Absolutism And The Structure Of The Ancien Régime

Question 1

What happened in 1775 between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI?

Answer 1

Held a coronation in Reims (10 months after his succession)

Question 2

What did different Court factions want?

Answer 2

Royal favours, such as pensions, sinecures, contracts and gratuities

Question 3

What did the King ultimately dispense?

Answer 3

Patronage

Question 4

Due to Marie Antoinette’s pro-Austrian front what nickname did she acquire?

Answer 4

The Austrian Bitch

Question 5

What did the ‘Divine Right’ do?

Answer 5

Justify the ‘absolute’ powers of the monarch

Question 6

What did the lettre de cachet allow the King to do?

Answer 6

Make laws and ensure that they were carried out and incarcerate anyone who went against his will

Question 7

In practice, who did the King need the support of?

Answer 7

Elite nobles and the customs of the land

Question 8

How did the King maintain conventions and ‘rule by law’?

Answer 8

Upholding Christian morality and respecting the rights, privileges and customs of his subjects, provinces and regions.

Question 9

What were the three specialised ‘royal councils’ of the Central Government? What were their functions?

Answer 9

• The Conseil d’Etat, this dealt with major issues of state and foreign affairs
• The Conseil des Dépêches, this dealt with Church affairs and despatches from the King’s officials
• The Conseil Royal des Finances, this managed with state finances and household costs; from 1787 it also handled economic policy

Question 10

What did the Controller-General take responsibility for?

Answer 10

The kingdom’s finances and his own bureau of workers

Question 11

What were the intendants?

Answer 11

Royal agents, who maintain the provinces and feed information to the central government

Question 12

What were the 5 specific duties of the intendants?

Answer 12

• Ensuring taxes were paid
• Ensuring King’s edicts are carried out
• Presiding over local courts
• Coordinating activities of the police force
• Raising troops

Question 13

Why was it not easy to be an intendant?

Answer 13

They were over-worked, too few staff to support them and couldn’t make decisions by themselves

Question 14

What four institutions and individuals limited the power of intendants in local government?

Answer 14

• Provincial governors, responsible for the boundaries of the intendants
• pays d’états- forced them to share power as they could negotiate taxation
• Some cities had special privileges
• Rural areas had seigneurs (nobles), superior to intendants

Question 15

How many Parlements were there?

Answer 15

13

Question 16

How much of France was the Paris Parlement responsible for?

Answer 16

2/5 of France

Question 17

What did Parlements control?

Answer 17

Guilds and corporations

Question 18

How many magistrates manned each parlement? What did they become?

Answer 18

12, they became noblesse de robe

Question 19

What was the population of France by the 1780s?

Answer 19

27 million

Question 20

What was the first estate comprised of? And how many of them were there?

Answer 20

Clergy and 150,000 members

Question 21

What was the second estate made up of? And how many were there in this estate?

Answer 21

Nobility and they had 200,000 to 400,000 members

Question 22

What was the third estate made up of?

Answer 22

Commoners

Question 23

Which tax gave the first estate money? Who was obliged to pay this?

Answer 23

The tithe, everyone was obliged to pay.

Question 24

Did the clergy have to pay the taille?

Answer 24

No

Question 25

What was the don gratuit?

Answer 25

A lump sum from the Church to the King

Question 26

Could the clergy be asked to perform military service?

Answer 26

No

Question 27

How much of French land was owned by the Church?

Answer 27

10%

Question 28

How much of the income of the Church did the tithe provide them?

Answer 28

10%

Question 29

What did the nobility do?

Answer 29

Serve and advise the King

Question 30

How much of the French land did the second estate own overall?

Answer 30

20% to 25%

Question 31

What were the noblesse d’épée?

Answer 31

Hereditary nobility, who could carry a sword

Question 32

What did the noblesse de court describe?

Answer 32

Nobility who took residency in Versailles

Question 33

How did the noblesse de robe acquire noble status?

Answer 33

Venality

Question 34

Did the second estate have to pay the taille? What about other taxes?

Answer 34

No, they had a reduction or exemption from paying other taxes

Question 35

What was the group of the wealthiest commoners called?

Answer 35

The bourgeoisie

Question 36

What were the majority of commoners made of?

Answer 36

The peasantry and unskilled town workers

Question 37

Did the third estate have to pay all the taxes?

Answer 37

Yes

Question 38

Every man was liable for military service. True or false.

Answer 38

True

Question 39

What was the corvée royale?

Answer 39

Unpaid labour service to maintain the King’s roads

Question 40

What did many peasants have feudal agreements with?

Answer 40

Seigneurs

Question 41

What were the direct taxes?

Answer 41

Taille, Vingtième and Capitation

Question 42

What were the indirect taxes?

Answer 42

Gabelle (salt tax), Aides (drink tax), taxes on tobacco and the tithe for the Church

Question 43

What were the seigneurial dues and what were they for?

Answer 43

• Champart (paid in grain)
• Cens (paid in cash)
• Banalités (Annual payments for the use of their services)

Question 44

How many seigneurial courts were there?

Answer 44

100,000

Question 45

What was the style of government called that ultimately collapsed in 1789?

Answer 45

The Ancien Regime