Absolutism + The Structure Of The Ancien Regime Flashcards
When did Louis XVI become king + how
1774
His brother died
When did Marie antoineet and Louis marry
1770
When was the war with Austria + what
Austrian war of succession 1740-1748
French tried to prevent Marie’s mother from taking the Austrian throne
What was Marie Antoinettes nickname
L’Autrichienne
The Austrian bitch
What justified Louis powers + what (3)
Divine right justified the absolute powers of the monarch
He had the power to make laws, ensure they were carried out and incarcerated those who went against him
What was the lettres de chachet (2)
Letter bearing the royal seal in which the king could order imprisonment
They were abused under Louis and provided already signed so others could use them
What was French absolutism restrained by (3)
The customs of the land
The king needed support of his noble elites
Expected to maintain conventions and rule by law
What was meant by ‘rule by law’ (2+)
Maintain Christian morality
Respecting the rights, privileges and customs of subjects and provinces and regions in his kingdom
What were the specialised royal councils (3)
The conseil d’Etat
The conseil des dépêches
The conseil royal des finances
What did the conseil d’Etat do (council of state)
Dealt with major issues of state and foreign affairs
What did the conseil des dépêches do (2)
Received dispatches from the kings officials in the provinces
dealt with church affairs
The conseil royal des finances (2)
Managed state finances + household costs
From 1787 it handles economic policy
Why intendants (3)
Appointed as royal agents
Maintain his rule in the provinces
To feed back info to central gov = economic situation or other local problems
What were the intendants responsible for (3)
Finance
Policing
Justice
Intendants specific duties (3)
Ensuring taxes were paid
Ensuring the kings edicts were carried out
Raising troops
What + how many généralités (3)
33 in 1789
Administrative division created in the 17th century
Normally one intendant for every génénalite
Why - difficulties in administration
As kings of France absorbed new lands they made agreements to respect old customs and practices = slightly different practices, laws + tax arrangements in diff parts of France
Intendant problems (3)
Provincial governors
Pays d’Etats
Land owning nobles (seigneurs)
Provincial governors (4)
From the nobility
Responsible for maintaining order in their regions
1779 = 39 governors
In some areas posts became entrenched in certain families = provincial dynasty
What were the pays d’Etat (2)
6 areas allowed the privilege of negotiating tax with the crown and then paying a lump sum to the king
To establish tax these areas had powerful assemblies = intendants forced to share power
Seigneurs + intendants problem (3)
Exercised considerable influence
Ran their own courts
Those holding rank considered themselves superior to intendants
What was venality (3)
The custom of selling administrative offices
By 18 century there were 700,000 venal offices
Entire judiciary, most of legal, officers in the army, etc
How many parlements
13
What was the Parlement responsible for - size
Two fifths of France
What was the parlements job (3+)
To hear both civil and criminal cases that local courts couldn’t solve
They controlled guilds, corporations, and markets, local finances and law and order
Conflict with intendants
Most important right of the parlemtns (3)
Registered each of the kings edicts to ensure its conformity with previous legislation and provincial codes
They could question + criticise decrees
They could force the king to rethink by sending a ‘remonstrance’
By 1780s France population
Largest of any country in Europe
27 million people
How many in the first estate (2)
Clergy
150,000 members
How many second estate (2)
Nobility
200,000-400,000
The third estate how many (2)
Commoners (and everyone else)
Made up of everyone else
Why was the church considered important (3)
Administered mass, hearing confessions and performing christenings, marriages
Controlled education
Provided care for the sick and elderly
Wealth of the clergy
Cardinals, archbishops, bishops = came from the ranks of nobility and lived a similar lifestyle
Majority = some far poorer than their own parishioners
The church in France (2)
France = 97% catholic
Only catholics possessed full legal rights
Church wealth (2)
Owned 10% of land of France
Tithe = payment of a tenth of income
Church privileges (4+)
Not required to pay the taille
Offered a lump sum = don gratuit
Only be prosecuted in their own church courts
Couldn’t be asked to perform military service, or provide money for royal troops or billet (house) them
Second estate role
Serve and advise the king
Second estate land
Owned between a fifth and a quarter of French
Types of nobles (2)
Noblesse d’épée
Noblesse de robe
The noblesse d’épée (3)
Hereditary nobles
Residence at Versailles
Held titles from duc to baron
The noblesse de robe (3)
Acquired noble status from a venal job
1789 = 70,000
Performed legal and administrative duties
Nobles privileges (5)
Take precedence at public ceremonies
Right to display a coat of arms
Right to be beheaded rather than hung
Didn’t pay the taille
Exemptions or a lower rate for other direct taxes
Who were the bourgeoisie (2)
Wealthiest of the commoners
Merchants, doctors, lawyers, financiers, teachers + artists etc
Peasants? (2)
Worked the land under a feudal agreement with the seigneur
Most were subsistence farmers
Third estate “privileges” (3+)
Had to pay taxes = taille, vingtième, capitation and indirect taxes
Every male liable for military service
Unpaid labour service for the king = road building = corvee royale
Seigneurial dues (4+)
Champart = paid in grain or produce
Cens = paid in cash
Seigneurial could demand peasants form nearby use his facilities so they had to pay an annual payment known as banalités
Charge a breeding fee (pigs etc)
Who was at the very bottom of the third estate (2)
Journaliers or day labourers
Prostitutes, vagabonds, tramps and beggars
Strengths of ancien regime (3)
Provided for a highly centralised government by an absolute monarch
Gov functioned relatively well by standards of the day
King could take advantage of powerful noble network
Weaknesses of the ancien regime
Operation limited by the many divisions that existed in France (geographical, historic and social)
Summary (3)
France was an absolute monarchy however the kings power was limited
French society was divided into 3 estates
The system of gov and society was called the ancien regime as it collapsed in the wake of revolution in 1789
