dismantling of the ancien régime

Question 1

what could Assembly do about riots?

Answer 1

needed to stop them
- couldn’t set King’s troops on them - would turn peasants against Assembly itself
- decided to give peasants part of what they wanted - to ensure their support for the revolution and stop anarchy

Question 2

August Decrees

Answer 2

3rd August
- patriot party leaders drew up plan for liberal nobles
- proposed dismantling feudal system

4th August
- Vicomte de Noailles & Duc d’Auguillon - richest landowners in France
proposed:
- obligations e.g. serfdom & corvée should be abolished
- abolition of champart and lods et ventes BUT these had to be compensated - these affected peasants most severely
- peasants weren’t happy with the reform

5-11th August
- decrees
- abolished all feudal rights & dues without compensation
- all others were redeemable
- other nobles followed Noailles’ example

Question 3

key changes from August Decrees

Answer 3

• tithes payable to Church abolished
• venality abolished
• financial and tax privileges related to land abolished
• citizens taxed equally
• special privileges abolished for provinces, cantons, towns, villages
• all citizens were eligible for all offices, regardless of birth

Question 4

significance of decrees

Answer 4

started the process of dismantling ancien régime
- end of noble power

equality in theory
- career open to talent benefited the bourgeoisie rather than the peasant or worker

bought an end to feudal system
- allowed for a national, uniform system of administration
- BUT Assembly had to replace all the former institutions based on privilege with new ones

Question 5

peasants and revolution

Answer 5

committed to revolution
- feared that old order would come back
- angry at paying compensation to landlords
- some peasants - in Brittany, Vendée - became active opponents of Revolution when it became more extreme

Question 6

what did many fear

Answer 6

those who had lost power trying to recover it
- feared an aristocratic plot
- victories of July and August could be reversed

Question 7

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Answer 7

issued on 26th August
the principles on which a constitution should be based
- condemned the practices of previous regime
- outlined the rights of citizens - as demanded by the cahiers of all three orders

Question 8

key points of Declaration

Answer 8

all men are born free and equal in their rights
main rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression
power (sovereignty) rests with the people
freedom of worship
freedom of expression
taxation to be borne by all in proportion to their means
freedom to own property

Question 9

significance of declaration

Answer 9

according to George Rudé:
“sounded the death-knell of the ancien régime”
- would outlast the constitution it was attached to
- represented the interests of the bourgeoisie

Question 10

September 1789

Answer 10

• government facing financial crisis
• Many in Assembly contemplated radical action against the Church in order to raise funds

Question 11

nationalisation of Church land

Answer 11

agreed on 2nd November 1789
- after prolonged debates

estimated value of all property - 2,000 million livres
- first tranche of church land sold would raise an estimated 400 million livres
- necessary in helping meet the financial needs of the government

Question 12

assignat

Answer 12

bonds backed up by the sale of Church land that circulated as a form of paper currency