France Revolution AOS1

King Louis XVI

• Came into power May 1774 when he was 19

• Devine-right monarchy

• Awkward, clumsy but had a good heart, not a great person to be a leader, disliked leading France

France population

• 28 million people

• 80% were peasants

• 3-5 million people were that poor they were beggin

Other France population things

• 1 in 40 people lived in Paris

• 90% of French towns had less then 10,000 people

• 9 cities had more than 50,000 people

• Inflation had risen 3 times more then wages

Peasants

• Made up 80% of population

• Owned 32% of the land

• Paid the most tax

Taxes

• First and second estate didn't pay taxes

• Taxation system was one of the biggest issues

• Tax farmers, when collecting tax, took some for themselves

• Indirect taxes

• Direct taxes

French Economy

• In 1780s France was held back by old fashion farming and transportation

• England was ahead in farming

• Weather was hard for farming

• Was still using handmade stuff while England was using factory's

• Seaports helped with money

First estate (Clergy (Church People))

• 170,000 ppl (0.6%)

• highest position in society

• upper clergy

• Lower clergy 

• Clergy people don't pay taxes (except Gst and that) 

• Owned 10-15% of the land

Second estate (Nobles)

• Nobles of the sword

• Nobles of the robe

• 0.4% of population

• Owned 20-30% of land

• Privileges – right to wear a sword, display coat of arms 

• Can see them from having a sword and being fancy dressed 

Third estate (everyone else)

• Over 25 million (99% of population)

• 80% peasants

• 22 million lived in countryside

• Included very wealthy as well very poor

• Bourgeois

• Merchants/Artisans 

Short term triggers of revolution

• Financial crisis

• Economic/fiscal crisis

• American war of independence

• Failure of reforms

• Political crisis

• Loss of faith in the king (and queen)

Financial crisis

• Caused by war

• People think France is ‘broke’

• Spent a lot of money in the 7 years' war (1756-1763)

• The American war of Independence (1776-1783), France provided large financial support

• High interest loans, excessive spending, inefficient tax system

Compte Rendu

• February 1781

• Omitted the costs of war

• Seemed as though there was a surplus of 10 million livres

Necker

• Swiss 

• Appointed 1776

• Tried to reform taxation system

• 1781 – Compte Rendu au Roi

• Popular with third estate

• Prices out of proportion to income = diminished consumer purchasing = decline in manufacturing = decline in urban employment

• Resigned in May 1781

Calonne

• Controller- General of finance (1783-1787)

• Royal debits increasing, especially interest

• Took out more loans

• 1784-1785 credit began to dry

• 1786- revenue would be 475 million livres, expenditure 587 livres

Calonne’s attempted reforms

• Didn't restrict court expenditure

• New loans

• Abolish internal tax barriers and tariffs

• Local assemblies in each province to collect taxes

• Government spending reduced

• Stamp duty on business transactions

Assembly of notables

• Hadn't been summoned since 1626 

• Met on 22^nd February 1787

• 144 representatives

• Were hesitant to support land tax

• Said no to reforms as issues keep getting worse (France gets more and more in debt)

American war of independence

• 227 million livres

• 147 on navy

• Total over 1 billion

• 91% from loans to USA

Brienne

• Took reforms to notables 

• Assembly of notables became more militant

• Supported the notion of “taxation with representation”

• Assembly of notables dismissed 25^th May 1787

Parliament of Paris

• July 1787 – took proposals to the Parlement of Paris for registration

• Brienna retained Colonne's land tax but reworked other reforms

Popular protest - day of tiles

• May-June 1788- protests across France

• Judges now seen as hero's

• An assembly of Clergy joined Parliament

Harvests

• Poor harvests 1788-1789

• In 1788 bad harvests

• Causes a rise in the cost of food

• 88% of wages spent on bread

• Volcanic eruptions in Iceland 1783 and 1784

• Severe hailstorm in 1788- what damage

Turgot 

• Controller – general of finance, 1775-1776 

• Improved accounting procedures 

• Tried to introduce free trade in grain and change land tax 

Voting

• There is doubling of the third, December 1788

• Should be voting by head or it wont work

• Traditional to vote by order

Meeting of the Estates-General

May 5th 1789

Abbe Sieyes

• Pamphlet on what is the third estate

• Third estate is what is required for a nation

First Estate issues

• Wanted non-nobles to be able to be bishops​

• Would give up financial privileges​

• Catholicism to be dominant​

• Would not tolerate Protestants​

Second estate issues

• Majority (about 89%) prepared to give up financial privileges​

• 39% supported voting by head​

• Showed a desire to change​

• High office should be by merit not birth​

• Attacked despotism​

Third estate main issue

• Main issue was voting by head​

• Problems arose about the collection of the grievances and some peasant grievances were omitted/changed (see pp.76-77)​

• Some arguments as to whether the cahiers of the Third Estate really only represent the views of the bourgeoisie.​

• Taxes and merit were issues​

• Many (e.g. Third of Paris) based on model written by Society of Thirty​

Society of thirty

• Goal to design constitution based on Enlightenment thinking​

• Grew to about 60 members, only 5 were commoners​

• Marquis de Lafayette, Count Mirabeau, Abbé Sieyès all members

• Schama – they were ’courtiers against the court, aristocrats against privilege, officers who wanted to replace dynastic with national patriotism.’​

First estate deputies

• mainly elected Parish priests ​

• It had 291 deputies​

• 51 were bishops​

Second estate deputies

• mainly from the old noble families in the provinces​

• Many were poor and conservative​

• Had 282 deputies​

• About 90 could be classed as liberals (supported cautious reform), the rest were quite conservative (suspicious of change)​

Third estate deputies

• had 580 deputies​

• In December 1788 the number of Third Estate deputies was doubled​

• Mainly articulate, educate and most were well-off​

(deputies had to pay their own expenses)​

• No peasants or urban workers elected​

• 43% were venal office holders (had bought jobs)​

• 35% were lawyers​

• 13% from trade and industry​

Furet historical interpretations

‘In Paris, revolution was already widely expected, but the French en masse still expected the reforms they considered essential to come from the king.’​

Economic problems in 1789

• Shortage of grain caused bread to increase in price.​

• By April of 1789 workers spending up to 88% of wage on bread​

• Depression in the country affected the urban and industrial sector – demands for consumer goods fell.​

• Large industrial towns and Paris suffered from the downturn and thousands became unemployed​

• Financial ministers were blamed

Reveillon riots

• The Réveillon riots occurred 28 April, 1789​

• Some say they were the first great popular demonstration of the revolution and others that they were the last demonstrations of the ancien regime​

• Attack on wallpaper manufacturer Réveillon due to a rumour that he was trying to cut wages.​

• Henriot’s (another manufacturer) mansion looted​

• Réveillon’s house and factory destroyed​

• 25-50 killed​