French revolution

Question 1

Population of France before 1789

Answer 1

• 27 million people
• 80% were peasants, mostly living in rural areas
• Significant regional differences:
  Varied legal systems across provinces
  Different taxation systems in each region
  Regional customs barriers impeded free trade

Question 2

who where the Third Estate:

Answer 2

Lower and Middle Classes

• Comprised the vast majority of the population
• Poorly developed agriculture:
• • Led to food shortages
• • Bread constituted 75% of working-class diet
• • Poor harvests often resulted in urban unrest and riots
• Unfair system of taxation:
• • Taxed by government, landlords, and Church
• • Working classes taxed more heavily than middle class
• • Aristocracy remained untaxed
• Growing middle class:
• • Owned 20% of French land by 1780
• • Involved in commerce, industry, law, and medicine
• • Lacked political power and social mobility
• • Middle-class positions often bought or passed down, limiting meritocracy

Question 2

what did they advocate for Montesquieu:

Answer 2

• • Criticized despotism and autocratic power
• • Advocated for a system of checks and balances (constitutional monarchy)
• • Promoted the rule of law and equality before the law

*

Question 2

who where the Second Estate:

Answer 2

• About 300,000 members, less than 2% of the population
• Owned 30% of land and held most of the nation’s wealth
• Exempt from taxes and conscription
• Held majority of key positions in:
• • Royal court
• • Government
• • Judiciary
• • Military
• Generally hostile to industrialization and commerce, hindering economic progress
• Strong internal divisions made governing difficult

Question 3

who where the First Estate

Answer 3

*clergy

Over 130,000 members of Roman Catholic Church (RCC)

• Owned 10% of land in France
• Paid no taxes to the government
• Controlled education, publications, and had significant influence in French life
• Senior positions dominated by aristocracy:
• • Often inexperienced and unmotivated clergy in high positions
• • Devout, ordinary clergymen had limited opportunities for advancement
• Contributed to social inequality and resentment among lower clergy

Question 3

what did they advocate for Voltaire:

Answer 3

• • Criticized Church influence and wealth
• • Attacked religious intolerance
• • Critiqued the French legal system

Question 4

what did they advocate for Diderot:

Answer 4

• • Authored encyclopedia on ‘Sciences, Arts, and Crafts’
• • Aimed to advance knowledge and critical thinking
• • Advocated for independent thinking and questioning attitude

Question 5

what did they advocate for Rousseau:

Answer 5

• • Argued for improved education
• • Wrote extensively about power and liberty
• • Proposed ideas balancing authority and freedom in society

Question 6

what did they advocate for Quesnay:

Answer 6

• • Focused on economics
• • Argued against constraints on production and movement of goods (Laissez-faire)

Question 6

who was Louis XVI

Answer 6

• • Crowned in 1775
• • Inherited an absolute monarchy
• • Lacked public confidence as a ruler
• • His Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette, was widely disliked

Question 7

ancien regime Parlements

Answer 7

• • 13 judicial courts of appeal, Paris parlement most powerful
• • Could delay or veto laws made by the king
• • Comprised of nobility, often aligned with king’s interests
• • Not elected or truly representative bodies

Question 8

what was the Assembly of Notables:

Answer 8

• • Group of noblemen and senior Church members
• • Only consultative, no real authority
• • Role was often unclear

Question 9

what was the Estates General:

Answer 9

• • National law-making and representative body
• • Rarely summoned by recent monarchs who saw it as a threat to power

Question 10

what where the ecenomic challanges

Answer 10

• Poor agricultural development:
• • Underdeveloped compared to Britain
• • Frequent poor harvests led to widespread unrest
• Loss of overseas empire:
• • Defeated by Britain in the Seven Years’ War (1763)
• • Lost significant colonies, including Canada
• • Resulted in loss of prestige and economic opportunities
• American Revolution involvement (1778-1783):
• • Allied with American colonists to regain colonies from Britain
• • Resulted in significant debt with no tangible gains
• Dutch civil war (1788):
• • King refused involvement due to lack of funds
• • Highlighted France’s weakened financial and political position

Question 11

A-R-J Turgot (1774-1776):

Answer 11

• • Admirer of physiocrat Quesnay
• • Warned against wars, predicting bankruptcy
• • Advocated for economic reforms
• • Predictions of war leading to lack of reforms and bankruptcy proved accurate

Question 12

• Jacques Necker (1777-1781,august 1788):

Answer 12

• • Swiss, middle-class banker, disliked by the court
• • Promised financial reforms but delivered none
• • Funded war with Britain through high-interest borrowing
• • Published misleading account of royal finances in 1781, hiding true cost of war

Question 13

• Charles de Calonne (1783-1787):

Answer 13

• • Initially borrowed to keep government running
• • Proposed series of reforms in 1786, including:
• • Reforming taxation by increasing taxes on the wealthy
• • Stimulating economy, commerce, and industry
• • Creating confidence to lower interest rates
• • Dismissed after failing to gain support from Assembly of Notables

Question 14

• Etienne Brienne (1787-1788):

Answer 14

• • Hired as president of Assembly of Notables
• • Lacked support from the king
• • Attempted to raise money through increased taxes and borrowing
• • Failed to gain support from Paris parlement
• • Struggled to implement reforms and stabilize finances

Question 15

What did necker do in may 1789