absolutism and the structure of the ancien regime

Question 1

What is Absolutism?

Answer 1

The Monarch holds supreme authority over all other authorities on earth.

Question 2

Who was King Louis XVI?

Answer 2

Crowned at age 20 in 1774, he inherited the throne from his grandfather Louis XV.

Question 3

What qualities did King Louis XVI lack?

Answer 3

He was indecisive, weak-willed, and disliked.

Question 4

Who was Marie Antoinette?

Answer 4

The daughter of the Empress of Austria, married to Louis XVI at age 15.

Question 5

What nickname was given to Marie Antoinette and why?

Answer 5

‘L’Autrichienne’ due to her pro-Austrian influence.

Question 6

What was the derogatory nickname given to Marie Antoinette?

Answer 6

‘Madame Deficit’ for her reputation of being a spendthrift.

Question 7

Where did King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette live?

Answer 7

The Palace of Versailles.

Question 8

What was the royal levee?

Answer 8

A ceremony for the King’s waking.

Question 9

What are sinecures?

Answer 9

Incomes attached to offices that were often honorary.

Question 10

What was the role of the ‘King in Council’?

Answer 10

The decision of the monarch influenced by chosen advisors.

Question 11

What was the Council d’etats responsible for?

Answer 11

Dealing with major issues of state and foreign affairs.

Question 12

What were intendants?

Answer 12

Royal agents appointed by the King to maintain his rules.

Question 13

How many generalities were there in France?

Answer 13

36 generalities.

Question 14

What is a lettre de cachet?

Answer 14

A request for imprisonment or exile by the intendant.

Question 15

What are pays d’etats regions?

Answer 15

Regions with assemblies that negotiated directly with the crown on taxation.

Question 16

What was the role of the parlements?

Answer 16

The supreme courts of law and the nation’s highest court of appeal.

Question 17

How many parlements were there in France?

Answer 17

13 parlements.

Question 18

What was the main function of the Parlement of Paris?

Answer 18

To scrutinize laws before registering them.

Question 19

What is the taille?

Answer 19

A direct tax on property and income.

Question 20

What is the First Estate?

Answer 20

The clergy, consisting of about 150,000 members.

Question 21

What did the clergy members pay instead of the taille?

Answer 21

A lump sum known as a don gratuit.

Question 22

What is the Second Estate?

Answer 22

The nobility, approximately 200,000-400,000 members.

Question 23

What privileges did the nobility enjoy?

Answer 23

• Could be beheaded rather than hanged
• Exempt from the taille and other taxes.

Question 24

What is the Third Estate?

Answer 24

Everyone else not in the First or Second Estate.

Question 25

What did peasants have to pay to landowners?

Answer 25

Annual banalties for using mills or ovens.

Question 26

What is corvee royale?

Answer 26

Unpaid labor required from peasants, such as road work.

Question 27

What was the quote from the First President of Parlement of Bordeaux regarding the people’s state?

Answer 27

‘The people are not wrong to complain, they are in no state to pay for their bread.’

Question 28

What did Diderot suggest about the state crisis?

Answer 28

‘We are on the verge of a state crisis which will end in slavery or freedom.’