1789: The End Of The Ancien Regime Flashcards
Why was the method of voting important for when the EG would meet?
- Voting by order/ estate: Each estate voted separately on an issue. Favored the first and second estate and Paris parlement said it should be according to this
- Voting by head: depended on the majority vote which favored the 3rd estate as they had poor parish priests
Who were the deputies elected to be EG?
1st estate- mostly parish priests
2nd estate- mostly conservative aristocracy, 90/282 liberals
3rd estate- mostly well off bourgeoisie (venal office holders etc, few from the industrial middle class), no peasants or workers
3rd estate was voted through indirect election and if they paid taxes
What were the concerns reflected in the cahiers (list of grievances)?
1st Estate- Desires of the parish priests (end bishops holding more than one diocese + allow those who weren’t noble to become bishops), willing to give up financial powers of the church but not Catholicism
2nd Estate- All were against absolute power and wanted a king with limited powers and an elected assembly, more liberal than the 3rd estate in many issues
3rd estate- abolition of feudal rights and inequality in taxation
Why did the demands of the Third Estate lead to the creation of a National Assembly?
1- Government’s inability to take leadership and promise reform- only mentioned reforming taxation, and no constitution (Louis’ weak leadership)
2- Refusal to verify credentials/ disagreement of the first and second estate about voting by head (The nobles rejected the Third Estate’s demand and declared themselves a separate order by 188 votes to 46, as did the clergy but with a slender majority of 19.)
3- Grievances of the parish priests- 19th June 1789 the clergy voted to join the third estate
What was the Tennis Court Oath and it’s significance?
- Following the declaration of the NA the king decided to hold a royal session to address what had happened.
- The third estate found out that the hall they had met in was closed to prepare for the session.
- In anger they met at a nearby tennis court and took an oath not to disperse until they had given France a constitution
This showed: - They believed the king no longer had the authority to dissolve them
- They were rapidly becoming more radical
What decision did the king make on 23rd June and what were its consequences?
- Went against his advisor Necker and refused to allow voting in common
- Declared the 3rd estate’s actions to be null and void
- Allowed considerable concessions on his power (no letter de catchet, no taxes imposed without the consent of representatives)
This was too little too late and led 151 clergy to join the 3rd estate + nobles and Duc d orleans - reversed this and told the first and second estate to join the assembly and vote by head
- Started military deployment to remove the NA by force
Revellion Riots
- 23rd April 1789
- Revellion was a victim of crowd anger and misinterpreted which is why angry crowds destroyed his factory- showed how the population in Paris was getting radicalized
- Signified fault lines drawing in French society (workers and peasants against the bourgeoisie)
- urban poor discovered their power- example of popular movement
What led to the popular movement?
1- Economic crisis- Created an unstable situation due to workers suffering- price of bread + unemployment + revellion riots
2- Political opponents of the King were harnessing this discontent to bring crowds on to the streets to save the National Assembly (Palais de Royal- Duc d Orlean’s home was a head quarter where ordinary parisians came to listen to revolutionary speakers)
3- Necker’s dismissal/ Fear of the King taking over by force- Gardes francias deserted to opponents of the king, attacked customs posts
Why did the Gardes Francias desert?
Throughout late June, many Gardes-françaises, who worked at various trades in Paris in their off-duty hours and mixed with the population, were being influenced by agitators at the Palais Royal.
What led to the storming of the Bastille?
- Reminder of the power of the Ancien Regime
- De Launay (governor of France) ordered his troops to open fire on them and 98 were killed which led them to storm - Popular Movement reasons
What was the significance of the setting up of the Paris Commune?
1- The bourgeoisie wanted to control the popular movement and stop the breakdown of order (looting, attacks on property and individuals)
2- To defend the interests of property owners/ protect themselves. (Citizen’s militia formed to stop the attacks of the menu people)
3- To act as a middle man between the king and the Parisians/ signified the king losing control of Paris
What was the Citizen’s militia?
- Formed following the storming of the Bastille to protect the rights of property owners against the attacks of the menu people
- Became the National Guard on July 15th and commander was Lafayette
Why was the storming of the Bastille important?
- First journee
- Led 20,000 emigres to flee abroad
- Showed that Louis could not rely on the army/ real power was in the hands of the NCA - Assembly planned to draw up constitution
- Forced the king to recognize the new rev council on 17th July at Versailles (wore red white and blue cockade of the Rev)
What was the municipal revolt?
- July 1789
- News of the fall of Bastille led the king’s authority to collapse in most French towns
- In most towns, including Lille, Rouen and Lyon, the old municipal corporations which operated during the ancien régime, and which excluded ordinary people, were overthrown by force
- In nearly every town a National Guard was formed, as in Paris, it was designed both to control popular violence and prevent counter-revolution.
What led to the rural revolt?
1- Bad harvests of 1788 and rising bread prices + depression in the textile industry (many owned hand looms). Led to grain convoys and hoarders being attacked in Jan 1789
2- Excitement of political events- believed that king would do something about grievances in cahiers
3- Fall of Bastille- inspired riots, grain stores looted and Chateaux destroyed
