History: SAC 3 AOS 4

Divine-Right Monarchy

Idea that a King’s Authority came from god

• Supported the notion of unlimited authority.

First Estate: Clergy

Exempt from paying taxes > made voluntary contributions every 5 years worth 2% of their of what they earnt

• Included Priests

• Mde up 0.5% (15,000) of France

Second Estate: Nobility

Nobility of the Sword > Born into nobility (hereditary title)

Nobility of the Robe > Made into nobility from noble service to king/ purchasing nobility

• Made up 0.4% of the population, consisting of two types:

• Exempt from tax, military service could carry arms etc.

Third Estate

Had to pay tax, leaving many in financial hardship

• Made up 99% of population (27.7 million)

• Included peasants (60%), labourers (19%), artisans (9%)

• Bourgeoisie was the most wealthiest from 3rd estate > lived nobly through inheritance of title.

Primary evidence/ Taxes

French population grew from 20 million at the end of the 17th century > 28 million by 1789.

• Feudal Dues: Peasant having to pay 3-25% of their produce to the local lord.

Enlightenment ideas/ French Philosophers

Rousseau: Most famous from his work “The social construct” (1762)

• “Man is born free, and everywhere is still in chains”

Sieyes: Published ‘what is third estate’ in 1789

• “What is the third estate? Everything”

Diderot: Published ‘Encyclopedia’ in 1772

• Which contained articles/ essay on religion, politics, theology.

Cultural impacts of enlightenment

Enlightenment ideas > challenged feudal system, called for ideological reform, and class consciousness.

• Ideas spread through salons / literacy societies

• 11- 12 million people in France were literate, literacy rates > 45 - 50% in 1780s.

Financial Minister Turgot

Jacques Turgot, in power from 1774 - 1776 > proposed financial reform by cutting expenditure/ introducing fairer taxation.

• attacked by threatening to limit privileges of First and Second Estates

War of Independence

French built alliance with Americans during WOI in Feb, 1778.

• Aid > money, naval, and military assistance.

• $1 billion on war > 91% coming directly from loans.

Lafayette > French liberal war hero, fought in WOI. Came back to france inspired by ideals of democracy/ liberty.

Jacques Necker/ Financial reforms

Necker: Second financial minister 1777 - 1790 > promised to fund American war.

• Established central treasury

• Abolished 385 venal positions in taxation, saving 2.5 million livres a year

• 1777 - 1781, borrowed 520 million livres to fund war, eventually wanting to tax all 3 estates to pay it off.

Compte Rendu Au Roi, 1781

Feb 1781, Necker published first public account of financial situation in France > exposed kings expenses.

• 20,000 copies sold in first week

• Not include: War debt

Showed revenue exceeding expenditure by 10 million livres > good for public perception as tax had not increased due WOI

Charles Calonne / Financial Reforms

Financial minister from 1783 - 1787 > by 1786 France was facing bankruptcy:

• Calonne > institute major tax reform > targeted church/ nobility

Proposed idea to advisory council of King -Assembly of Notables > contained 144 members, with 30 from Third Estate

Estates General

Calonne’s proposals disapproved by notables > not want to give up privileges:

Assembly lacked power to approve new taxation > only be done by:

• Estates General: advisory group, containing representatives from all 3 Estates

• Meetings occurred from May - June 1789

Brienne: Controller General of Finances/ Reforms

In power from 1787 - 1788, proposed reforms > placing land tax on privileged orders / increase taxation contributions from church.

• Privileged orders disapproved

• Parliament argued only Estates General had right to determine new tax reform > not monarchy

Lit de justice/ Exile to Troys

Lit de justice = solemn/ exceptional session of parliament

• August, 1787, Louis XVI attempted to enforce taxation through a lit de justice (royal session) > parliament declared invalid

15th August, 1787: Louis XVI exiled members of parliament to troyes, sparking popular uprising against the monarchy.

• Overall > compromise, parliament recalled, Brienne’s tax modified.

The Day of Tiles

June, 1788, soldiers came to banish the magistrates from parliament to Grenoble.

• Urban workers who lived in Grenoble, showed their opposition by standing on roofs of houses, throwing tiles down at soldiers.

• Second regiment opened fire, 2 dead

Consequences of Day of Tiles

• Riots in Paris, Rennes, Djon

• Over 500 hostile pamphlets between May-September.

• 5th July, 1788, Louis welcomed submissions on composition of Estates General

Fact: Average workers paid 250 livres a year (Third Estate)

Lack of political representation among Estates- General

September 25th, 1788, Estates-General organised same as it was in 1614, with each state having one vote.

• Privileged First and Second Estates could out vote 3rd

• Parliament lost support of bourgeoisie/ commoners because of this as Third Estate wanted greater representation = wanted voting by head

Royal Session

19th of November, 1789, Louis XVI organised royal sitting to antagonise magistrates, reminding them of his absolute authority.

• Ordered loans be immediately registered (illegal), which parliament refused

• led to two magistrates being exiled to country

Harvest Crisis

1765-1789 marked by food riots in Urban and Rural neighbourhoods.

• Natural disasters led people to become unemployed, frozen rivers (watermills couldn’t grind grain), and no transport of grain to town

• February, 1789, 4 pound loaf of bread doubled: half a labourers weekly wage.

Pamphlet wars

Relaxed censorship in May, 1788, led to debates for greater representation for Third Estates.

• Debates trickled into provincial farms, salons, cafes, taverns

• May 1788- April 1789, over 400 pamphlets published

Society of Thirty

Influential political club formed in Paris, November 1788. Consisting of liberal aristocrats, clergy, and nobility, aiming to design a new constitution based on enlightenment ideas.

• 1788-1789, debated nature of representation to Third Estate

• Started with 30 members, growing to 60, with 5 commoners.

3 Principles of Society of Thirty

• Rejected a “Fundamental Constitution” of France

• Believed only “Fundamental law” was the welfare of the people.

• Believed France had no constitution, therefore it was necessary to write one.

Cahiers De Doleances

List of grievances to guide deputies who would travel to Versailles to advise king, drawn up 1789.

• Over 40,000 cahiers, with both radical/ conservative feedback for royal governor

• Level of agreement between all Three Estates

In second Estate, 39% supported voting by head.

Revellion Riots

April 27th-28th, 1789, Wallpaper manufacturer ‘Revillion’ argued to decrease price of bread but was misinterpreted by third estate, believing he was arguing for lower wages.

• Attempted to invade his mansion, carrying mock gallows, looting and destroying his possessions

• 25 casualties

Voting for Deputies

April 1789, deputies elected to Estates-General began arriving to Versailles.

• Third Estate deputies elected through indirect voting

• Fewer than 20 of the 600 deputies were from the lower order.

The Estates General begins

May 2nd 1789, King Louis received deputies, one estate at a time.

• 1. Clergy: with private audience in hall of mirrors

• 2. Nobility: audience in hall of mirrors

• 3. Third Estate: waited over three hours for their audience, going to a lesser salon.

Declaration of National Assembly

June 17th 1789, commoners (Third Estate) formed National Assembly, marking a legislative body that could make laws, and represent the people.

• Voting for National Assembly was 490-90

• Limited absolute power

Tennis Court Oath

20th June 1789, Assembly locked out of Versailles for a royal session. Suspecting King Louis was going to take action against them, NA moved to royal tennis courts at Versailles.

• Swore an oath that they would never separate until France had a new constitution

• 576 deputies swore to oath, only 1 did not: Joseph-Martin Dauch

• First formal act of disobedience against monarchy.

Royal Session, 23rd of June 1789

Louis XVI announced formation of NA was dull and void, as well as that equal taxation would be considered, new taxes would only be levied with consent of Estates-General, with all privilege tax being temporarily surrendered.

• Deputies voted 493 - 34 to obey king and disperse.

• Led NA to reject royal authority, confirm tennis court oath, and claim its members were free from arrest.

• June 25th, 47 liberal Nobles joined NA

Escalating Tensions in Paris

Anxiety in Paris heightened by 20,000 royal troops arrival, which NA asked to be withdrawn, and Louis XVI refused.

• Necker dismissed July 11th 1789, which public believed it was the Kings way of declaring war.

• Led to looting of prisons, grains and arms (weapons) stores.

• July 13 1789, civil militia formed named ‘National Guard’, with over 12,000 bourgeoisie men enrolling.

Fall of the Bastille

Crowd marched to Bastille -Prison symbolising royal authority and containing 7 prisoners- to steal weapons/ gunpowder. Governor De Launay and 120 royal troops refused access to Bastille.

• Shots fired, 98 Civilians dead, 78 wounded, and 6 soldiers dead, causing royal troops to surrender.

• Launay killed, his head mounted on a pike and carried through streets in triumph.

• July 14, 1789

Reactions to Storming of Bastille

• Parisians viewed fall of the Bastille as something that ‘saved’ the revolution, and protected the work of the NA

• July 15th 1789, Louis XVI visited NA, and recalled Necker, withdrew remaining troops in Paris under NA orders

• King denied he had any plans against the NA

Municipal Revolutions

July during Paris food prices soared, workers spending 80% of their wage on bread alone. July 13th, 1789, new Municipal government formed to prevent Paris from falling in state of anarchy.

• 407 were electors, 180 were lawyers

• Bailley = first Mayor of Paris

• ‘National Guard’ under command of Lafayette

• Guards were red, white and blue cockades, symbolising the revolution.

Constitutional Monarchy

System of government, where a government serves as a ceremonial head of state, but their powers are limited and defined by a constitution.

• July 17th, Louis escorted by Lafayette to Paris to meet NA, and accepted revolutionary cockade

• Commoners refused to pay taxes, and feudal dues due to dissatisfaction with inflated prices.

Night of Patriotic Delirium

August 4-5th 1789, Noble and Clerical deputies temporarily renounced their traditional feudal rights, tithes, and class privileges.

• Designed initially by Liberal Nobles in ‘Brenton’ club to try and pacify rural uprisings.

• Triggered by Great Fear in which peasants revolted, attacking noble chateau on french countryside, and destroying documents of dues they owed to feudal lords - revolt against honorific privileges