AOS 1 - Causes Flashcards
American War of Independence Quotes (Turgot)
“The first shot will drive the state into bankruptcy.”
Assembly of Notables
Date
What
Significance
- 22 February 1787
- A body of notables, mainly nobles, who acted in an advisory capacity to the king
- “the first revolutionaries” (Schama)
Calonne
Years in office
Reforms
- 1783 - 87
- Proposed a diverse income tax & land tax, to be paid by all
- “[Privilege]… infects everything, harms everything and prevents any improvements.”
Jacques Necker
Years in office
Significant Work
Historian’s Perspective
- 1777 - 81, then 88 - 89
- The Compte Rendu au Roi (February 1781), showed France to be in a surplus of 10 million livres rather than the significant debt it was actually in
- “Public opinion saw Necker as a banking wizard: someone who could pull rabbits out of hats and money out of thin air.” (Schama)
Brienne
Years in Office
Reforms
- 1787 - 88
- Proposed a new land tax (similar to Calonne’s) and a new stamp duty, both rejected by the parlements
- Persuaded the king to exile the parlements, but recalled them to accept an edict for raising loans (120 million) but rejected
- Suggested for the Estates-General to be called
Parlements
- Sovereign court of appeal - entirely aristocratic
- Registered royal edicts as law and scrutinised them, though the king could order a lit de justice to force registration
- Parlement rejected the tax reforms, argued that only the Estates-General as representatives of the nation could permit new taxes (no taxation without representation)
- Louis presented a lit de justice, but was declared invalid by the parlement
Day of Tiles
- 10 June 1788
- Soldiers came to arrest and exile magistrates, townspeople attacked from the rooftops
- Governor’s house looted and magistrates led back to the courts in triumph
Financial Crisis
- “Enough money for the government to function for one afternoon.” (Schama)
- Lots of debt from foreign wars (Austrian War of Succession, Seven Years War, American Revolution), 400 million livres
- By 1789, they were in debt of more than 1.3 billion livres, including interest - 91% of national money came from loans
Poor Harvests / Food Shortages
- “It was the connection of anger and hunger that made the revolution possible. But it also programmed the revolution to explode from overinflated expectations.” (Schama)
- 81/82, 85/86, 88/89
- Some poor households spending 65-90% of their income on food
Tennis Court Oath
- 20 June 1789
- Vowed to never seperate until France had a constitution
- 600 deputies of the Third Estate
Bourgeoisie
- “The ultimate cause of the revolution was the rise of the bourgeoisie.” (Lefebvre)
Storming of the Bastille
- 14 July 1789
- Crowd of 600 with 2 cannons
- 10 cannons, 28,000 muskets seized
- Bastille a symbol of royal authority, revolutionaries wanted the 250 barrels of gunpowder
- “Climax of the popular movement.” (Doyle)
Fiscal System
- Taille tax (land) (only by Third Estate) (privileged exempt)
- Vingtieme (5% of income)
- Seigneurial dues (1/7)
- Gabelle (salt)
- Capitation (poll tax)
- Corvée (compulsory labour)
- Taxes raised during financial crisis
Estates-General
- May 1789
- A body representing the whole nation
- Met to restore creditors’ confidence in France through solving the fiscal crisis
National Assembly
- 17 June 1789
- Third Estate deputies form a National Assembly
- “The Third Estate created a new power, independent of the King.” (Furet)
Reveillon Riots
27 April 1789
Popular Revolution
- “The signal for popular action was the dismissal of Necker.” (McPhee)
- Necker dismissed 11 July 1789
- Riots in Paris
Great Fear
- “allowed the peasants to realise their strength.” (Lefebvre)
- Belief that nobles were planning to get revenge on the Revolution
- Peasants attacked châteaux and burned manorial rolls which recorded dues
- Forced the National Assembly to act decisively to maintain control over the Revolution
Cahiers de Doléances
- Books created by representatives from each estate in each region
- Concerns and suggested solutions compiled in preparation for the Estates-General
- Some conservative, others liberal
- Political, fiscal, legal/judicial, administrative
Louis XVI Historian’s Perspective
“By the time Louis came to the throne, the political system he had inherited has lost its legitimacy.”
(Blanning)
Liberal nobles
Lafayette, Mirabeau, Society of Thirty
Third Estate quote
“The Third Estate is not an order, but the nation itself.” (Comte d’Antraigues)