French Rev Quiz 1

Parlements

Context: absolute monarchy

Definition:

-judicial court branch

-register laws before enacted (made official)

-thought they protected the people against tyranny

Significance:

-brought public debates into the open → increased public discussion

-gov had hard time controlling venal office (judges) since ensured privileges and passed down thru generations

Connection: absolute monarchy = weakened in multiple ways (venality of office & Farmer’s General)

Farmers’ General

Context: collected indirect taxes

Definition: group of wealthy investors that negotiated keases to oversee & receive taxes

-Collected taxes from “Five Great Farms”, including Paris and heart of France

Significance:

-Gov = dependent on FG → couldn’t get rid of them since they were in severe debt

-benefited from taxes since received all indirect taxes and only had to pay set payments to gov

-hated by tax people, got blamed for (some) of French’s financial issues

Connection: 1st & 2nd Estate were exempt from indirect taxes, collected by FG

Venality of Office

Context: 16th century government officials sold royal offices, and owners payed the gov for (mainly) judicial occupations

-after the owner died, offices belonged back to gov

Definition:

-a system where royal officials paid to own their gov office + staff

certain professions (like judges) could collect fees for more income

-owners received tax exemptions, noble status, and private property (the office)

Significance:

-Yearly fee (Paulette), allowed office holders to pass down possession of office to heirs →gov too broke to buy back offices/positions →power in office holders

-gov gave up long term control for quick money, couldn’t fix system

Connection:

Burgeoise used venality of office to oversee business, gain legal privileges and nobility, tax exemption/financial opportunity

7 years war + treaty of Paris

Context: France fought in War of Austrain succession, fighting Austria Hasburgs + GB, allied w/ Prussia

-expensive war for france → needed powerful land/naval forces

-war ended with no benefits and a new tax (vingiteme) + debt

Definition: France fought BG for possession of colonies + Austria wanted Silesia back from Prussia + Austrain Netherlands as a reward

-France = allied with Spain, Russia, Austria

-war ended with Treaty of Paris, forcing France to return North American territory and ending oversee/colonial conflcit

-not a final alliance because of balance of power

Significance: war = disaster because public blamed alliance of loss of French power w/ Austria which created (future) hatred for Marie Aintonette

-more debt, 3rd vegitime (income/property = direct tax) , increase of indirect taxes

-when Marie Aintonette became queen, people questioned her intentions. thought she was a spy, and didn’t trust her

-France lost territroy, monoey, and citizens trust, allowed surrounding countries to grow powerful, unhappy citizens

connection: balance of power, where all countries have equal teritory/power which causes more conflict about little dispites (opposite reaction then intent)

Estates system

1st estate = cleregy (0.5%)

2nd Estate = nobility (1.5%)

3rd=commoners (98%)

-1 & 2nd Estate got many privledges like tax exemptions and most were wealthier than 3rd etstae

-3rd estate had to pay most takes even though they had no money to pay compared to the cleregy and nobility whow ere living luxurious lifestyles

-king wanted to keep 1 & 2nd estate happy so he couldn’t take away their privledges, even when France was in financial troubles

-very rare to switch estates, only the bergouise could buy venality of office

-bergouise were upperclass commoners who had the same amount of wealth to nobleman but lacked legal privledges

-there were poor countryside farmers and undeprayed lower clerergy that lived similar to most people in 3rd estate

King Louis XVI

context: became King when his dad died from tebercuolsis

-even though he received lots of education to prepare him to rule France, was not equipped to be ruler

definition: indecisive ruler, made Marie make many political desicions for him because he was stressed and depressed

significance: wasn’t able to fix france’s debt

Marie Antoinette

Context: arranged marriage to KL XVI at 14 for reliance between Austria (which she was princess of)

Definition: received hate for tardiness to produce heir, gambling, extravagant lifestyle during famine and time of severe debt, influenced on King

-left out many noblenmen from social circle, diminishing their power

-people didn’t beleive sh was their for the good of the country

Significance: noblemen who lost power because of their lack of relationship with the royal family used their influence to become leaders in the revoltion

Jaques Necker

Context: King Louis XVI was overwhelmed by France’s debt so he needed someone to fix it

Definition: one of France’s financial ministers, hired to fix debt

-got loans from other countries for France’s assistance in American revolution (France payed back with high interest rates), instead of worsening conditions for working class and couldn’t tax cleregy and nobleman because of their privledges

-elimates some tax farmers and venal office to centralize money (people angry because of loss of jobs and money)

his goal = increase public support of French gob

-proposed vote by head at EG

Significance: his goal was to be transparent financial debt by publishing the monarhcy’s spendings, exposes wealth gap but lies about severity of debt

-King feels betrayed and fires him, which angered the public and increased resentment for the governemnt because he was popular to the people

Connection: King hires new financial advisor (Charles Alexandre de Caloone)

Charles Alexandre de Caloone

Context: Jaques Necker = financial advisory before him, fired for exposing monarchy spendings

Definition: goal = promote internal trade within countryside (reduce foreign trade) & wants all landowners (including 1st and 2nd estate) to pay certain taxes (like the taille)

Significance:

his plan fails since the 1st and 2nd estate refuse to give up their privledges, gets fired, necker is rehired

Connection: no one is able to solve france’s financial debt, so King has to call Estates General, which hasn’t been called for 175 years, and proves toe crises France is in

Estates General

Context: no financial advisor is able to help financial crises, need Estate General help

Definition: always called when monarchy = weak

Significance: opportunity for 3rd estate to have voices heard since all estates has elected represantives

EG = check on King’s power, the fact that he calls it proves that debt is at its peak and France = desperate

Connection: voting by head because that is how the 3rd Estate needed to vote for faif represnation

Cahiers

Context: called for the first time in 175 years, each estate brought elected delegates (around 300 for 1 & 2, 600 for 3)

Definition: delegates brought summary of greviances (suggestions/complaints)

ex: hunting rights, verifying debt

over 50,000 complaints since it had been so long since last EG calling

Significance: 3rd estate finally had a chance for represenation and their voices would be heard so they hope they could reduce the tax burdens

Connection: vote by order overpowered 3rd estate vote, meaning their opinions meant nothing

Vote by order

Context: the traditional way the estates general ran

Definition: each estate had 1 vote each

Significance: 1st and 2nd estate had similar interests and overpowered the 3rd estates vote, which differed

majority of population disregarded

encouraged despotism

Connection: Necker’s compromise (voting by order)

Vote by head

Context: 3rd estate dissatisfied with voting by order because their opinions weren’t heard

Definition: counting each vote (head) in EG indiviudally

Necker gave 3rd estate equal # of reps as 1 & 2 estate combined so 3rd estate had fair chance but still needed some (in the beginning poor nobleman and lower cleregy) to agree

Significance: KL XVI refused to vote by head, 3rd estate couldn’t have fair representation even though they made up 98& of popualtion

Connection: 3rd Estate became frustrated and created National Assmebly

National Assembly

Context: Fights over how to vote in EG made 3rd estate reakize that they could never fix problems under old rules, needed a change

Definition: the new government that the 3rd estate created to get true representation

Significance: 1st and 2nd estate recgonized that a change was necessary was necessary, felt bad for 3rd estsate, and didn’t want to be ovethrown by Rev so joined instead (all types, poor & wealthy)

Connection:King locked them out of offical meeting place so they had their discussion at the tennis court, creating the tennis court oath (one time situation)

Tennis Court Oath

Context: locked out of meeting room by King, went to tennis court as an act of defiance

Definition: creates oath that the assembly will not break apart until their new rules/changes (Constituion) is followed

Significance: King offers no new taxes and tax exemption but that it not enought for the National Assmebly

King accepts national Assmebly and their consitiion to avoid losing compelte power

Connection: Rumors spread that the King is assembling army, National Aeesmbly needs protection

Storming of the Bastille

Context: King threatens to assemble the army against the National Assembly and the troops gather around Paris

Definition: 800 people storm the Bastille (an old prison), tore it down, and beheaded the gaurds

-fueled by rising bread prices (starvation), gunpowder, firing of Necker (again)

-stormed by revoltionaries and soldiers who no longer support king

Significance: sybolizes freedom and turning point of power

Connection: The United action of tearing down of the BAstille and elimination of social classes influenced French motto (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Context: The tearing down of the Bastille represents the people’s freedom from absoltuism

Definition: LEF = revolutionaries motto

also create tricolor flag w/ white (to represent royal family aka bourbons , red & blue (as a symbol of Paris)

Significance: showed how after years of depsotism and tension between social classes, the people for France were all unitng for their freedom from absolutism

kept white since they didn’t want to completely eliminate monarchy (yet)

Connection: use this motto once rumors start about the King’s plan to stop the National Assembly

the Great Fear

Context: rumors that the King & nobles who still supported him were goin gto stop the working of the National Assmebly which created mass chaos in the countryside (and their anger was exacerbated by food shortages)

Definition: peasents turn on nobles, burn their houses, harm them, and burn tax record showing what they owed nobles to elimate proof

Significance: KL and his deputies were unbothered by voilence, allowing for ti to escolate

Connection: The women’s march on Versailles and National Assembly realized they needed to make changes to fuedal system before France fell apart completely

Decleration of Rights of Citizen and Men

Context: The Great Fear made members of the National Assembly realize that ???

Definition: document that states what citizens were entitled to

became the preamble to the Constituion because it promoted equality and all of the intial greviances that were never addressed at Estates Genera;

Significance: had ideas about natural rights (John Locke), defined liberty, equality/general will (Jean Jaques)pr, right to fair trial, no excessive punishments, freedom of press/speech/expression, even tax distribution, and protect propety rightd

Connection: protected all male citizens, women had no represenation, leading to the Women’s march on Versailles

Women’s march on Versailles

Context: Excluded from Decleration of thr rights of man

:caused by protests about food shortages (bread) , King’s extravagant party snf trampling the National Assmebly’s new flag, King’s troop surround Paris, freedom of press (gossip around angry newspaper)

Definition: King signs Decleration of thr rights of man, hesitated to move to Paris, mob breaks into palace, decapitates guards and puts their head on stick, wanted to behead Marie Aintotee, steal flour for, Versaille, improsen King and Queen in Paris

Significance: power is now in Paris and the citizens have a voice, last royal family to stay in Versailles, imprisionment recongizes the loss of absolutism power

Marie Aintotte was targeted because of her flaunting of wealth and to people, she is the face of the financial issues

Connection: