Increasing tensions 1774-8 Flashcards
(35 cards)
Intendents - strengths
- Intendents were the King’s royal agents who were sent out into the provinces as a means of centralising control. They were supposed to help maintain rule but also report back information to the central government (i.e., the economic situation) – arguably shows that the structure of the Ancien Regime was strong because of its centralised nature with everything being relayed back to Louis.
- There were 33 in total, meaning that power within the Ancien Regime was dispersed (eg they control taxes, respond to local grievances, preside over local courts, coordinate activies of the police) and not all burdened-on Louis – more effective local government
- The intendents could even request ‘lettres de cahet’ against a private person so held authority
- The intendents were created in the 17th Century partly to curb the power of the provincial governors, who sometimes acted like provincial dynasties and so weren’t always that competent
intendents - weaknesses
- Only one intendent per generalitie – they were overworked and allocated too few staff
- Had to obtain an order from the King’s council in order to act – slow and ineffective process which still all resolved around Louis
- Victim of France’s poor, outdated and confused administrative set-up which meant their roles cashed with that of the seigneurs
- Too young and inexperienced – eg Charles Alexandra Calonne became an intendent at the age of 32
weaknesses and strengths of provincial governors
- 1779: there were 39 governors - too few, leading to despotic behaviour perhaps
- theoretically the King’s representatives but in many areas they had become intrenched in certain families who acted like a ‘provincial dynasty’
- not always fit for position because they aren’t elected through ability
- hierarchical system incompatible with growing enlightened ideas which demanded representation and more equality
BUT… arguably the governors made the structure of the Ancien Regime stronger because they limited the power of the intendents, meaning that duties and responsibilities were shared and balanced
seigneurs - strengths
Land- owning nobles who resolved disputes, organised poor relief, had administrative duties – effective distribution of power
seigneurs - weaknesses
- Peasants could be tried in seigneurial courts held on the lord’s estate; there were some 100,000 such courts
- seigneurs weren’t always fair and so could abuse power
- seigneurial rights became increasingly unpopular, especially with growing Enlightened ideas
- the seigneurs, because of their noble status, considered themselves superior to the intendents and came into conflict with them
the King and court - strengths
Louis can choose his chief ministers which creates a more unified and cohesive government as there is less opposition to his rule
the King and court - weaknesses
- The King’s chief ministers (eg the Secretries of States for war, foreign affairs and the amry) met with the king weekly so held a lot of power. The quality of government therefore relied heavily on their individual competence. Louis’ choices weren’t, however, generally based on efficiency or quality of the ministers, but more on how compliant they are, and if those around him like them (eg Marie- Antionette put a lot of pressure on him)
- Louis fires competent ministers if they don’t agree with his rule because he’s an absolute monarch. Eg Necker
- ‘lettres de cahet’ was extremely an extremely unpopular feature of Louis’ absolutist rule
representative bodies - strengths
- Hierarchy of royal courts stretching from the prévôtés, through 430 bailliage courts, to 13 parlements. High number – legislative power dispersed – effective law
- The courts hear cases so give representation/freedom to the people
representative bodies - weaknesses
- The parlements had a right to question and criticise decrees to the King directly and could force him to reconsider by sending a ‘remonstrance’. Slowed down law making process. Also, the king was able to overrule the parlements through the lit de jusice so they didn’t even have much power.
- Parlements were dominated by 1st and 2nd estate so didn’t give proper representation
- The parlements weren’t simply legislative bodies, however, as they were also tasked with more administrative duties: they controlled guilds, corporations and markets as well as local government finances and law and order. This meant that they, too, could come into conflict with the intendents.
- The Paris Parlement was responsible for around two fifths of France, giving it a lot of power and meaning that it dominated the others. It was always the Parlement to take the lead and act first when complaining about one of the King’s edicts (perhaps because its members were aware of the power they held and of how many people they were representing).
- There had been tension historically between the King and the parlements, with Louis XV even attempting to abolish them altogether in 1771
Nature of Louis’ Kingship - weaknesses
- Early death of his brother meant that he became king at 20 and wasn’t prepared for it – perceived as weak-willed and indecisive. He apparently said, on his accession, ‘Protect us, Lord, for we reign too young.’
- A British Ambassador wrote about Louis at the start of his reign that he seemed a ‘young, inexperienced mind’
- Louis had a passion for locks – people perceived him as odd and introverted
- He kept is personal expenditure down but this made him look weak next to the strong willed, extravagant Marie-Antionette.
- It took eight years for Louis to produce an heir – further scandal and gossip around their competence as monarchs
- He was short sighted so was always squinting and appeared clumsy/ridiculous: One of Marie Antionette’s ladies in waiting described him as looking ‘like some peasant shambling along behind his plough’
Marie Antionette - weaknesses
- Marie-Antionette was nicknamed ‘Madame Deficit’ due to her frivolous spending.
- Reputation made worse by the ‘Diamond Necklace Affair’ of 1785: the story suggested an affair with Cardinal Rohan involving the spending of large sums of money on a diamond necklace.
- From the banned ‘Historical Essays on the Life of Marie-Antionette of Austria’, which had possibly 20,000 copies in circulation by 1789: claimed she was ‘unfaithful’ to Louis, and talked about her ‘clumsiness’
- She hated the etiquette of Versailles and had a little hamlet built on the royal grounds where she could ‘play’ at being a farmer – could be read as sweet, but was more likely perceived by the public as her neglecting her royal duties and almost mocking the poor
- Her marriage to Louis XVI was supposed to politically unite the former enemies of Austria and France, but this meant that she was immediately rendered an outsider and perhaps resented by the French population.
Rigid social structure - weaknesses
- Only a very small proportion of bourgeoisie members could buy venal office due to the rapid increase in their cost throughout the 1700s; a minor office could cost 20,000 livres, while higher offices with immediate noble status were in excess of 50,000 livres.
- Even if noble status was aquired, the noblesse de robe would be looked down on by the noblesse d’épée, which built up resentment amongst the members of the bourgeoisie, many of whom were superior in intellect and ability to members of the hereditary nobility.
flexible social structure - strengths
- Possibility of buying venal office: more than 70,000 members of the noblesse de robe by 1789
- Venal office incentivised members of the bourgeoisie to climb up the ranks in society - propped up the feudal system
3rd estate grievances
- Tax burden: all members of the 3rd estate were subject to the taille (brought in around 20 million livres a year and made up 16% of the govenment’s total income)
- Members of the 3rd estate had an additional duty called the corvee royale, which was unpaid labour service to maintain the King’s roads or other public benefits.
- The feudal peasants were also subject to a range of seigneurial dues, including the champart (paid in grain) and the cens (paid in cash), which further highlights the unjust social structure in France.
2nd estate grievances
The provincial nobles with lesser titles and smaller land holdings, often referred to as the hobereaux (‘old birds’), had usually lost most of their land and wealth, despite retaining their privileges and the snobbery that came with them.
As a result, these nobles resented the rising bourgeoisie, who had outstripped them in land and wealth, as well as the monarchy, who they felt weren’t trying hard enough to protect the nobility and their property.
1st estate grievances
Church’s wealth was concentrated at the top, leaving the majority of parish priests and cures poorly paid and often disregarded by higher clergy.
As these lower ranks comprised around one third of clergy, it is evident that a significant proportion of the 3rd estate were poorly treated by those above them, increasing resentment of the monarch who oversaw their grievances.
Enlightenement - criticism of organised religion
Many philosophes were ‘deists’ who believed in the existence of a God, but criticised organised religion.
1. Denis Diderot: claimed in one of his entries in his ‘Enclyclopedie’, that if someone of an ‘intolerant faith’ was asked about how their religion treated those from other religions, he would either have to ‘admit something odious, lie, or keep a shameful silence.’
2. Voltaire preached ideas of toleration. He also insulted the duc de Rohan, and was subsequently imprisoned in Paris for nearly a year under a ‘lettre du cachet’.
Enlightenment - questioning of royal absolute authority
Criticism of ‘Divine Right’ led to increasing interest in the idea of a ‘limited monarch’ that shared power with an elected Government.
1. Montesquieu especially explored the idea of the separation of powers, stating in ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ that ‘It is not enough to have the intermediate ranks (i.e. the nobility) moderating the power in a monarchy. There must also be a depository of laws (i.e. the parlements).’
2. Moreover, ‘The Spirit of Laws’, despite being placed on the list of prohibited books by the Church, sold thousands of copies, demonstrating that the ideas of the Enlightenment were both radical and widespread.
3. Rousseau wrote ‘The Social Contract’ in 1762, where he argued that ‘man is born free and everywhere he is in chains’, presenting society and its politics and something corrupting and abusive. He believed in a ‘contract’ between the people and their rulers with obligations on both sides, and that decisions should be based on the ‘general will’ of society.
4. Finally, these ideas were potentially problematic because of the extent of influence of the philosophes; their ideas were discussed in ‘salons’, coffee houses, ‘academies’ and freemasons between both the nobles and the bourgeoisie, men and women. Literacy rates, particularly in Paris, were comparatively high (at around 60% in urban France), meaning that these ideas were largely accessible.
Enlightenment - not that problematic
Most philosophes accepted the existence of a God, and their criticism was merely targeted on the way in which religion was organised.
4. Denis Diderot states from one of his entries in his ‘Enclyclopedie’ that ‘It is God, whose power always has a direct bearing each creature,’
5. The ideas of a ‘good monarch’ were not radical; it had always been understood that a king should perform his duties well.
6. The Enlightenment wasn’t the greatest problem Louis XVI faced because the ideas were only discussed within two sectors of society: the nobility (1-1.5%) and the upper end of the bourgeoisie (1-1.5%)
7. Many peasants did couldn’t read, meaning that they didn’t have a means of learning about enlightened ideas, which would have been spread through pamphlets and newspapers.
American War of Independence - problematic
1775-83
- France provided 12,000 soldiers to the American war effort – ideas of liberty representation were brought back to France
- The 20-year-old Marquis de Lafayette went to fight in the American War of Independence – picked up on enlightened ideas and was central to drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and organising of the National Guard
- The American Ambassador to France wrote to the Us Secretary of State that the war seemed to have had ‘awakened the thinking part of France from the sleep of despotism in which they were sunk’.
- Benjamin Franklin sent to France in 1776 to rally support for the war – he attacked to nobility and condemned a hereditary order of chivalry – was positively received in the Paris salons, where Enlightened thought was developing
American War of Independence - not that problematic
- Revolution only really started in 1789, catalysed by poor economy. Ideas brought to France by the American War of Independence can’t have been either radical enough, convincing enough, or widespread enough to have had a serious impact.
- Only spread to soldiers, which was a relatively small number compared to France’s total population of 28 million
The Ancien Regime economy: strengths
- Population of 27million by the 1780s (more than 3 times that of Great Britain) – rapid population growth
- Between 1715 and 1771, French commerce increased almost eightfold, making France second only to GB in trade
- Transport improved (from 1760s to 1780s, the time it took to travel 1000 kilometres between Paris and Toulouse halved)
- Industrial production doubled between 1715 and 1771 (mining and textiles)
The Ancien Regime economy: weaknesses
- Still a backward agricultural nation: only 15% of the population lived in localities of more than 2000 inhabitants
- Highly taxed peasantry used backward farming methods (eg they still farmed by hand) – low yield form farms couldn’t sustain demand from growing population
- Measurement system not unform across France: there were an estimated 25,000 different units of measurement in France before in the 1770s
- By 1764 France was 2.3 billion livres in debt (due to taxation problems as well as wars such as the Seven Years War), meaning that when Louis came to power in 1774, the government was already in a state of crisis
- Louis also made the situation worse in 1778 when he chose to support the American revolutionaries in their War of Independence against Britain. The Treaty of Paris which concluded the war in 1783 gave the French little reward, and they emerged with a worsened debt of just over 3.3 billion livres.
- The annual interest payments on this debt were also very large, meaning that by 1788 50.5% of government expenditure went towards debts.
Royal finance and the tax system: weaknesses
- The taille was a direct tax on property and income of the 3rd estate – it wasn’t economically efficient for the main form of direct tax to be burdened on the poorest estate
- The privileges of the 1st estate meant that they could avoid the capitation and pay a ‘don gratuit’ (self-calculated lump of money) instead, which bore little relation to the wealth of its lands (amounted to only 2% of the Church’s total revenue)
- Direct tax: physically collected by royal officers so many peasants would refuse and were unwilling to pay tax
- Indirect tax: subject to corruption as the price could be raised by a penny or two and produce a lot of money
