France 1.1 Causes and Outcome of the 1789 Revolution

Ancien Regime

The old system of government in France before 1789

France’s more general problems

-regional differences across the country, with each part dealing with local issues in its own way

-different legal systems

-regions had different systems of taxation

-customs barriers between some parts of France

-king’s orders often ignored or too hard to carry out

Describe how the lower classes of France were treated in 1789

-heavily taxed

-maintained roads for their landlords and local community unpaid

-landlords could hunt on the peasants’ land

-wages declined for the working class

-fear of starvation after bad harvests

-real wages declined

-not represented by politicians

-paid taxes to the aristocracy who were living lavishly

Describe how the middle class was in 1789 France

-middle class was growing

-educated

-rich

-involved in commerce and industry

-no political power

-couldn’t join the top levels of government, military, judiciary system

Were jobs in France decided by ability?

No, so money influenced local administration and the law

Describe the church in France in 1789

-wealthy

-owned 10% of the land in France

-paid no taxes

-controlled most of the education in France

-approved all publications

-divisions within the rich and poor clergy, so could not present a united front when revolutionary forces came

Describe the aristocracy in 1789 France

-dominated France

-tiny minority of the population owned 30% of the land and wealth

-paid no taxes

-exempt from conscription

-could hunt wherever they wanted

-dominated all key posts at court and the government, church, army, judiciary

-hostile to those involved in commerce and trade, making them remain a group apart and no associating with the lower classes

-divisions between the higher and lower aristocracy, so no unity during the years of revolution

Why did the French army perform bad

The officers were noblemen and promotion came through noble rank than ability or experience

What kind of ruler was king Louis XVI?

Absolute monarch

Parlements

Judicial courts of appeal, paris parlement was the most powerful

Describe the parlements in France

-laws by the king couldn’t be carried out unless published by the parlements, meaning they could delay or prevent the implementation of royal wishes

-members were more interested in persevering their own privileges than anything else

The enlightenment era

Wanted to reform the while system of government to make it more efficient and inclusive to get rid of its failings

Departments

Intendants that administered the localities and carried out royal wishes, but were hated and ignored by parlements

True or false, divisions at the court and within the artistocracy and clergy made France hard to govern

True

What did people character Louis XVI as?

Weak and indecisive

Voltaire

-Critical of the rule of wealth and influence of the church

-attacked religious intolerance

Montesquieu

-Critical of despotism and autocratic power

-wanted a system of checks and balances

Diderot

-determined to advance knowledge

-advocated for independent thinking

Rousseau

-argued for more education

-proposed ideas on how there could be authority and freedom for men in the same society

Quesnay

-wrote on economics

-argued against the constraints on free production and movement of goods in France at that time

Common cause of riots in France

-famine

-national debt

What was the overseas cause of the debt problem in France

Their decision to form an alliance with America and declaring war on Britain during the American revolution

Who was the first finance minister King Louis appointed as king and in what year was he appointed?

A-R-J Turgot in 1775

What did finance minister Turgot want

-he warned against more involvement in wars, saying that it would drive France to bankruptcy but was ignored

Who was the foreign minister the king listened to while ignoring Turgot?

Comte de Vergennes

Was Comte de vergennes reliable?

No, he was more interested in France’s and his own prestige and not worried about bankruptcy

Who was the new finance minister appointed after Turgot in 1777

Jacques Necker

What did the appointment of Jacques necker show the French people

That French finances were in a dreadful state

What did Jacques necker do as finance minister of France?

-funded the war with Britain through borrowing at very high interest rates

-said that France’s finances were in good condition when they were not

-hid the huge cost of the war with Britain

Who was the finance minster appointed after Jacques necker in 1783

Charles de Colonne

What were the three proposals Charles de Colonne submitted to the Assembly of Notables

1. Increase taxes for the wealthy

2. Stimulate the economy generally and encourage commerce and industry

3. Create confidence in France and its economy so it could borrow more money at lower rates of interest

Assembly of notables

A group of noblemen or senior members of the church that had non authority and couldn’t actually do anything

Why was Charles de Calonne in an impossible position with his proposal actually gong through?

He was disliked by many of the notables and didnt have a lot of support from the king and the rest of the government, as many of them chose to believe necker that France’s finances were good

What finance minister replaced Charles de Calonne in 1787?

Ethienne Brienne

Who was etienne brienne?

The president of the assembly of notables who felt he would have influence over its members

Did the king like etienne brienne?

No and he had limited royal support

What happened when the assembly of notables demanded an accurate account of the royal finances?

The king refused and dismissed the assembly

What did the meeting and dismissal of the assembly of notables show?

-just how deep France’s financial crisis was

-the failing of the king, his court, and government

-the public had been lied to about France’s finances

-there was real opposition to the king and his government

-the public demanded change and more involvement in the government

What did finance minister brienne do as finance minister?

He increased taxes and borrowed more to raise money, but found it hard to persuade bankers to lend to a sate that was near breakdown

What did the Paris parlement refuse to do?

They refused to support the tax increase until they saw an accurate picture of the royal accounts, which the king refused to show as he thought it was an attack on his royal powers.

What did the king do to the Paris parlement?

He banished the parlement members to the provinces

What happened when the Paris parlement was banished to the provinces?

The middle and lower classes protested in the streets

What did the king believe after he recalled the parliament in november 1787

-He mismanaged the meeting

-he had no grasp of why there were so was much concern with France’s finances

-he undermined the ministers who were trying to negotiate and manage the parlement

What happened to the parlement when they refused to support the new taxes

The leaders were arrested and imprisoned in the bastille

True or false, in 1788, the king refused to become involved in a civil war in the Netherlands, which made people angry

True

Why was the French army viewed as unreliable?

There was a lack of money and the noble officer corps was incompetent

What did the Paris parlement demand?

Complete constitutional change

How was the beginning of widespread revolt worsened?

Hailstorms destroyed much of the harvests, leading to shortages of bread and higher prices, making a harder winter

What was the king’s solution to the financial crisis?

To recall Jacques necker and to summon the Estates General after they had not met since 1614.

Cahiers de doleances

A list of issues the districts of France wanted the assembly to consider when it met.

When did the Estates General meet?

On may 5, 1789

Why was the voting system of the estates general unfair?

Each estate had an equal vote, so the King and his ministers expected the first and second estates to support them if the third estate tried to make any radical changes

Why did the first and second estates refuse to support any of the demands for reform made by the third estate?

They were more concerned with protecting their privileges than in dealing with the real problems the country was facing.

What did the third estate want?

-taxes to be shared equally

-National debt to be paid off

-privilege of hunting to be abolished

-the church should be reformed

On June 17, 1789, what did the Third Estate do after they were tired of the royal indecision and selfishness of the other two estates?

They changed their name to the National Assembly , announcing that it was now in charge of France

What was the Tennis Court Oath

When the National Assembly agreed to continue meeting until a constitution was established that met their grievances

Did the king try to stop the formation of the National Assembly?

Yes

What kind of decisions did the King make that rose tensions in France?

-refused to give any power to the National Assembly

-moved troops to Paris and Versailles to stop any reforms by force.

-dismissed necker, who many saw as the only one that was capable of bringing in sensible reforms and solving France’s economic problems.

When was the Storming of the Bastille?

July 14, 1789

What was the Storming of the Bastille?

When the old royal fortress, the Bastille, was attacked by a Parisian mob who feared the reforms they wanted weren’t going to happen.

What was the outcome of the storming of the Bastille?

The Bastille was destroyed and its governor was killed. It showed the anger of the Paris working class and their determination to get change

What events did the Storming of the Bastille inspire?

-mass refusal to pay taxes

-grain shipments were attacked and grain was stolen

-homes of noblemen were looted and owners attacked

-leaders who opposed reform were killed

Feudalism

The lower classes were tenants of the nobles and has to live on their lord’s and and serve him with their labor and a share of their crops

August Decrees

The abolishment of:

-the privileges of the nobles, like their exemption from taxes

-the duties that a peasant owed to his noble landlord, like paying taxes to him

-the parlements and their old-fashioned legal processes

-the provincial estates that were disused as reduced the status of the Roman Catholic Church in France

When was the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen passed?

August 1789

What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?

It established the principles on which the new system of government (National Assembly) would be established and guaranteed the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man

Decree of the Fundamental Principles of Government

The principles on which government in France should be based and showed the assembly setting out their wishes for a new constitution for France.

When was the Women’s march on Versailles?

October 5, 1789

What was the Women’s March on Versailles?

When crowds of women began to march from Paris to the royal palace at Versailles where they invaded the National Assembly and escorted the king and his family to Paris where they were held as prisoners.

Why did the King accept the August Decrees?

The women and deputies sent by the National Assembly persuade him to accept

What was the outcome of the women’s March on Versailles, declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen, and the storming of the Bastille?

Royal authority was mostly gone and the ancient regime was no longer