Key Vocab Topic 1

Question 1

Assembly of Notables

Answer 1

Group of 144 nobles/ clergymen from across France hand – picked by the King to approve Calonne’s tax reforms in February 1787

Question 2

Clergy

Answer 2

People who work for the Church: archbishops, bishops, parish priests, monks and nuns

Question 3

Constitution

Answer 3

Set of rules by which a country is governed

Question 4

Controller – General

Answer 4

Title taken by the minister in charge of finances in France between 1661 and 1791

Question 5

Enlightenment

Answer 5

Intellectual and cultural movement which spread across Europe during the 18th century, which questioned traditional ideas, assumptions and institutions.

Question 6

Estate

Answer 6

Refers to people’s social standing; in France, there were three distinct estates with corresponding privileges and burdens

Question 7

Laissez – faire

Answer 7

Concept of limited government intervention so that the economy is driven by fair competition and by ‘natural laws’ of supply and demand

Question 8

Lettre de cachet

Answer 8

Letter bearing king’s royal seal by which he could order someone to be imprisoned

Question 9

Revolt of the Nobles

Answer 9

Series of uncoordinated and sporadic uprisings across France in the spring/ summer of 1788, often led by nobles