History │ French Revolution

Flashcards on the French Revolution │ Year 12

When did King Louis XVI become King of France?

King Louis XVI became King of France, at the age of 20, on May 10, 1774, following the death of his grandfather, King Louis XV.

What was the Ancien Regime?

The Ancien Régime refers to the political and social system in France before the French Revolution, characterized by absolute monarchy, feudal privileges, and a rigid class structure comprising the clergy, nobility, and commoners.

What were the Three Estates?

The Three Estates were the social classes in France before the French Revolution, comprising the First Estate (clergy), the Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (commoners), each with different rights and responsibilities.

Which Estates enjoyed major privileges?

The First Estate (clergy) and the Second Estate (nobility) enjoyed major privileges, including exemptions from certain taxes and exclusive rights in social, legal, and political matters.

Why did the tax system cause resentment?

The tax system caused resentment because it primarily burdened the Third Estate (commoners), who paid significant taxes while the First and Second Estates (clergy and nobility) were largely exempt, leading to widespread frustration and calls for reform.

What were the Parlements?

The Parlements were sovereign courts in France before the French Revolution, responsible for registering royal decrees and acting as appellate courts, often clashing with the monarchy over issues of power and governance.

What was France’s major financial problem by the 1780s?

France's major financial problem by the 1780s was an escalating national debt, driven by costly wars, including involvement in the American Revolution, and ineffective tax collection, coupled with lavish spending by the monarchy.

How did the America War worsen France’s problems?

The American War exacerbated France's problems by significantly increasing the national debt, as France provided substantial military and financial support to the American colonies during their fight for independence, while failing to implement necessary fiscal reforms at home.

How did the Enlightment ideas challenge the Ancien Regime?

They questioned privilege and promoted reason, rights and popular sovereignty, directly challenged divine right monarchy.

Was Louis XVI simply doomed from 1774?

No. He inherited deep problems, but his choices (such as involving France in the American Revolution, living lavishly and failure to make change) deepened and worsened them.

What reforms did Turgot attempt?

Economic liberalisation and attacks on privilege; Louis dismissed him in 1776.

Why was Necker important?

He relied on loans and published the Compte Rendu in 1781.

What did Calonne propose in 1787?

A universal land tax and reforms intended to make taxation fairer.

What was the Assembly of Notables of 1787?

A group of 144 hand-picked elite nobles, clergy and magistrates convened by King Louis XVI at Versailles to approve radical financial reforms.

What was Calonne’s Plan?

A 1787 reform plan including a universal land tax to tackle France’s financial crisis.

What was the Compte Rendu?

Necker’s 1781 public report on royal finances, which made France seem healthier than it was.

What was the Estates-General?

An assembly representing the clergy, nobility and Third Estate.

What were cahiers de doleances?

Lists of grievances and demands drawn up before the Estates-General in 1789.

What was double representation?

The Third Estate was allowed twice as many deputies as either other Estate.

What does voting by order mean?

Each Estate received one collective vote, giving the privileged Estates two votesto one.

What does voting by head mean?

Every deputy voted individually, giving thee larger Third Estate more influence.

Who were the Bourgeoisie?

The prosperous middle classes: merchants, lawyers, professionals and business owners.

What was the taille?

A major direct, land and property, tax, mainly paid by The Third Estate. It served as the French monarchy's single most important source of direct royal revenue, funding military conflicts like the Hundred Years' War and the wars of Louis XIV.

What was the gabelle?

A highly unpopular royal tax on salt in pre-revolutionary France that required citizens over a certain age to purchase a set minimum amount of salt government-monopolised stores at high, state-fixed prices.

What was the Tithe?

A payment, usually around one-tenth of produce, made to the Catholic Church.

What was the Corvee?

Unpaid labour that peasants could be required to perform, especially on roads.

What were feudal dues?

Payments or obligations peasants owed to local lords under the old feudal system.

What were assignats?

Paper currency backed by confiscated Church land; overprinting later caused inflation.

Who were emigres?

People, especially nobles, who led revolutionary France and often opposed the Revolution. Approximately 150,000 individuals.

Who were refractory Priests?

Refractory priests were Catholic Clergy during the French Revolution who refused to swear and oath of loyalty to the state-controlled Refractory Clergy.

Who were the sans-culottes?

Militant urban revolutionaries, mainly workers and artisans, who pushed for radical change.