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Alevel French Revolution > Chapter 1 - Origins Of French Revolution 1774-1789 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 - Origins Of French Revolution 1774-1789 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was Louis XVI’s character?

A

Shy, indecisive, not a proud figure of authority

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2
Q

Who was Marie Antoinette?

A

4th daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria

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3
Q

What was Marie Antoinette’s personality like?

A

Attractive but naive, and had a reputation of spending a lot of money, had no sympathy for the revolution, had a play farm, had a reputation as a spendthrift

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4
Q

When did Louis become the king of France?

A

1774

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5
Q

What age did Louis become King?

A

20

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6
Q

When were Louis and MA married?

A

1770

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7
Q

Why were Louis and MA married?

A

To create diplomatic peace between the two former enemies France and Austria

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8
Q

How did the royal family live?

A

In Versailles, isolated from outside world, expensive lifestyles

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9
Q

Why was there gossip with Louis and MA?

A

It took them 8 years to produce a child

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10
Q

What’s a Dauphin?

A

The title given to the heir to the french throne

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11
Q

Why was Louis role seen so highly?

A

Partially aware his role was sacred, Gods representative (divine right) justified absolute powers of the monarch

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12
Q

What was the ‘lettres de cachet’?

A

Letter with royal seal allowing king to order imprisonment

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13
Q

What structure was France in the ancien regime?

A

Absolute monarchy

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14
Q

Was Louis a ‘despot’?

A

Not as much, didn’t use the L de C as much as Louis XV, wasn’t decisive or have absolute power

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15
Q

What was the ancien regime?

A

Out of date political and social system of France before revolution

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16
Q

What were the series of councils?

A

In theory they governed France, people specialised in certain affairs and were in the presence of the king as he had to consult others

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17
Q

How was France governed in reality?

A

It fell in the hands of a restricted number of influential people who acted independently

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18
Q

Who chose the ministers?

A

Louis

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19
Q

Who influenced Louis decision of ministers?

A

Marie Antoinette

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20
Q

What did Ministers do for their reputation?

A

They knew they might not hold the position for long so they protected their reputation and tried to maintain support

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21
Q

Was the control centralised or decentralised?

A

Centralised

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22
Q

What were Intendants?

A

Royal agents to maintain rule in the provinces and feed back information

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23
Q

What were the duties of the intendants?

A

Responsible for finance policing and justice

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24
Q

What were the problems with governing through intendants?

A

Dependant on the king
Overworked
Few staff
Can’t make decisions for themselves and had to ask permission
Their role was challenged

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25
Q

What are provinces?

A

Regions roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England, each with its own traditions and institutions

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26
Q

What are provincial officers?

A

Came from the nobility and were responsible for France’s historic provinces and maintaining order

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27
Q

What was the ‘provincial dynasty’?

A

Families who were provincial govenors

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28
Q

What were the pays d’états?

A

Six areas of France that discussed with the king taxation in their area, then paid a large sum to him

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29
Q

How did the pats d’états agree taxes?

A

They had powerful assemblies where intendants were forced to share power

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30
Q

Who were Local officers?

A

Like barons, bought their position through venality and served in the municipal administration and local bodies

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31
Q

What’s a municipal administrator?

A

Someone who oversees operations of all city departments

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32
Q

What are seigneurs?

A

Land owning nobles in rural areas who exercised influence and ran their own courts and thought they were superior to intendants

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33
Q

What were the different french courts called?

A

Prévôtés
Bailliage
Parlements
Seigneurial
Church

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34
Q

What was the lowest level of courts?

A

Prévôtés

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35
Q

How many bailliage courts were there?

A

430

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36
Q

What was the most important parlement?

A

The Paris parlement responsible for 2/5 of France

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37
Q

What was the job of the Parlements?

A

To hear civil and criminal cases that the local courts couldn’t solve

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38
Q

What other powers did the parlements have?

A

Controlled guilds
Corporations
Markets
Local government finances,law and order

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39
Q

Who could the parlements come into conflict with?

A

The intendants

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40
Q

What were seigneurial courts?

A

Descended at the lowest level in the villages by feudal landlords

41
Q

What were corporations?

A

People with mutual interests usually in business

42
Q

What were guilds?

A

Specifically for members of the same trade to maintain standards

43
Q

What was the most important right of the parlements?

A

To register edicts (laws passed by the king) to ensure conformity with previous legislation and provincial codes

44
Q

What’s a remonstrance?

A

A remonstrance is a document sent by a parlement to the monarch as a complaint of the decree

45
Q

What’s the lit de justice?

A

‘Bed of justice’
A royal session in the Paris parlements for the registration of royal edicts

46
Q

Who made up the membership of the parlements?

A

12 magistrates who bought their positions to become noblesse de robe
Intendants
Crown ministers

47
Q

When did the Paris parlements block a series of royal reforms and policies?

A

1763

48
Q

What happened in 1771?

A

Louis XV tried to abolish the parlements altogether

49
Q

Who restored the parlements to their previous status?

A

Louis XVI

50
Q

How was the French population divided into estates?

A

First
Second
Third

51
Q

What was the first estate?

A

The clergy

52
Q

How many people were in the first estate?

A

150,000

53
Q

What was the second estate?

A

The nobility

54
Q

How many people were in the second estate?

A

2-4 million

55
Q

What was the third estate?

A

Commoners

56
Q

How many people were in the third estate?

A

The rest of the country

57
Q

In the 1780’s who had the largest population in Europe?

A

France

58
Q

How many people live in France in 1780?

A

27 million

59
Q

How many people were engaged in agriculture?

A

21 million

60
Q

Who were the clergy?

A

Males who were essential to the nations wellbeing in the church

61
Q

What did male clercs do?

A

Religious routines
Mass
Confessions
Christenings
Marriage
Controlled education
Provided for the sick and elderly

62
Q

How did wealth vary in the first estate?

A

Church was wealthy
Cardinals, archbishops and bishops majority less flamboyant lifestyles and far poorer than their own parishioners

63
Q

Where did the church’s wealth come from?

A

Rents and dues paid from the land
Church taxes = tithe

64
Q

How much land did the church own?

A

10%

65
Q

What obligations did the clergy not have to meet?

A

Didn’t have to pay the taille
Could meet in their own assemblies
Decide own affairs
Only pay don gratuit
Only prosecuted in their own
Couldn’t be asked to perform military service or provide money or house royal troops

66
Q

What did the second estate do?

A

Advise the king

67
Q

How much land did the second estate own?

A

1/5 - 1/4

68
Q

What did the second estate live off?

A

Rents and landed estates
Pensions
Offices
Signeures
Unearned income

69
Q

What is unearned income?

A

Earnings from rents or investment

70
Q

Why didn’t the second estate do many commercial and manual activities?

A

Fear of losing noble status

71
Q

What were the noblesse d’eprée?

A

Nobles of the sword, traditionally the only group allowed to wear a sword

72
Q

What type of nobility were the noblesse d’épée?

A

Hereditary

73
Q

Who were the noblesse de court?

A

The nobles in residence at Versailles

74
Q

What did the noblesse de courts do?

A

Had patronage (privileges from the king)
Were ambassadors and councillors

75
Q

What did the other nobles do?

A

Lived in chateaux or manor houses on their country estates
Had titles
Included members of the kings family

76
Q

Were all the nobility wealthy?

A

Some hereditary nobility became impoverished it cling onto their status and privileges

77
Q

What was the impoverished nobility’s nickname?

A

‘Hobereaux’ = sparrow hawks by the upper nobility

78
Q

What did it mean to live away from Versailles as a noble?

A

Prevented them gaining state office
Attempts to maintain a noble lifestyle could easily send them into debt

79
Q

Who were the ‘noblesse de robe’?

A

Squired noble status because of their venal jobs

80
Q

How many noblesse de robes were there by 1789?

A

70,000

81
Q

What did the noblesse de robe do?

A

Legal and administrative duties

82
Q

What privileges did the nobility have?

A

Right to display a coat of arms
Take precedence at public ceremonies
Could be beheaded rather than hung

83
Q

What exemptions did the nobility have?

A

Didn’t pay the taille
Lower rate for other direct taxes
Some only paid a tiny part of their income

84
Q

How could people join the second estate?

A

Buy nobility
Purchase offices
Marry

85
Q

Who were the third estate?

A

Commoners
Amount they lived on varied

86
Q

Who were the bourgeoisie?

A

The wealthiest commoners
Relied on their skills

87
Q

What were the two types of bourgeoisie?

A

Haute + petite

88
Q

What jobs were in the haute bourgeoisie?

A

Doctors
Lawyers
Financiers

89
Q

What jobs were part of the petite bourgeoisie?

A

Small shopkeepers
Self employed artisans

90
Q

Was everyone in the third estate less privileged than the first two estates?

A

A prosperous merchant might have more income than an impoverished nobleman

91
Q

What was the rest of the population?

A

Peasants

92
Q

What did peasants do?

A

Worked the land with a seigneur

93
Q

What feudal obligations did the third estate have?

A

No privileges
Pay direct and indirect taxes
Military service
Unpaid labour
Seigneurial dues

94
Q

What were the direct taxes?

A

Taille
Vingtieme
Capitation

95
Q

What were the indirect taxes?

A

Gabelle (salt tax)
Aides on drinks
Taxes on tobacco
Tithe for the church

96
Q

What were the seigneurial dues?

A

Champart (paid in grain)
Cens (paid in cash)
Had to ground their grain in his mill then pay banalités

97
Q

Why were the feudal peasants better off than the bottom of the third estate?

A

Day labourers didn’t know when their next days work would come from
Others feared as ‘outsiders’

98
Q

What’s a ‘centralised government’?

A

Absolute monarchy
Major decisions made by the king

99
Q

Was France an absolute monarchy in the late 18th century?

A

Limitations to the kings rule
Many influences on rules
Collapsed wake of revolution 1789

Alevel French Revolution (24 decks)

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