1789

Question 1

Expansion of the French Economy

Answer 1

Investments that start to focus on infrastructure. French goverment starts invests because privateers did not foresee immediate ROI

Question 2

What caused the growth and development of the economy since the Renaissance?

Answer 2

The revival of population after its crash from the black plague. Driven by the expansion of trade, discovery of the new world, global colonial empires.

Question 3

What is the population make up in the 18th Century?

Answer 3

80% are peasants and 15% are townspeople in the 18th century. London and Paris are the biggest.

Question 4

What is the Dominate Theme on Equality?

Answer 4

By nature people are profoundly different and unequal. This is because God ordained it.

Question 5

What are the 3 types of contributors to society?

Answer 5

Priests who pray
Nobleman who fight
Peasants who work for the society

Question 6

What is the population make-up of this time? (by towns/rural)

Answer 6

80% are peasants and 15% are townspeople in the 18th century. London and Paris are the biggest.

Question 7

What caused/was the religious fracturing in the Mid-18th?

Answer 7

The reformation broke apart the Catholic church. Change from ritualistic things such as (sacraments, church, priests and such) important to a personal relationship with God and belief in God. Personal spirituality.

Question 8

How did religious pluralism blossom?

Answer 8

Religious minorities start to refuse to leave and so religious pluralism starts to be important

Question 9

How does education change society?

Answer 9

Science answers questions, new technology, people begin to think for themselves, challenge to the idea of inequality and increase in literacy rates

Question 10

What increases literacy rates?

Answer 10

Printings, reading rooms, libraries

Question 11

What did King Louis XVI want to do?

Answer 11

Be the king of the people, restore French prestige after the 7 years’ war and wanted to be loved

Question 12

What did King Louis XVI do to try to fix bread prices?

Answer 12

He tried to regulate the prices, but it backfires and makes things worse

Question 13

Why was the Parlement suspicious of King Louis XVI?

Answer 13

They are suspicious about the motives of the king and thinks it’s just a way to take away power from the nobles

Question 14

What is population make-up of this time? (by class)

Answer 14

Nobles only made up about 1%
Religious clergy was about .5%
89-99% were part of the commoner class at this time

Question 15

How were taxes dealt with at this time?

Answer 15

Taxation was different for nobles and commoners. The main revenue stream was the tax on land called the “taille”. Levied after the harvest. Commoners paid most of the land taxes

Question 16

What caused the controversy over taxation?

Answer 16

Salt tax was controversial because people had to pay in some areas, but not in others. Nobles were exempt.

Question 17

What is the land ownership breakdown?

Answer 17

2% of clergy and nobility owed 45% of land, 10-15% by king, and about 50% among commoners.

Question 18

What caused France to get into financial trouble?

Answer 18

Their lose of colonies to the British in the Seven Years’ War and their involvement on behalf of the Americans in the American Revolution

Question 19

What is Sieyès’ platform?

Answer 19

He wanted to get rid of the aristocratic privilege

Question 20

What was the French Involvement in the war for American Independence?

Answer 20

They provided their full Navy, France cut off the Chesapeake Bay and the land troops checkmated the British. The treaty was signed in Paris

Question 21

Why did the French sympathize with the Americans?

Answer 21

The educated classes were sensitive to the enlightenment idea of liberty, they felt the Americans were fighting for liberty and equality and France saw Americans (Franklin) as simple people that needed help against the common enemy of Britain.

Question 22

What is the History of The Marquis de Lafayette?

Answer 22

Ran away from home at 20 to fight with the Americans.
Out for revenge for his father who died in the 7 year’s war
Identified with Americans because he did not like being born into a station you couldn’t leave

Question 23

How did Necker plan to help France pay for their part in American Independence?

Answer 23

Necker’s Plan: It would be possible to fight the war if they cut the fat without raising new taxes.
So the answer was to borrow the money because they would allowed to have a good credit rating to borrow by cutting costs.
The loans were also off the books, so it looks like the crown is running a surplus

Question 24

What was the Financial program proposed in 1786?

Answer 24

The traditional tax code with exemptions would be thrown out and they would have a new code based on means which would raise 35 million
Grow the economy and infrastructure
Creation of regional assembly of land owners that would have representation to say what happens with the revenues

Question 25

What were the major problems with the proposed 1786 financial program?

Answer 25

1) To get support the King calls an assembly to get them to agree and the public would follow
2) They did not agree and they assembly say the Estates General was the only one that could do this
3) Then d’Orleans says that he can’t do it and he is acting the a Tyrant
4) The king brings in Necker again and the decision is made to bring in the Estates General in 1789 the next year

Question 26

What was the voting discrepancy of Estates General of 1789?

Answer 26

The rules of the 1614 were applied which meant the Clergy, Nobles and Third Estate all had the same amount of representatives.
King Louis XI said the Third Estate could get more representatives, but still would only have 1 vote.

Question 27

What had to happen change the vote from By Estate to By Head?

Answer 27

If they wanted to change it, the 1st and 2nd estates would have to agree but they did not at first

Question 28

How did the National Assembly come to be?

Answer 28

The third estate says that the are a national assembly and they are now going to give the France a constitution

Question 29

What happens when Necker is dismissed as Minister of Finance?

Answer 29

Desmoulins says at the dismissal that now is the time to fight and that action was coming from the king. This in part leads to Bastille Day.

Question 30

What happened on Bastille Day?

Answer 30

On July 14 after the rebels get their hands on weapons, they go to the Bastille to get gunpowder.
The Bastille is surrendered to the rebels

Question 31

What happens in the wake of Bastille Day?

Answer 31

The news of Bastille Day spreads to the peasants by August and this motivates them to take out their grievances on their landlords themselves
The peasants then ask for the documents that said they had to pay all these fees and the landowners often did not so they would sac the offices with the legal documents

Question 32

What does the National Assembly do to try to regain control of the revolution after peasants revolt against landlords?

Answer 32

They abolish Feudalism

Question 33

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

Answer 33

August 1789 - statement of intent of the the constitution. Lays the groundwork