FTE 3: Revolution and reform

Question 1

The peasantry feared a noble backlash following the outbreak of revolution in Paris.

Answer 1

• Peasants had high expectations for reform in 1789, as many of them had taken the chance to record their grievances in the cahiers de doléances.
• As news spread of the fall of the Bastille, there were demonstrations and riots against taxes, tithes and feudal dues throughout rural France.
• This led to rumours that the aristocracy planned to pay brigands to destroy the harvest to starve the peasantry into submission.
• Peasants across France took up arms and attacked aristocratic chateaux, looted grain stores and destroyed feudal documents that listed peasant obligations.

Question 2

The August Decrees and the Rights of Man radically changed France.

Answer 2

• August Decrees: 4 August 1789 • Rights of Man: 26 August 1789
• Some feudal obligations such as the corvée were abolished without compensation.
• Tithes and venality were completely abolished.
• All tax privileges were abolished, and all citizens were declared eligible for all offices, whether ecclesiastical, civil or military.
• The Rights of Man confirmed France’s transformation from an absolutist state based on corporate rights and privileges to a constitutional state based on individual rights.

Question 3

The August Decrees and the Rights of Man made only symbolic changes.

Answer 3

• Most feudal obligations ‘abolished’ in the August Decrees could only be redeemed if the peasant paid compensation to the landowner.
• In practice, only the bourgeoisie could benefit from careers opened to talent, due to disparities in education.
• The Rights of Man did not address social or economic inequalities, nor did it guarantee that poorer people would have the opportunity to vote.

Question 4

The constitutional monarchy was popular and widely supported in 1789.

Answer 4

• Louis XVI was still universally recognised as the rightful King of France
• Although there were fears for his safety, Louis XVI went to Paris on 17 July 1789 and was welcomed by the new mayor, Sylvain Bailly.
• The deputies of the National Assembly agreed in 1789 that the king should remain as the head of the executive, and should also be given a suspensive veto for up to four years.

Question 5

Deep mistrust of the court persisted after the fall of the Bastille.

Answer 5

• storming of the Bastille: 14 July 1789
• Louis XVI’s refusal to ratify the August Decrees and the Rights of Man led to rumours that another Journée was about to take place.
• A banquet to welcome the Flanders Regiment, who had been summoned to defend the King led to officers trampling the revolutionary cockade.
• Rumours of this reached Paris at a time of severe food shortages, leading to the women’s march on Versailles on 5 October 1789.
• Some of the marchers broke into the palace, threatening to kill the queen.
• It was widely rumoured that the court was behind the ‘pact of famine’ that led to food shortages.

Question 6

Louis XVI’s authority had completely collapsed by the end of 1789.

Answer 6

• On 6 October 1789, Lafayette informed Louis XVI that he could not guarantee his safety unless he took up his residence in Paris. The royal family were forced to appear on the balcony of Versailles with Lafayette and announce their return to Paris in order to win over the crowd.
• The Paris crowd led the royal family back to Paris, claiming ‘we’ve got the baker…’
• 56 royalist deputies withdrew from the assembly, weakening support for Louis.
• The National Assembly issued a decree in which the title of the monarch was changed from ‘King of France’ to ‘King of the French’, a title that implied the king was subordinate to the law of France.

Question 7

Louis XVI retained significant and important powers under the constitutional monarchy.

Answer 7

• Louis XVI remained at the head of the executive, with wide-ranging powers to appoint and dismiss ministers, declare war and peace and choose his own military commanders.
• The king also retained a suspensive veto on legislation for up to four years.

Question 8

The National Assembly liberalised and modernised the French economy.

Answer 8

• The deputies removed price controls on grain and other goods.
• The Assembly abolished internal tariffs and established a single system of weights and measures.
• Guilds were abolished in 1791, allowing anyone to practice a trade.
• The Assembly abolished many indirect taxes such as the gabelle and the octrois, as well as the practice of tax farming.
• They introduced three new direct taxes on land, movable good and commercial profits, for which there no exemptions.
• The Assembly sold off Church lands to pay off state debts.

Question 9

The bourgeoisie were the main beneficiaries of the National Assembly’s reforms.

Answer 9

• The removal of price controls benefitted merchants, but left ordinary consumers vulnerable to high prices in years of poor harvest (e.g. 1791 and 1795).
• As well as abolishing guilds, the Assembly also banned trade unions and strikes in June 1791.
• Only ‘active citizens’ could vote in elections, and only the very wealthy could become electors or deputies. Most local government positions were taken up by the bourgeoisie.
• The bourgeoisie were able to buy up most of the Church lands sold off by the state.

Question 10

Opposition to the religious reforms led to the ‘Great Divide’ in the French Revolution (Doyle).

Answer 10

• The Civil Constitution of the Clergy represented a radical change to the Catholic Church in France, bringing it under the direct control of the French State.
• The principle of election for priests and bishops contravened tradition.
• The National Assembly refused to negotiate with Church leaders over the reforms.
• From 27 November 1790, priests were required to take an oath of loyalty to the constitution.
• Only around 50% of parish priests, and just seven out of 83 bishops, had taken the oath by 1791. Those who refused to swear the oath were denounced as ‘refractory’.
• Many French Catholics felt a deep loyalty to the Church and to their local priests; it brought the revolution into conflict with many local communities for the first time.
• When the pope denounced the changes in 1791, many priests retracted their oaths.
• The King regretted sanctioning the Civil Constitution, and showed his opposition by maintaining a refractory priest at his court. When this was revealed, it intensified suspicions about the loyalty of the King, and hastened his decision to try and flee Paris.