France AOS 1: 1781 - 4th August 1789 Flashcards
19th November, 1787
King holds royal session and calls lit de justice
“It is legal because I will it”
8th of May, 1788
- Time period of Aristocratic Revolt begins
- Nobility begin expressing their ideas and meeting in unregistered forums to discuss ideas
22nd of February, 1787
Calonne calls Assembly of Notables to coordinate tax reform
25th of May, 1787
- Notables are dissolved
- Brienne reworks Calonne’s tax reforms
7th June 1788
- Day of Tiles
- Support for magistrates as they were defending the people’s rights
25th of August 1788
Necker is reinstated
1781
Necker publishes Compte Rendu
September 1787
- Parlement of Paris is recalled
- Brienne announces Estates-General will be called in 1792
1st of May, 1787
- Brienne Replaces Calonne as Comptroller-General of France
- Notables demand to regularly see account of Nation’s Finances
16th of August 1788
- King Louis suspended payments to other countries
- Calling of Estates-General brought forward to 1st of May 1789
3rd of May, 1788
Parlement of Paris releases ‘Fundamental Levels of Kingdom”
25th of September 1788
- Parlement of Paris announced role of Estates General would remain the same as it was originally constituted in 1614
- Overnight, the Parlement of Paris lost all support of Bourgeoise
November 1788
What was formed? Wh were some of its members and what did it aim to do/its 3 purposes?
- Society of Thirty (Grew to 60 members)
- Lafayette, Duke de Noailles, Mirabeau, and Sieyes
- to debate the nature of representation to the Estates-General
- rejected that there was a ‘fundamental constitution’ of France, embraced that only fundamental law was welfare of the people, and finally that a constitution for France ought to be written.
27th December 1788
What did the king rule? what did this mean for the privileged orders at the Estates general?
- ruled that Third Estate be given double the number of deputies (now had 600, compared to 300 each for nobility and clergy)
- two privileged orders still would be able to overrule the commons.
January 1789.
What was published? what did it argue?
- ‘What is the Third Estate?’
- argued that the third estate was everything, that it had been nothing in the old political order, and that it demands to become something.
- was a call to revolution as it challenged the old order of estates.
27th april 1789
which riots? what incited them? what was the result of this?
- Reveillon riots
- the continuing rise of food prices, and reveillon was under attack as rumour spread he was trying to cut wages after he argued for the deregulation of the price of bread.
- some 300 were injured and indirectly led to sieyes asking that deputies recognise themselves as reps of the french nation, rivalling the power of the monarchy.
19th November 1787
Event? what did Brienne propose? what transpired? what does doyle say about it?
- Royal Session
- proposed 420 million livers be borrowed to pay short term debts, and financial cutbacks on royal household, military and bureaucracy
- despite hesitation from people, louis ordered loans to be registered and for discussion to occur after
- duc d’Orléans protested action was illegal, louis replied with ‘this is of no importance to me, it is legal because i will it’
- doyle suggests ‘no reply could have been more catastrophic’
what was the enlightenment?
period of time where for the first occasion in ancient regime, people developed new ideas towards running of the country and changes that needed to be made
Views of Voltaire
- believed in freedom of religion
- believed the church held too much power of people’s lives and that power needed to be more evenly distributed
- he established the ‘crucial weapons of intellectual critic including investigation, exposure, dispassionate argument, ridicule and oxygen of publicity
- held the view the church and country needed tp be more tolerant, however, he was not so tolerant himself, ridiculing africans and jews.
Views of Montesquieu
What was his greatest work? what did he propose in this piece?
- the spirit of the laws
- that absolute monarchy only suited large empires in hot climates, while democracy was only workable in small city states
- that despotism emerged from systems of absolute govt
- proposed power be divided between monarch and other bodies in the state
- believed most effective form of govt was in the british system with separation of powers between executive, judiciary and legislative power.
- argued for end of absolutism, not abolition of monarchy
Views of Rousseau
what did he emphasise? what was his most influential work? what did he propose from his works?
- emotion and sentiment, and innate goodness of nature, and that civilisation itself was source of evil
- the social contact (1762)
- believed property was the main ‘chain’ that imprisoned ‘civilised’ man
- argued that main purpose of govt must be to create society where everyone has real liberty and equality that is inalienable
how did ideas influence revolution?
- gave birth to public opinion
- people became more aware/concerned about state of nation, distribution of power, justice and injustice, personal rights and grievances
- legitimacy of political and social structure was established
- enlightenment ideas provided vocal of dissent, a means of envisaging a better world out of the weaknesses of the old
1 May, 1789
Event? how were the different Estates treated?
- the formal opening of the Estates General at Versailles.
- social distinctions were strictly observed and the third estate was made to wait 3 hours for the address from the king which was in a lesser salon compared to the hall of mirrors where the clergy an nobility met.
5th May 1789
Event? Did it go to plan or how deputies hoped?
- Opening planerary session of E-G.
- king made brief introductory speech, Baretin made speech on ‘dangerous innovations’ and then Necker spoke for 3 hours which put the king to sleep
6th May 1789
What were deputies sent to do? was this achieved? what was also still being question at this time.
- deputies were sent to meet in their separate chambers to verify their credentials
- third estate demanded every deputy present their credentials to full body of representatives at one time
- people were still unsure if it would be voting by estate or by head.
12th June 1789
What happened? Who joined Third Estate ?
- Deputies began verification of credentials, not as 3rd estate, but as representatives of the nation.
- 3 parish priests (clergymen) joined them
17th June 1789
Which momentous revolutionary step? What was a main reason that it occurred?
- Commons declared themselves national assembly of France.
- Louis had failed to vote on the question of voting by head or by estate in December 1788 and therefore made the issue a dispute.
19th June 1789
What was a result of the declaration two days prior?
- Clergy voted to join commoners, endorsing the declaration of June 17
20th June 1789
What sparked this event? What declaration was made?
Who made it? What was the significance?
- Tennis court oath
- National assembly (NA) arrived at Salle des Menus Plaisirs for discussion to find locked out by king, he was going to call NA illegal in coming days.
- Joseph Guillotin led deputies to Tennis Court where young deputy from grenoble Jean-Joseph Mournier called 600 deputies to swear oath to never separate until France had constitution.
- Was significant because it was the first formal act of disobedience to the monarchy.
23rd June, 1789.
- Royal Session
- Louis announced decision to form national assembly was annulled, and estates would meet separately
- 3rd estate deputies and clerical supporters remained seated despite being ordered to move
- Mirabeau said ‘we are hill by the will of the nation and… will only go if… driven out by bayonets’
- 493 deputies vowed to stayed, was big success for Third Estate
