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French Revolution > 1789: The end of the ancien regime > Flashcards

1789: The end of the ancien regime Flashcards

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1
Q

How many seats did the First Estate have in the Estates General in 1789?

A

291 - 192 are Parish priests who would have more in common with members of the 3rd estate. 51 were bishops

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2
Q

How many seats did the Second Estate have in the Estates General in 1789?

A

282 - 90 members of the 2nd estate could be considered ‘liberal’

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3
Q

How many seats did the Third Estate have in the Estates General in 1789?

A

580

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4
Q

What happened on the 5th May 1789? x8

A
  • The Estates General met
  • Government had the opportunity to take control
  • The 3rd Estate deputies (lacking experience and having no recognised leaders), would have supported the King if he had promised reforms
  • They put forward no programme
  • Nothing was said about a new constitution
  • 3rd Estate insisted that the credentials of those who claimed to have been elected should be verified in a common session comprising the deputies of all 3 estates
  • This would decide whether the Estates General should meet as one body and vote by head when discussing all other matters
  • 3rd estate refused to do anything until the other 2 orders joined them
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5
Q

What happened on the 10th June 1789?

A
  • Deadlock was broken when the 3rd Estate passed a motion that it would be verifying the deputies credentials without the other two joining
  • A trickle of priests joined the 3rd Estate in the following days
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6
Q

What happened on the 15th and 17th June 1789?

A
  • After a debate on the 15th, the deputies of the 3rd Estate on 17th June voted by 490 to 90 to call themselves the National Assembly
  • The 3rd Estate now claimed that it had the right to manage its affairs and decide taxation
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7
Q

What happened on the 20th June 1789?

A

The Tennis Court Oath

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8
Q

What was the Tennis Court Oath?

A
  • A direct challenge by the Third Estate to the authority of the King who was at last forced to act
  • 20th June deputies of the 3rd Estate met on a tennis court and took an oath, not to disperse until they had given France a constitution, thus claiming that the King did not have the right to dissolve them
  • The deputies were rapidly becoming more radical
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9
Q

What happened on the 23rd June 1789?

A
  • The King decided to hold a Royal Session known as a seance royale, attended by all 3 estates, where he proposed a series of reforms:
    > No taxes would be imposed without the consent of the representatives of the nation
    > Lettres de cachet would be abolished
    > Freedom of the press would be introduced
    > Internal customs barriers, the gabelle and corve, would be abolished
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10
Q

What happened on the 24th June 1789?

A

151 clergy joined the Third Estate

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11
Q

What happened on the 25th June 1789?

A

47 nobles, including one of Louis’ leading opponents, the Duc d’Orleans, did the same. There were popular demonstrations in Paris in favour of the Assembly

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12
Q

What happened on the 27th June 1789?

A

The King gave way. He reversed his decision of 23 June and ordered the nobles and clergy to join the Third Estate and vote by head

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13
Q

Did the actions of Louis and his decision to call in the military improve or worsen the situation?

A

They worsened the situation because it caused an alarm in the capital despite government claims they were simply to preserve order. It highlights his weakness and antagonises the 3rd Estate

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14
Q

Explain Louis’ strategy of military force x5

A
  • He’d ordered troops to be moved from Paris and Versailles on 22 June
  • By late June 4000 troops were stationed around Paris, many were elite units of the army, the French guards, whose loyalty to the Crown Louis believed to be certain
  • Further movement of troops increased the strength from 4000 to 20,000 in little more than a week
  • Louis and his advisors appeared to be contemplating the need to dissolve the National Assembly by force
  • The Assembly was saved by the revolt of the people of Paris
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15
Q

What are Cahiers?

A

A list of grievances and suggested reforms drawn by each estate

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16
Q

What were the cahiers of the first estate?

A
  • Called for an end to bishops holding more than one diocese (pluralism)
  • Demanded that those who weren’t noble be able to become bishops
  • They were not prepared to give up the dominant position of the Church
  • Catholicism should remain the established religion and retain control of education
  • Willing to give up financial privileges
  • Reduction in the power of the King
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17
Q

What were the cahiers of the second estate?

A
  • They showed a desire for change and were prepared to admit that merit rather than birth should be the key to high office
  • Attacked the government for its despotism, its inefficiency and injustice
  • Higher taxes for the 1st Estate
  • 89% willing to give up financial privileges
  • Reduction in the power of the King
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18
Q

What were the cahiers of the third estate?

A
  • Limit the power of the King
  • Want an end to the financial privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estates
  • They want political representation
  • Want Estates General to vote by head
19
Q

What is voting by order?

A

Where each estate votes separately on any issue. Any two estates together would outvote the third

20
Q

What is voting by head?

A

Decisions taken by the Estates General would be agreed by a simple vote with a majority sufficient to agree any policy. This favoured the Third Estate which had the most deputies.

21
Q

Paris Revolt - Economic crisis N.1

A

In August 1788 the price of a 1.8kg loaf was 9sous. By the spring of 1789 a Parisian worker could be spending 88% of his wages on bread. This caused hardship and unrest

22
Q

Paris Revolt - The Popular Movement N.2

A

Each night thousands of ordinary working class Parisians gathered to listen to the revolutionary speakers such as Camille Desmoulins (middle class)

23
Q

Paris Revolt - The Popular Movement N.3

A

Gardes-francaises were ordered to withdraw from Paris, many disobeyed their orders and people deserted to the representatives of the people of Paris. Discipline in this elite unit was deteriorating rapidly. Barricades were thrown up to impede attack from loyal to King forces

24
Q

Paris Revolt - The capture of the Bastille M.4

A

Les Invalides, an old soldiers retirement home where over 28,000 muskets and 20 cannon were seized by many ordinary Parisian demonstrators

25
Q

Paris Revolt - The Capture of the Bastille N.5

A

The demonstrators were still short of gun powder so they marched the fortress of Bastille. The Royal Prison was a permanent reminder of the power of the Ancien Regime. The crowd were denied entry and gun powder

26
Q

Paris Revolt - The Establishment of the Commune of Paris N.6

A

On 15th July the Paris electors (representatives of the 60 electoral districts that had chosen the deputies to the Estates General) set up a new body to govern the city - the commune. This would be the forefront of the clash between Parisians and the King

27
Q

Which section of French Society became more politicised by the food shortages of 1789?

A

The third estate

28
Q

Name one of the economic problems caused by the bad harvest in 1788?

A
  • Massive increase in bread - inflation in the economy

- People were spending less on consumer products so French manufacturing suffered

29
Q

Significance of the Storming of the Bastille (in order of significance)

A
  1. The king has lost control in Paris, where the protestors set up a Commune to run the city
  2. Real power had passed from the King to the members of the Assembly. Louis now had to share power
  3. The Assembly prepared to draw up a constitution, no longer under threat of being dissolved by the King
  4. Louis could not dictate to the Assembly because he could not rely on support from the army
  5. The revolt of Paris led to the emigration of some nobles including the Kings brother. 20,000 fled in two months
  6. Lafayette was appointed commander of the predominantly bourgeois National Guard
  7. News of the Bastille spread through France and intensified activity amongst the peasantry
30
Q

What were the August Decrees?

A
  • 4th August the National Constituent Assembly (Vicomte de Noailles and Duc d’Aiguillon) proposed; Obligation relating to personal service should be abolished without compensation, and the abolition of other rights, as these were regarded as a form of property. The proposed changes were given legal form in the decrees of 5-11 August
  • Which stated that ‘The National Assembly abolishes the feudal system entirely. It decrees that, as regards feudal rights and dues those relating to personal serfdom are abolished without compensation; all the others are declared to be redeemable’
  • All seigneurial courts were abolished without any compensation
31
Q

What was the significance of the August decrees?

A
  • Marked the end of noble power and the privilege of birth by establishing a society based on civil equality
  • All Frenchmen had the same rights and duties, could enter any profession, subject to ability and would pay the same taxes
  • Peasants were committed to the revolution as it brought the feudal system to an end. They thought that if they didn’t support it, those who’d lost their powers would try to recover it.
  • However, they didn’t like having to compensate for the loss of their feudal dues, many stopped paying them until they were abolished in 1793
  • As most institutions had been based on privilege, the Assembly began replacing them
32
Q

What does Louis need to take in to consideration before acting to the dismantling of the ancien regime?

A
  • He can no longer rely on his military
  • He has lost control of Paris
  • Most people in France support the revolution
  • People still believed in his divine right to rule
  • He could call on the support of other European monarchs
  • Tradition is on his side
33
Q

What was the reaction of the National Assembly as to how Louis responded to the dismantling of the ancien regime?

A
  • Questioned what rights the King should have
  • Decided the King should have a ‘suspensive veto’ - the power to suspend or delay all laws (non-financial) proposed by the Assembly for up to 4 years
  • Only the King is given full executive power
34
Q

How significant were the August Decrees?

A

Very

35
Q

How significant was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen?

A

Very

36
Q

What were the October Days?

A
  • The tricolour cockade (flag) was trampled by officers and then replaced it with the white cockade of the Bourbons
  • There was a food shortage in Paris
  • 5th October a crowd of women stormed the Hotel de Ville to complain to the King and the Assembly. 20,000 National Guards followed them that day
  • On arrival they invaded the Assembly and sent a deputation to the King, who agreed to provide Paris with grain. He also agreed to approve the August Decrees and the Declaration rights
  • The National Assembly also moved to Paris
37
Q

What was the significance of the October Days?

A
  • King feels less able to use his veto powers
  • Kings title is changed to ‘Louis by the grace of God and the constitutional law of the State, King of the French’
  • Reduces Louis’ power and influence
  • Louis passes the August Decrees and Declaration of the Right of Man
38
Q

What was the revolution like in the provinces?

A
  • In Bordeaux, the electors of the 3rd Estate seized control, closely following the example of Paris
  • In most towns, including Lille, Rouen and Lyon, the old municipal corporations which operated during the ancien regime, and which excluded ordinary people, were overthrown by force
  • Others like Dijon and Pamiers, the former councils were allowed to stay in office, but were integrated into a committee on which they were a minority
  • Citizens’ militias were set up in several towns, such as Marseille, before the National Guard was formed in Paris
  • In Rouen, revolutionaries seized power at the beginning of July, before the revolt in the capital, following food riots
  • In every town a National Guard was formed to control popular violence to prevent counter-revolution
  • After the towns had heard of what happened, they acted
39
Q

What was the Declaration to the Rights of Man and the citizen?

A

It condemned the practices of the ancien regime and outlined the rights of citizens, as demanded in the cahiers of all 3 orders
- Some of the key points from the declaration, issued on 26 August;
>All men are born free and equal, in their rights
>The main rights of man are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression
>Power rests with the people
>Freedom of worship
>Freedom of expression-speech and publication
>Taxation to be borne by all in proportion to their means
>Freedom to own property

40
Q

What is the significance of the Declaration to the Rights of Man and the citizen?

A
  • According to the historian George Rude, it sounded the death-knell of the ancien regime, while preparing the public for the constructive legislation that was to follow
  • The declaration would outlast the constitution to which it was later attached and was to be an important inspiration to liberals throughout Europe in the 19th Century
  • For all its well-meaning sentiments, the interests of the property-owning bourgeoisie was mainly represented by the declaration
41
Q

What was the nationalisation of Church land?

A
  • By September the government was facing a serious financial crisis. Tax revenue was not flowing in and the government was unable to raise a loan to meet its costs
  • Many in the Assembly were contemplating radical action against the Church - one of the largest landowners in the country - in order to raise funds
  • After prolonged debates in 1789, the Assembly agreed on 2nd November 1789 that all property owned by the church should be placed at the disposal of the nation
  • The estimated value of all this property was about 2000 million livres
42
Q

What was the significance of the nationalisation of Church land?

A
  • It meant that the state took over responsibility for paying the clergy and carrying out their work of helping the poor
  • Bonds called assignat were issued and sold, they were used to settle debts, purchasing goods and were accepted as currency
  • Royal land was also sold
  • It was anticipated that the sale of the first tranche of Church and royal land would raise around 400 million lores, which would go a long way towards meeting the financial needs of the government
43
Q

What was the Great fear?

A

20th July 1789 attacks on the chateaux started and became part of the Great Fear - this lasted until 6 August 1789.

  • They began with local rumours that band of brigands, in the pay of the aristocracy, were going to destroy the harvest
  • Peasants awaited the brigands and when they didn’t show, turned their anger against the landlords
  • It spread the peasant rising throughout most of France
44
Q

What was the rural (countryside) revolt?

A
  • Most peasants had to buy their bread leading to them being badly affected by the rise in price in the spring and summer
  • Events in Paris, particularly the fall of the Bastille, had a tremendous effect on the countryside - demonstrations and riots against taxes, the tithe and feudal dues spread throughout the country

French Revolution (8 decks)

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