French Rev Flashcards
Administrative jurisdictions
France divided up into many areas of different sizes each with a separate legal code and rights & privileges as each province originated from an independent feudal domaine
In 1776 = 39 provincial governorships
36 geneneralites each with an intendant
13 Parlements responsible for a different area: high courts of appeal no edict could be enforced until registered by the parliaments
Royal gov
Absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbons
Authority of FR not limited; King only responsible to God
Absolutism; personality and character of ruler sets tone for the style of government
Kings bound by laws and customs of Kingdom
Assembly of the Clergy had rights and privileges guaranteed by the law ; king could not interfere
King had to consult council of ministers to make laws: great power in hands of small group
Controller - general : in charge of royal finance
Each minister dealt with the King separately and did not form a cabinet system of government
King assisted by councils and advisors: authority comes form personal relationships
Tax system
chaotic & inefficient
Main tax = TAILLE : paid by all expect Church & nobility& some towns
Capitation= poll tax : tax on people
Vingtieme : 5% tax on income
Gabelle: salt tax
Aidas: food tax
Octrois: tax on goods entering a town
Unfair: no tax on Church and nobles did not have to pay the taille
Indirect taxes = burden for those with low incomes
Tax collection
collected by officials: system = venality ( transferred to descendants)
Could not be dismissed
Lots or corruption + wastage: FC did not receive adequate income and tax payers knew that most of their money never reached treasury
Tax farming
FARMERS GENERAL - company that collected indirect taxes for government
Paid state agreed sum -could keep anything collected above
French gov never received enough money form taxes and had to borrow and pay interest
1st Estate
139 bishops
25,000 monks
40,000 nuns
50,000 lower clergy
Largest landowner in France (10% land) - exempt from taxes on property income ( 100 livres per year)
Paid don gratuit instead: annual payment under 5% of income
Landowners paid tithe to the Church each year ( based on proportion of crops produced) varied widely
Tithe provided 50 million livres per year
Tithes were supposed to provide for parish priests, poor relief and upkeep of buildings but much went into pockets of abbots and bishops = resented by ordinary clergy and peasantry
Younger sons of noble families entered church and occupied higher posts which provided large incomes
Some bishops held more than one bishopric= plurality
Some never visited their diocese= absenteeism
Considerable influence over people : censored books , acted as ministry of information
2nd Estate
Nobility: 350,00 Most powerful = court nobility : 4000 who could afford to live in Versailles Noblesse de robe : legal &administrative nobles - 1200 magistrates of the parliaments Others lived in the provinces Tried in special courts Exempt from military service Exempt form corvée Exempt from Gabelle Monopoly rights to operate mills, ovens, winepresses Received feudal dues Exclusive rights to hunting and fishing Exempt from the taille Could not trade Some titles could be bought
Third Estate top
Top= Bourgeoisie : rich merchants ( fortunes out of overseas trade) , industrialists, businessmen, liberal professions ( doctors, writers), lawyers
Rising in numbers : over 18th century increased by 3 to 2.3 million
No real conflict with nobility
Felt that their power and wealth should be reflected in political system as they paid most of the taxes = slowly simmering resentment
3rd estate bottom
Bottom= peasantry : 85% of population
Large farmers : owned land, employed labourers and grew for market
Labourers
Half of the peasants were share-choppers who did not own their land but farmed it and gave half of their crops to the landlords instead of rent
A quarter : landless labourers who owned nothing but their house and garden
In some areas their was still serfdom ( million serfs in the East) ; bottom of social hierarchy and their children did not even inherit personal property without paying dues to The Lord
Poor peasants: chronic uncertainty ( if they got ill they could become vagrants who survived by begging and stealing)
Peasants bore burden of taxation= v resentful
All had to pay tithe to the Church, feudal dues to lord and taxes to State
Nearly all land was subject to feudal dues ( corvée & champart : a due payed in grain or other crops to the landlord ; between 5% to 33% of harvest) & loads de ventes: payment to the seigneur when property changed hands
Peasants could be tried in the seigneurial court where lord= judge&jury
Taxes to state : taille, capitation, gabelle ( increased greatly between 1749&1783 to pay for wars)
Taxes took 5-10% of peasants income
Heaviest burden = recent to landlords ( increased during second half of 18th cent due to increase in pop which increased demand for farms
Urban workers
Small property owners and artisans = sans -culottes
Majority of workers - crowded insanitary housing : unskilled and poor
Skilled craftsmen organised into guilds ( in Paris 1/3 of male population belonged to guilds)
Standard of living & wages had slowly fallen as prices rose by 65% between 1726& 1789 but wages only rose by 22%
Worsening economic situation = resentment ; were ready to take part in opulent demonstrations
Englightenement
Intellectual movement promoting rationalism , secularism &rights of individuals over traditional ideas of religion and absolutism
In Louis XVI’s reign 1/3 of population= literate so ideas , books and pamphlets spread fast: subscriptions to papers &magazines cost 30 livres ( 1 month work for artisan)
Due to prohibit active cost & increasing urbanisation subscription libraries become more common and allowed ideas to spread
Philosophes
Philosophes = French intellectuals who were writers & thinkers
Refused to accept tradition ( as in Bible) and promoted the republic of ideas ‘across borders ‘
Supported liberty of the press, speech, trade &equality before the law
Attacked Church and despotic government
Did not accept literal interpretation of Bible and rejected anything that could not be explained by reason
Condemned Catholic Church as it was wealthy, corrupt & intolerant
Although critical they were not revolutionary
However their ideas attacked assumptions on which regime was based
Challenged & undermined pillars of regime
Encyclopaedia
Published in France between 1751 & 1777
Edited by Diderot
First to include many named contributors
Represented the thought of the Enlightenment
Maupeau affaire
Maupeau= President of Paris Parliament
Supported royal authority against the parliament in its attempts to block system of reforms which undermined the rights of the second and third estates tried to abolish the parliaments but 3 years later they were reinstated
Confirmed that. France became a despotism
Rousseau
( 1712-78)
Influential Swiss philosopher
opinions on children ( pure and then corrupted by world)
Seminal work= social contract: dawns on ideas of republicanism, outlining the way a monarch / leader can draw legitimacy from the people
Argued that people should have sovereignty
Montesquieu
(1689-1755) French political scientist & lawyer who is thought to have began the study of anthropology Key abolitionist Looked up to English constitution Wrote about constitutional monarchies
Voltaire
(1694-1778)
Against established Church
Used his works to criticise intolerance , religious dogma& French society
Turgot
Englightened reformer ( physiocrat) with liberal attitude
Wanted free trade, free labour & free market pricing
Abolished local toll on grain -but due to bad harvests prices went up= public outrage ; people attacked barges : ordered exemplary hangings = unpopular
Six Edicts - abolished guild system with its internal monopoly : unpopular
Abolished corvée and created property tax paid by all sections of society
Nobles attacked reform collectively in Parliament and Turgot dismissed
Intellectual impact of involvement in America
France intervened in the American war of Independence on the side of the rebels
Conservatives warned the King that it was not a good idea to fight against another monarch as this could cause desire for change in France itself
The French soldiers who fought in America were greatly influenced by the ideas of liberty and democracy proclaimed by the American rebels
In their minds they compared the new American liberty with the despotism in France and began to desire similar rights
The American Revolution showed the French people that freedom and liberty could be built if despotism is overthrown - showed that an agrarian republic = possible
Franklin, the new American ambassador to France sponsored the first open attack on the principles of nobility
Financial impact of American war
Worsened financial problems already present
Debts
Necker 1776
Genevan Protestant
V. High expectations; had links in international loan market
Decided to save money by economies & reorganisation of budget structure instead of raising taxes
Abolished many venal offices & ceremonial jobs
This saved FC 2.5 million livres/ year
Changed taxation system
In 1781 Published Compte Rendu to raise investor confidence : did not show war expenses
Raised loans
Many enemies at court
In 1781 buoyed by wave of popularity demanded to be admitted to King Private Council and was dismissed
Callonne 1783
Attitude= v. Different to Necker
No economies; lavish spending good for credit ( 2 new palaces)
Restored venal office holders
Relaxed fiscal discipline in gov deps
1786 proposed plan for the improvement of finances ;
Replace capitation & vingtième with single land tax paid by all sections of society
Stimulate economy: abandon controls on grain trade , abolish internal customs barriers & change corvée into tax
Before sending his ideas to parliaments- Assembly of Notables ( hand picked group of royal nominees to give air of support)
Met February 1787 : said that only Estates- General could approve new taxes
In March Callone published his reform proposals to put nobles under pressure + collection of Memoires ( Advertisement) v. Anti noble
Dismissed
Brienne to RS of 19 November 1787
Archbishop of Toulouse ( one of Notables)
Sharply critical of Callone
Wanted to modify territorial subvention into a tax in cash yielding a prearranged amount
When proposed to Assembly: sceptical : insisted true condition of finances to be established through commission of auditors
King vetoed; brought assembly to an end making nobles feel like they had no say and making them call for EG
By end of June began to send measures to Parliaments: many passed
refused to register extension of stamp duty until government produced accounts
King ordered lit de justice; EG were called for & opposition grew
On 6 August gov decided to hold lit de justice in Versailles away form rebellious capital
Next day crowds assembled at palace de justice as parliament debated response
Declared forced registration illegal
King exiled P to Troyes
Aristocratic revolt:( most violent opposition King ever face) riots in provincial capitals + supported by clergy ( condemned reforms & requested a don gratuit of less than 1/4 announced by Crown)
Open defiance to city police & talk of march to Versailles
By first week of September gov back in control
At same time Prussian forces invaded Dutch Republic & there was a general expectation that F would help however they could not due to date of finances ( decreasing prestige)
Mid September - Brienne = new plan for restoring financial health in 5 years ( neither territorial subvention nor stamp tax needed)
Proposed to prolong existing vingtièmes and levee them on more equitable basis
Terminated exile of P & withdrew his taxes
Decided to propose his ideas in Royal Session to give more weight
Assembled on 19 November 1787
Proposed to borrow 420 million in 4 years & make economies in royal household & armed forces
Clear majority supported ideas
At end K ordered registration as if it were lit de justice
Duke of Orleans rose up and protested it was not legal
Fundamental Laws
issued by P:
right of nation to freely grant subsidies through organ of EG regularly convoyed & composed
Right of P to register new laws
Freedom of all French subjects from arbitrary arrest
Bound members not to cooperate in no my measures directed against it
King reaction to FL
On 4 May king ordered arrest of movers of FL: Goislard de Montsabert & Eprémesnil
Took refuge with parliament which voted to remain in session until crisis was resolved
Refused to surrender & military officers had to be called for to take into custody
On 8 May magistrates convoyed for ldj : announced judicial reforms
Sought to destroy all ability of P to obstruct policy by manipulating their rights of registration & remonstrance
These rights given instead to Plenary court ( selection of prominent persons similar to AON
P to be reduced to simple appeal courts
