Chapter 3 - Economic Problems And Royal Finance

Question 1

How big was the population by 1780?

Answer 1

27 million

Question 2

How much bigger was the population compared to GB?

Answer 2

3x

Question 3

What neighbors were politically fragmented?

Answer 3

Germany and Italy

Question 4

What did France follow Britain in?

Answer 4

Improved agricultural techniques:
Crop rotation
Fertilisers
Growth of American potatoes and maize

Question 5

Where was France in Trade?

Answer 5

Second to GB

Question 6

Who did France trade with?

Answer 6

Colonies
(This quadrupled)

Question 7

How did transport improve from Paris to Toulouse?

Answer 7

Did take 15 days, 1780’s took 8 days

Question 8

Who maintained the roads?

Answer 8

Corvée royale

Question 9

What was the corvée royale?

Answer 9

Obligation of every male to do unpaid labour

Question 10

What was introduced to increase industrial production?

Answer 10

Mechanisation

Question 11

What helped trade in France?

Answer 11

Paris becoming the centre of banking

Question 12

Why was the farming backwards compared to the Dutch and British?

Answer 12

Seigneurial arrangements
Rise in population
Farming families dividing land between sons

Question 13

What was the problem with food growth?

Answer 13

It couldn’t keep up with the population

Question 14

What type of farming did they practice?

Answer 14

Substant

Question 15

Why didn’t many people improve their farming practices?

Answer 15

Mostly peasants who couldn’t afford to
No incentives

Question 16

What made trade easy for fraud?

Answer 16

No regulated weights and measures

Question 17

How many different units of measure were there?

Answer 17

25,000

Question 18

What other barriers were there?

Answer 18

Few navigable waterways
Many restrictions/regulations
Trades restricted to certain cities
Lack of competition
Tariffs

Question 19

Why did businessmen and traders fear paper notes?

Answer 19

French banking system wasn’t advanced
Borrowing scheme had collapsed

Question 20

What was the staple diet in France?

Answer 20

Bread

Question 21

What caused the price of bread to rise?

Answer 21

4 consecutive years of bad harvests

Question 22

How much did wheat prices rise?

Answer 22

88%

Question 23

What reduced the french textile industry?

Answer 23

British imports

Question 24

How did the poorest respond?

Answer 24

Food riots
Attacked grain stores

Question 25

How much of wages was spent on bread?

Answer 25

50% then 88%

Question 26

How was the government financed?

Answer 26

Direct and indirect taxation

Question 27

What were the main direct taxes?

Answer 27

Taille
Capitation
Vingtième

Question 28

What was the Taille?

Answer 28

Tax on property and income of the third estate

Question 29

What was the Capitation?

Answer 29

Payable by everyone but the clergy paid the don gratuit
Second estates payment varied on rank

Question 30

What was the don gratuit?

Answer 30

A ‘voluntary gift’
Paid by the church every 5 years
Around 2% of total revenue

Question 31

What was the Vingtième?

Answer 31

5% of earnings from:
Land
Property
Commerce
Official offices

Question 32

What were the main indirect taxes?

Answer 32

Gabelle
Aides
Traite
Octrois

Question 33

What was the Gabelle?

Answer 33

Salt tax

Question 34

What was Aides?

Answer 34

Consumption tax (VAT)

Question 35

What was the Traite?

Answer 35

Customs duty

Question 36

What was the Octrois?

Answer 36

Local customs duties in towns

Question 37

Who collected taxes?

Answer 37

Royal officers

Question 38

What was tax farming?

Answer 38

Second largest employer
People bought a lease of 6 years to collect taxes

Question 39

What were the tax farmers called?

Answer 39

Ferme générale

Question 40

Why was it difficult to anticipate income?

Answer 40

No treasury or central banking system

Question 41

Why was not having a treasury a problem?

Answer 41

Couldn’t budget accordingly

Question 42

How much did the War of Austrian succession cost?

Answer 42

1 billion livres

Question 43

How much did the Seven Years war cost?

Answer 43

1.8 billion livres

Question 44

How much debt was there when Louis XVI died?

Answer 44

2 billion livres

Question 45

How did Louis XVI increase the debt?

Answer 45

Supporting the American revolutionaries

Question 46

How much debt did France have after the American war?

Answer 46

3.3 billion livres

Question 47

What were the main sources of crown income?

Answer 47

Gabelle - everyone used salt as a preservative
Vingtième
Taille

Question 48

What percentage of expenditure went on debts?

Answer 48

43%

Question 49

What percentage was spent on the war department?

Answer 49

25%

Question 50

Who were the main people appointed to help the economic situation?

Answer 50

Turgot
Necker
Calonne

Question 51

What was the position name for finance ministers?

Answer 51

Controller General

Question 52

What were Turgot’s proposals?

Answer 52

Removed price controls
Abolished guilds
New property tax
Reformed tax farming
Apposed participation with Americans
Got 4% loan with Dutch bankers

Question 53

What were the problems with Turgot’s proposals?

Answer 53

Secret volunteers to the USA
6 Edicts offended MA and influential people
Poor harvests brought up bread prices

Question 54

What were Neckers proposals?

Answer 54

Cut venal offices
Removing Vingtième
Encouraged participation of American war
Issued the first public report of the finances

Question 55

What were the problems with Necker’s proposals?

Answer 55

Venal offices leant money
Publication was seen as a breach of royal protocol
USA involvement caused more debts
Couldn’t borrow and tax lost

Question 56

What were Calonne’s proposal’s?

Answer 56

A general land tax (No Vingtième)
Stamp duty
End of corvée royale
Removal of control off grain trade and internal barriers

Question 57

What were the problems with Calonne’s proposals?

Answer 57

It would deconstruct the hierarchy if all were taxed
Not backed by other ministers
Had to be put to an ‘Assembly of Notables’