt people of the second estate

• venality blocked the advancement and promotion of people based on merit

  • royal administration was based solely on wealth → corruption

how did the ‘affair of the diamond necklace’ damage marie antoinettes reputation?

though she was proven innocent, she was known for being extravagant and therefore people still speculated that she was at fault

define physiocrat.

a group of economists influenced by the Enlightenment → advocated the idea of free trade, said govt. should not intervene in trade and business

republican protestants

describe turgot’s changes to trade and tax rules.

• wanted to introduce free trade in grains (no clear price control)

• wanted to introduce property taxes

why was turgot forced to resign?

he presented an idea to ban the corvee, abolish privilege, and introduce a property tax payable by all estates

what was the ‘compte rendu au roi’ and why was it controversial?

translates to ‘report to the king’ → a publicly published record of the finances of the state

claimed a surplus of 10 million livres, concealing the actual deficit of 46 million livres

why was necker forced to resign?

the compte rendu au roi was a complete failure and increased the state debts + wealthy frenchmen did not like that they could no longer buy status

who were the 4 controller-generals between 1774-1789?

• turgot

• necker

• calonne

• brienne

who were the ‘assembly of notables’?

a gathering of key figures from the first and second estates hand chosen by the controller-general → made up of 144 nobles, archbishops and members of the royal family

what was calonnes 3-point plan?

1. free trade

2. universal land tax

3. selling church lands to increase state income

what reforms did brienne propose and why were they controversial?

universal land tax → the wealthy didnt want to lose their money/status/power

when, where, and why did the aristocratic revolt take place

• june 1788

• grenoble

• consequences of louis exiling the parlements in august 1787 to enforce his absolute power (they thought he was acting like a tyrant)

what happened in august 1788 that put louis in a precarious situation?

france declared itself bankrupt → paris parlement recalled

what was marie antoinette nicknamed?

madame deficit

what do some historians call the revolt of the aristocracy?

the first act of revolution

why was the calling of the estates-general in 1789 a bold move?

because the last time they were called was in 1614 (over 100 years ago), thus nobody knew how they worked and they were pretty much ‘extinct’ up until then

who were the estates-general and what was their position?

group of people compiled of the general from every state in france

meant to be the highest constitutional body, like englands westminster court

throughout the calling of the estates-general in 1789, how did louis react and what reaction did this provoke from the estates?

louis remained passive and detached from it

made the third estate worried they were not being listened to

what did the third estate do as a result of being shunned and not listened to shortly after the estates-generals met in 1789?

third estate declared themselves the ‘national assembly’ → constitutional transformation

when did the third estate form the national assembly?

17 june 1789

when did louis accept that there was now a national assembly?

27 june 1789

why was the national assembly favourable by the third estate?

gave them more power in the state

when was the ‘storming of bastille’?

14 july 1789

what kind of change was it when the ‘cahiers de doleances’ (book of grievances) was established?

constitutional change

what is the ‘cahiers de doleances’ and how many were there in total?

• the book of grievances, published in spring 1789

• the regions of france could send their ideas and grievances to the meeting of the estates-general

• 40,000 grievances in total

what is the ‘letter de cachet’

something the king could issue to imprison without trial

what 6 things did the cahier of gisors (grievances from gisors) state and whose views did they reflect?

they reflected the views of the third estate

1. abolition of every indirect tax

2. no citizen to be imprisoned without trial by a ‘natural judge’

3. ‘letter de cachet’ to be forbidden

4. abolition of all forms of feudal justice

5. abolition of venality

6. nations right to choose its judges

what 3 things did the cahier of menouville (grievances from menouville) state and whose views did they reflect?

they reflected the views of the peasentry

1. the gabelle tax (salt) should be cheaper

2. criticisms of tax-men (tax-farmers)

3. there should be no military duty

when does louis summon the estates-general?

24 january 1789

what did the pamphlet by abbe sieyes state about the third estate?

“what is the third estate? everything. what has it been until now in the political order? nothing. what does it want to be? something.”

when did the revellion riots take place?

26-29 april 1789

what kind of change were the revellion riots in regards to revolution?

metropolitan change

what caused the reveillon riots in april 1789?

jean-baptiste revellion wrote an extremely ill-advised essay on ‘lowering wages’ which was controversial as he was a wealthy businessman

this got misinterpreted by the parisian mob

when were the revellion riots and what did the parisian mobs do during them?

28 april 1789

attacked and looted jean-baptistes mansion, burned his furniture and wallpaper-making tools, raided his wine cellar and held a party with the wine in the streets

what month of 1789 was there confusion around the voting system with the estates-generals?

may

how did the voting system change to make it more equal for all estates?

voted by head instead of by order (one vote for each of the three estates) as it made it harder for the first and second estates to immediately overpower the third

what 2 reforms to the voting system did the third estate demand during the calling of the estates-generals?

• demanded twice the number of deputies (representatives) in the third estate to make it equal

• demanded voting by head instead of by order

how did the method of voting during the calling of the estates-generals favour the first and second estates?

if you wanted to vote for someone in the first and second estates you would just tick the persons name

if you wanted to vote for someone in the third estate, you had to tick the name of their representative who would then put in your vote for that person

added an extra step to vote for someone in third estate

what was said in the tennis court oath and who said it?

‘france was going to have a new constitution with or without the approval of the king’ → third estate deputies who had their own gathering separate from the Seance Royale

what was it intended to be and why did louis’ seance royale fail?

it was intended to be a gathering to present his proposed reforms

he ended up putting guards infront of the door to the meeting room and locking it, isolating the third estate and making them angry

what did the failure of the seance royale directly lead to?

the tennis court oath

why did louis have to declare the national assembly legitimate?

the tennis court oath boosted the national assembly’s popularity

soon the second and first estates joined the third in the national assembly → louis had no choice

give a chronology of the storming of the bastille in 3 bullet points.

• angry parisians want more weaponry so they look to the bastille (old prison)

• governer de Launay refused to give them gunpowder and denied them entry

• de Launay is murdered and decapitated by an enraged crowd; violent riots ensue