French Revolution Flashcards
What is the Ancien Regime?
It was the old system before the Revolution. There were three estates:
First Estate: Represented the Clergy
Second Estate: Represented the Nobility
Third Estate: Represented the majority of France- mainly peasants
What is Despotism?
The exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel or oppressive way
What were “The Cahiers”? Give relevant dates.
A list of grievances and demands for reform.
Between March and April 1789
What were the 13 parliaments?
They had power to approve and reject laws. The King could impose a law even if the parlements rejected it using the “lit de justice”.
Who were the Farmers-General and what was their role?
The collected indirect taxes
They paid the French Government a set amount and then kept the rest for themselves
They were very unpopular
The French Government never received what they needed and had to borrow money
Give examples of First estate privileges.
They didn’t have to pay text even though they were generally very wealthy
They could decide on their own affairs, and meet in groups to discuss this
They had lots of power in terms of law
Had power of censorship over books and literature
Could be prosecuted in their own church
Did not have to perform military service
Give examples of Second estate privileges.
Only had to pay certain taxes such as the capitation tax
They could advise the king but could not make important decisions
They had the right to a coat of arms
Did not have to perform military service
Had the right to be beheaded instead of hung
They had financial privileges
Give examples of Third Estate burdens.
Had to rely on their skills to earn a living
Unskilled workers would have to rely on trade which could be poor
They had to pay all of the taxes
Required to do unpaid labour- Corvee.
What was the Financial crisis (1770s-80s)?
The French economy was so bad in 1778: the royal income was 503 million and the amount being spent was 629 million
Give reasons as to why France’s economy was thriving and how there was a crisis?
THRIVING:
A lot of farming lands
Landowners made a large income
France was second for trade below GB
Trade with the colonies had quadrupled
CRISIS:
France was in huge debt
The yield from French farms was very low- there was rural overpopulation and they were highly taxed
Did not have a good transport system for goods.
What happened as a result of bad harvests in between 1777-1778?
Lead to mass unemployment
Food shortage > food became more expensive
Wine and textile industry was hit hard
Grain stores were attacked as people thought the first and second estate were hoarding grain
What was the Enlightenment?
Intellectual and cultural movement - methods and questions of scientific revolution were applied
Give some of the enlightenment ideologies.
Freedom of speech and thought
Prevent individuals from becoming too powerful
Monarch should share power with an elected parliament
Taxes should be changed to one fair tax paid by all
Name the four controller generals and give three reforms they made each.
TURGOT:
1. Removed tariffs on trade
2. Ended forced labour to build roads, he made the nobility pay for labour
3. Made cuts to royal expenses, reducing the spending of the government
NECKER:
1. Removed the vingtieme on industry as well as abolishing tariffs.
2. Proposed the second and first estate should pay tax
3. He published France’s first “budget statement”.
CALONNE:
1. Removed tax on grain
2. Created a general land tax
3. he was pretty much a loser really
BRIENNE:
1. Persuaded Louis to exile the parlement to Troyes
2. He demanded for an enlarged voluntary tax from the assembly of the clergy.
3. He wanted to end the financial crisis and a fairer tax system
What were Parisian salons?
Men and Women would discuss literature, philosophy and politics.
The salon played a part in spreading enlightened ideas.
Give political and economic problems facing France by May 1789.
POLITICAL:
Rioting across the country- many led by nobles.
Pamphlets appeared attacking Brienne and concepts such as “the general good”
France no longer took loans as they could no longer afford the interest
ECONOMIC:
Families were dividing their holdings between sons, this reduced the size of their holdings to below the level of self sufficient
The Yield from French Farms was very low
Food production could not keep up with the population growth
What was the revolt of Nobles?
They were bodies of nobles who acted as royal courts. However one of their duties was to register the king’s decrees. In the late 18th century the nobles who made up the parlements began to feel that their traditional feudal rights were under attack and they resisted the king by refusing to register decrees.
When did the estates generals meet?
May 1789
What did voting by head mean for the third estate?
All three estates would vote together and every deputy had an individual vote.
This would give the third estate, as a majority as some of the poorer priests of the third estate would vote in a similar way
Give a demand of each estate in the cahiers.
FIRST ESTATE:
The France is a true monarchy where a single man rules and is ruled by law alone
SECOND ESTATE:
Throughout the kingdom there should be one code of laws
THIRD ESTATE:
That his subjects of the third estate, equal by such status to all other citizens, present themselves before the common father without other distinction which might degrade them.
What were the events of the capture of the Bastille?
On 14 July 1789, a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy’s dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed.
What is the Tennis Court Oath? When was it?
Third estate agreed to stay together and fight until there is a written constitution
It was signed by 567 out of 577 members
20th June 1789
What was Louis’ response to the Tennis Court Oath?
Louis agreed to some restrictions of his power:
- No taxes would be imposed without consent of the nation
- Lettre de Cachet would be abolished
- Freedom of the press would be introduced
- Internal custom barriers, behind the gabelle and corvee would be abolished
What was the rural revolt?
Peasants revolting against the nobles
The bad harvests of 1788 gave the peasantry a role in the Revolution
Riots against taxes
Suffered from the depression of the textile industry
What was the grand fear?
Peasant risings took place throughout France from July-August
Grain barns and chateau were attacked
Peasants became frightened by rumours of men paid by the nobility to attack them in revenge.
The deputies in the assembly became very concerned about these developments
What does the declaration of the rights of Man and the Citizen- Aug 1789
- All men are born free and equal
- Man has a right to liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression
- Power rests with the people
- Freedom of worship
- Taxation should be proportional
What are “October Days”?
The October Days refers to the journée of October 5th and 6th 1789, when a crowd of several thousand Parisians, many of them women, marched on Versailles to pressure the royal government.
What was the flight to varennes?
When the monarch family attempted to flee france to Austria, failed because of a coin
