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French Revolution > Ancien Régime > Flashcards

Ancien Régime Flashcards

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1
Q

Population of France in 1780s

A

27 million (three times Britain)

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2
Q

Increase in French trade

A

1715-1771, trade x 8

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3
Q

Trading ports

A

Marseilles with Levant
Nantes and Le Havre with the French West Indies
Bordeaux with Spain
(trade with the colonies x 4)

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4
Q

Journey from Paris to Toulouse

A

Decreased from 15 - 8 days from 1760s - 80s

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5
Q

Increase in industrial production

A

1715-1771, industrial production x 2

Mining, metallurgy, textile (some mechanisation and factories)

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6
Q

Caisse d’Escompte

A

Founded 1776

Offered a cash bill which helped traders as they did not have to wait for payment (streamlined trading system)

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7
Q

Turgot’s successes (4)

A

Detailed budget
Decreased royal expenditure and number/size of royal pensions
Reports from government departments on expenditure and ways to reduce it
Made tax-farming somewhat more efficient

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8
Q

Turgot’s low interest loan

A

1776 with Dutch bankers (4%)

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9
Q

Turgot tried to introduced free grain trade

A

1774

Influenced by Quesnay’s ideas - questioning mercantilism

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10
Q

Flour Wars

A

Early Spring 1775 (poor harvest 1774 forced up bread prices leading to riots and so Turgot was forced to abandon free grain trade)

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11
Q

Average amount of bread eaten per day

A

900g

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12
Q

Turgot’s Six Edicts

A

1776 - end privilege with a general land tax and abolish the corvée

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13
Q

Turgot forced to resign

A

May 1776 - his reforms were too radical as they suggested the total devolution of the social hierarchy (particularly angered MA)

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14
Q

Necker’s general successes (3)

A

Continued to cut royal expenditure and pensions
Appointed officials rather than nobles to run royal estates
Removed the vingtième on industry

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15
Q

Necker’s changes to the taxation system

A

Reduced the number of caisses (collecting bodies)
Tax farmers = 60 to 40
48 ‘receiver-generals’ of direct taxes were replaced with 12 paid officials (reducing corruption)

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16
Q

Compte Rendu au Roi (Necker)

A

1781 - first ever published budget of royal finances (many felt it was a lapse of protocol)

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17
Q

Problems with the Compte Rendu

A

Suggested 10 million livres spare (whereas in reality the French royal family was in severe debt)

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18
Q

Necker forced to resign

A

1781 (hated by many, esp. MA)

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19
Q

Paris Parlement had to be called to Versailles so that Louis XVI could persuade them to agree to a loan

A

December 1785

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20
Q

Royal deficit in 1786

A

112 million

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21
Q

Calonne’s reform package

A

Proposed 1786 with Louis’ approval
Abolition of vingtième, corvée, grain trade control and internal customs barriers
General land tax (no privilege)

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22
Q

Assembly of Notables

A

Met 22 February 1787

144 hand-picked members - attempt to bypass the Paris Parlement

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23
Q

Reaction of the Assembly of Notables

A

Rejected the reforms

Asserted the need for the EG to reform the taxation system and fix the economy

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24
Q

Louis dismissed Calonne

A

April 1787

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25
Q

Brienne’s failure

A

Reforms he proposed (general land tax, abolition of venal offices and creating a new treasury) were refused by the Parlements - he even tried to register them using a lit de justice in 1787

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26
Q

How much would be needed to start paying off France’s debts in 1787?

A

420 million livres would be needed to start paying off France’s debts

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27
Q

Hail storm leads to a poor harvest

A

1788

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28
Q

Royal deficit in 1788

A

126 million livres (20% of total expenses)

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29
Q

Brienne suspended payments from the royal treasury

A

July 1788

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30
Q

France was bankrupt

A

16 August 1788

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31
Q

Louis was forced to accept the EG and summoned it for…

A

1 May 1789 (rather than 1792 as he had originally planned)

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32
Q

Louis’ words upon his ascension to the throne (1774)

A

‘Protect us, Lord, for we are too young to reign’

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33
Q

Louis’ support for the American War of Independence cost France

A

1066 million livres

By 1777, 5 million livres of aid had been sent (before the French had officially entered into the war)

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34
Q

Number of First Estate (Church) members

A

150,000 men

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35
Q

Percentage of land owned by the First Estate

A

10%

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36
Q

Number of Second Estate (nobility) members

A

200,000 - 400,000

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37
Q

Percentage of land owned by the Second Estate

A

1% of the population yet owned 25% of the land

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38
Q

Two types of nobility

A

Noblesse d’épée (nobles of the sword) - hereditary

Noblesse de robe (nobles of the robe) - venal offices

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39
Q

Number of venal offices in 1789

A

70,000

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40
Q

Direct taxes (3)

A

taille (on property and income)
capitation (poll tax)
vingtième (5% tax on income)

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41
Q

Indirect taxes (7)

A 
gabelle (salt) 
tabac (tobacco) 
octrois (local cuctsoms duties) 
aides (consumption tax on consumer goods like wine, soap and wood)
domaine (taxes on Crown lands)
traite (customs duty) 
timbre (stamp tax)
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42
Q

Unpaid compulsory public labour (another form of taxation effectively)

A

Corvée royale

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43
Q

Hobereaux

A

Nobles with little land/money who clung onto their titles for power

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44
Q

Rousseau’s ‘Emile’ on the Church

A

Argued that the Church had lost the true message of Christ and if you follow what is in your heart then you are being truly religious

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45
Q

Voltaire’s cry against the Church

A

‘écrasez l’infame’ (crush the infamous) - wanted to destroy the clergy who he felt stood in the way of reason
Questioning the Church led to a questioning of the Divine Right of Kings which led to a questioning of absolute monarchy

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46
Q

Diderot on popular sovereignty

A

Argued that sovereignty lies with the people who authorise the government to rule on their behalf

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47
Q

Rousseau’s ‘Social Contract’

A

Representatives of France should meet to discuss laws as a ‘sovereign body’
Proposed ideas of the ‘general will’ - right to rule is derived from the people

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48
Q

Voltaire’s ‘Letters on England’

A

Published 1733

Banned in France - but was still the most widely read book in France during the Enlightenment

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49
Q

Voltaire’s grievances with France

A

Criticised the arbitrary laws

Opposed tax exemptions

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50
Q

Montesquieu (a noble!)

A

Wanted political bodies to administer the laws

Proposed the separation of powers - in his ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ (1748)

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51
Q

Voltaire’s proposed changes

A

Proposed a system of bicameral legislature and representative government

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52
Q

Pays d’états privileges

A

Allowed to negotiate on tax - had powerful assemblies who presented a challenge to intendants

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53
Q

Different laws across France

A

Southern third had clearly written law (adapted from Roman law)
Rest of France = common law (based on precedent)

54
Q

Everyone lived in small communities

A

Only 15% of France lived in communities of over 2000 people

55
Q

Number of different units of measure

A

25,000 (made fraud in trade very easy)

56
Q

Louis XVI’s grandfather abolished the parlements

A

1771

57
Q

What was Louis referred to as once he restored the parlements in 1774?

A

‘Restorer of Liberties’

58
Q

Royal session of November 1787 - Louis quotation

A

‘It is legal because I wish it’ (Louis)

59
Q

Awarded the Third Estate double representation at the EG

A

27 December 1788

60
Q

First day of EG meetings

A

5 May 1789 - voting procedure had still not been clarified which undermined the EG from the start

61
Q

Louis withdrew from EG following son’s death

A

4 June 1789

Meant that the Third Estate began to campaign more forcefully for the First and Second Estates to join the Commons

62
Q

Tennis Court Oath

A

20 June 1789

63
Q

Séance Royale

A

23 June 1789 - Louis condemned the NA

64
Q

Bailly quotation at the séance royale

A

‘the assembled nation cannot be given orders’

65
Q

Louis recognised the NA

A

27 June 1789

He also permitted voting by head

66
Q

% of Parisian workers’ wages being spent on bread

A

Spring 1789, 88%

67
Q

Last EG

A

1614

68
Q

Number of pamphlets produced 1788-89

A

1500 pamphlets

69
Q

Abbé Sieyès’ pamphlet

A

Qu’est-ce que le Tiers État?

C’est TOUT!

70
Q

Literacy rates

A

50% men, 25% women

71
Q

Political coffee shops

A

Café de Foy, the Régence, the Caveau and the Procope

72
Q

Political salons

A

Madame Necker
Madame de Tessé
Madame de Genlis

73
Q

Day of Tiles

A

June 1788 (sparked by May Edicts attempt to abolish the parlements) - in Grenoble

74
Q

Réveillon Riots

A

April 1789 - sparked by fear of reduced wages

75
Q

Customs posts destroyed

A

July 1789 - 40 out of 54 were destroyed

76
Q

Fears of a royal assault, mobs raiding sword smiths and gun shops

A

12-13 July 1789

77
Q

Storming of the Bastille

A

14 July 1789

Highest bread prices on this day since 1715

78
Q

Increase in ‘royal’ troops in Paris - raised tensions

A

4 July 1789 - 30,000 troops in and around Paris

Most were hired mercenaries (Louis could no longer trust French troops)

79
Q

Dismissal of Necker

A

11 July 1789

80
Q

The Paris Commune established

A

15 July 1789
Declared themselves responsible for tax collection and public works
Set up the National Guard
Dominated by urban bourgeoisie and liberal-moderates

81
Q

Lafayette becomes commander of the NG

A

15 July 1789

82
Q

Storming of the Bastille forced Louis to accept the NA, Paris Commune and NG on…

A

17 July 1789

83
Q

People who died in the Storming of the Bastille

A

Governor of the Bastille (Marquis de Launay)

70 others

84
Q

Louis’ May Edicts

A

May 1788 - attempted to reduce the power of the parlements
Created new plenary courts which would be in charge of the registering of new laws
Reduce the number of judges
Legal work would be given to lower courts

85
Q

Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom

A

3 May 1788 - asserted the judicial independence of the parlements and denied the King’s authority to use the lit de justice

86
Q

Exile of the Duc d’Orléans

A

Had spoken against the King in November 1787 (in that royal session)

87
Q

Church’s don gratuit was half of what Brienne had asked for

A

June 1788

88
Q

Revolt of the Nobles

A

Mid-1788 (refers to all of their responses to the May Edicts) - series of risings led by nobles, attacked intendants

89
Q

Société des Trentes

A

Formed November 1788
Noble liberal reformers - contributed to the politicisation of the people through pamphlets and example cahiers de doléances

90
Q

Influential members of the Société des Trentes

A

Abbe Sieyes
Bishop of Autun (from January 1789)
Lafayette

91
Q

Seven Years War (global conflict)

A

1756-63, cost 1.3 billion livres, lost all of their Northern American colonies

92
Q

American War of Independence

A

1778-1783, cost 1066 million livres

93
Q

France was 3.3 billion livres in debt (as a result of the American War of Independence and other factors)

A

1783

94
Q

Municipal Revolt

A

Started 16-19 July 1789 (depending on when the news of the Storming of the Bastille reached different cities)
NGs were set up in most towns to counter violence and counter-revolutionaries
Authority of the King collapsed and orders were only obeyed if they had been approved by the NA

95
Q

Municipal Revolt in Bordeaux

A

Third Estate electors seized control

96
Q

Municipal Revolt in Lille, Lyons and Rouen

A

Old systems were overthrown by force

97
Q

Rural Revolt

A

Chateaux attacked or burnt
Grain stores looted
‘titres de ventres et devoirs’ destroyed (records of sales and peasants’ obligations)

98
Q

La Grande Peur

A

20 July - 6 August (further violence but little actual bloodshed, anger and fear at grain hoarding caused the peasants to turn on the nobles)

99
Q

Words from the Tennis Court Oath

A

Vowed ‘not to separate…until the constitution of the kingdom is established’

100
Q

Louis exiled the Paris Parlement (first time)

A

August 1787

101
Q

Louis was forced to reinstate the Paris Parlement (first time)

A

September 1787

102
Q

How many Yumbles does it take to change a lightbulb?

A

No Yumbles because they have a Yawing as a sister

103
Q

Phrase used to reject reforms at the Assembly of Notables and assert the need for the EG

A

‘no taxation, without representation’

104
Q

Louis exiled the Paris Parlement (second time)

A

May 1788

105
Q

Louis was forced to reinstate the Paris Parlement (second time)

A

August 1788 - due to the beginning of a breakdown of law and order and of the inability of officials to collect taxes

106
Q

Meeting of the Three Estates in Vizille

A

21 July 1788 - demanded an EG and refused to pay taxes not approved by the EG

107
Q

% of government expenditure in 1780s in the war department

A

In the 1780s, 25% of government expenditure was on the war department

108
Q

How did Calonne actually worsen France’s economic status?

A

Encouraged expenditure in order to increase confidence which merely made a bad situation worse

109
Q

How did Necker actually worsen French debt?

A

Decided to fund the American War of Independence using loans, rather than raising taxes
This led to problems of mounting debt, made worse by the high interest he offered

110
Q

Cahiers de doléances being drawn up

A

March-April 1789

111
Q

The clergy joined the NA

A

19 June 1789

112
Q

Three councils who met in the presence of the King

A

Conseil d’État - major issues of state and foreign affairs
Conseil des Dépêches - dealt with dispatches from the provinces and Church affairs
Conseil Royal des Finances - state finances and household costs (and economic policies from 1787)

113
Q

How was governing actually conducted? (i.e. not really through the conseils)

A

In private meetings between the King and his chief ministers who included the Secretaries of State for War, Foreign Affairs, Navy, Royal Household and the Controller-General (economy)

114
Q

What were the intendants?

A

The King’s representative in the provinces

115
Q

What was the role of the intendants?

A 
Justice, policing and finance 
Ensured taxes were paid 
Ensured King’s edicts were adhered to 
Presided over local courts 
Raised troops 
Coordinated the prévôts (police force)
116
Q

Why was the intendants’ jobs difficult?

A

Only given a small staff

Could not make their own decisions - had to wait for approval from central government which slowed everything down

117
Q

Provincial governors under Louis

A

Posed a threat to the power of the intendants
Nobles
Maintaining law and order
Sometimes had the right to call a provincial parlement or preside over a municipal body

118
Q

Number of provincial governors in 1779

A

39 provincial governors

119
Q

Pays d’états

A

Six areas in France - had powerful assemblies who posed a challenge to the intendants and could negotiate their taxes

120
Q

How did the seigneurs (land-owning nobles) pose a threat to the intendants?

A

They had their own courts and thought they were superior to the intendants

121
Q

Hierarchy of courts in France

A

Lowest courts = prévôtés
Middle courts = 430 bailliage
Highest court = 13 parlements

122
Q

What was the purpose of the parlements?

A

Sovereign courts
Heard civil and criminal cases that local courts could not solve
Controlled guilds, corporations and markets
Controlled local government finances and law and order
Registered the King’s edicts for them to become laws

123
Q

Problems with divisions of France (by area)

A

Administrative divisions rarely overlapped with ecclesiastical ones

124
Q

When did Necker become Director-General of Finances for the second time?

A

August 1788-July 1789

125
Q

Brienne resigned (not fired!!)

A

August 1788

126
Q

Voltaire on free speech

A

‘I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to the death to say it’

127
Q

François Quesnay

A

Enlightened thinker - asserted the need to end tariffs, monopolies, guilds and privilege (economic philosophe)

128
Q

Places where Enlightenment thinking was spread

A
  1. Salons
  2. Coffee Houses
  3. Academies - club/library/reading room for intellectuals (lectures and debates)
  4. Freemasonry lodges (over 40 in France)
129
Q

How was Robespierre involved in an enlightened academy?

A

Directory of the academy in Arras from 1786

130
Q

How were taxes originally collected under Louis XVI?

A

Direct taxes - collected by royal officers who bought their positions
Indirect taxes - either collected by a general tax farm (took their income from what they collected) or a syndicate (who received a fixed salary)

131
Q

Louis dismissed the Assembly of Notables

A

May 1787 - shows how he clearly accepted that this would not be a successful method of reform

French Revolution (7 decks)

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