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Long term causes Flashcards

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1
Q

define: Ancien régime

A

french society & government before the revolution of 1789

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2
Q

4 key long-term causes

A
  • the structure of royal government
  • the taxation system
  • the structure of French society
  • the Enlightenment
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3
Q

key dates:
-last summoning of the Estates general before 1789
-the Seven years’ war
-accession of Louis XVI
-France entering American war of independence
-economic crisis
-Eden treaty
-The Assembly of Notables met
-Declaration of Bankruptcy

A

-1614
-1756-63
-1774
-1778
-1781-7
-1786
-Feb 1787
-1788

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4
Q

Royal government:
how was France ruled before 1789
by whom
what was this system of gov. known as
most important person

A

an absolute monarchy
ruled by Bourbons
absolutism
the king - answered only to God

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5
Q

quote by King Louis XV in 1766

A

‘sovereign power resides in my person alone … the power of legislation belongs to me alone’

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6
Q

Louis XVI’s character

A

lacked a dominant personality
weak and indecisive
liked lock-picking and lock manufacturing
had an excellent memory & an interest in a range of intellectual subjects

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7
Q

Marie Antoinette - marriage date
- origin
- popular?
3 incidents

A

married Louis XIV in 1770
daughter of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa
couple was very popular in June 1774 - on ascension to throne
popularity dissipated over following years due to Marie’s extravagance and scandals
1) she bought a pair of diamond bracelets for 400,000 livres in 1776
2) fondness for gambling & expensive government constructions
3) many revolutionaries believed she influenced the King so that he avoided granting them concessions

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8
Q

limitations to power for King:
independent bodies

A

e.g. Assembly of Clergy - had rights & privileges guaranteed by law
the King could not interfere with them

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9
Q

limitations to power for King:
had to consult with?
who was the most important? why?
was there a cabinet system of government?

A

council of ministers & advisers
considerable power was held by this small group of men
Controller-General - in charge of royal finances
no; each minister dealt with King on an individual basis

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10
Q

how was France divided?
why?

A

in ‘généralités’ - 34 areas
purpose of collecting taxes & other administrative functions

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11
Q

who were the Intendants

A

officials directly appointed by King
responsible for police, justice, finance, public works, trade and industry
each was in charge of a ‘généralité’

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12
Q

Taxation system:
what caused deficit in revenue
why was it bad

A

system of exemptions meant Crown was denied adequate income from taxes
forced to borrow to meet demands of war
issue of taxation weakened Crown & created resentment among Third Estate - bore burden of tax payment

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13
Q

define: tax farming

A

a system where government agrees a tax assessment figure for an area
it is then collected by a company that bids for the right to collect it

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14
Q

who collected taxes in France

A

The Farmers-General
company which collected indirect taxes
paid State agreed sum & kept any left for themselves

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15
Q

why was France in an economically weak position due to taxes?

A

government never received enough money to cover expenditure - due to tax farming
had to borrow frequently
interest rate payments on the debt became a large part of the gov.’s spending in 18th century

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16
Q

6 main taxes imposed during ancien régime
(1) description of tax
(2) who was taxed

A

Taille (1) land tax
(2) in theory, the Third Estate; in reality some had been granted exemption by Crown, so mainly peasants were taxed

Vingtième (1) five % tax on income
(2) Third Estate

Capitation (1) tax on people; known as poll tax
(2) in theory Second and Third Estate

Gabelle (1) Salt tax (2) everyone
Aidas (1) tax on food and drink (2) everyone
Octrois (1) tax on goods entering a town (2) everyone

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17
Q

who collected taxes

A

officials under the system of venality
therefore corruption was vast; Crown didn’t receive an adequate income & taxpayers knew most of the tax they paid never reached the treasury

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18
Q

venality

A

sale and purchase of certain jobs which could be inherited by descendants

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19
Q

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot
date
appointed as?

A

1727-1781
Controller General (1774-1781)
one of the first ministers to attempt to reform France’s finances
he was influenced by ideas of the philosophes

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20
Q

what did Turgot do?
why did he fail?

A

attempted to abolish trade guilds and the corvée; reform tax system
failed due to powerful vested interests (parlements and others) and a lack of support from Louis - withdrew his support for the sake of harmony
Turgot left office

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21
Q

philosophes

A

a group of writers and thinkers who formed the core of the French enlightenment

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22
Q

guild

A

an organisation that tightly controlled entry into trade

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23
Q

corvée

A

unpaid labour service to maintain roads - money replaced service in many places

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24
Q

parlements

A

13 high courts of appeal
all edicts handed down by Crown had to be registered by parlements before they could be enforced as law

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25
Q

Enlightenment:

A

an intellectual movement of writers and philosophers emerging during 18th century
questioned & challenged range of views and ideas e.g. religion, nature and absolute monarchy

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26
Q

how did Enlightenment appear in France?

A

through philosophes - writers rather than philosophers
e.g. Voltaire, Montesqieu, Rousseau
attacked the prejudice and superstition around them

27
Q

aims of the philosophes

A

apply rational analysis to all activities
in favour of liberty (of press, speech, trade, from arbitrary arrest) rather than equality - did want equality before the law

28
Q

main objects of attack of the philosophes

A

Church & despotic government
condemned Church for being wealthy, corrupt and intolerant
Voltaire: “Écrasez l’infâme” (crush the infamous) - meaning the Church

29
Q

why were they a threat?

A

they were not essentially opposed to regime - not revolutionary
had an impact on outbreak of Revolution
their ideas helped undermine one of the key pillars of the old order ->the position of the Church and the role of the King as God’s servant
their ideas & approaches influenced many who would become revolutionaries

30
Q

society structure:

A

population around 27.5 million on eve of Revolution
society divided into Estates of the Realm
divisions appear over the course of 18th century between and within estates

31
Q

Estates: key facts
(1)
(2)
(3)

A

(1) Clergy
Bishops (139) / Monks (25,000) / Nuns (40,000) / lower clergy (50,000)
(2) Nobility
350,000
(3) Everyone else
24,500,000

32
Q

First Estate
who?
issues contributing to unpopularity

A

members of religious orders and clergy
- many young nobles entered Church to occupy its higher posts - which provided large incomes
issues were:
- plurality and absenteeism
- tithes
- exemption from taxes
- power over the people

33
Q

livres

A

currency during ancien régime
in 1789, 1 livre was roughly worth 8p in today’s money

34
Q

(1) plurality and absenteeism

A

plurality: the holding of more than one bishopric or parish by an individual
absenteeism: never visiting your diocese
diocese: an area served by a bishop; made up of large number of parishes
made Church unpopular: ordinary people felt bishops were more interested in wealth than in religious needs of people
Bishops & Archbishops had high incomes e.g. Archbishops of Strasbourg earned 400,000 livres annually; most parish priests (curés) received only 700-1000 livres

35
Q

(2) tithes

A

a charge paid to the Church each year by landowners - based on proportion of crops they produced
- wealth of Church came from land it owned - largest single landowner in France (owned 10% of land)
charge varied {in Dauphine, 2% of crops produced / in Brittany, 25% / in most parts it was 7%}
income from tithes provided Church with 50 million livres each year
supposed to provide for parish priests, poor relief, upkeep of Church buildings
actually most of it lined pockets of bishops & abbots
peasantry & ordinary clergy resented this - one of the most common grievances in their cahiers in 1788

36
Q

cahiers

A

lists of grievances and suggestions for reform drawn up by representatives of each estate and each community and presented to the Estates-General for consideration

37
Q

(3) exemption from taxes

A

many privileges, most important was this
100 million livres per year was Church’s income from property instead of paying tax, Church agreed to make annual payment [don gratuit]
it was under 5% of Church’s income - added to unpopularity

38
Q

(4) power over the people

A

very religious country; Catholicism was official state religion
wide-ranging powers of censorship over books / provided poor relief, hospitals and schools / listed all births, marriages and deaths
Church acted as sort of Ministry of information as communication in general was poor at the time
vast wealth of Church & resistance to new ideas made it unpopular

39
Q

Second Estate
- size
- basic structure
- main source of income

A

nobility was most powerful of the Estates
figures vary between 110,000 and 350,000 by 1789
within nobility

great variations in wealth and status:
(1) most powerful were 4,000 court nobility - restricted theoretically to those whose noble ancestry could be traced before 1400; in practice to those who could afford high cost of living at Versailles
(2) noblesse de robe - legal and administrative nobles, included 1200 magistrates of the parlements
(3) remaining were the majority - lived in various states of prosperity

land - owned between 25% and 33.3% of France
nearly all main positions in State were held by nobles e.g. government ministers, intendants, upper ranks in army

40
Q

Versailles

A

royal palace of the Bourbons and the seat of royal government built outside of Paris by Louis XIV

41
Q

law of primogeniture
[for the (3) remaining nobility]

A

a landed estate was inherited by the eldest son
this meant younger sons were forced to fend for themselves

42
Q

Second estate
privileges (8)
main privilege? why?

A
  • holding top jobs in State
  • tried in own courts
  • exempt from military service / paying gabelle / the corvée
  • received a variety of feudal dues [financial or work obligations imposed on peasantry by landowners]
  • exclusive rights to hunting and fishing
  • monopoly right to operate mills, ovens, wine presses in many areas

exemption from tax
until 1695 - didn’t have to pay direct taxes at all / capitation was introduced then
1794 - the vingtième was introduced
exempt from most onerous tax - the taille

43
Q

Second estate - reforms?

A

nobility, especially provincial and less wealthy nobles, determined to oppose any changes that threatened their position / undermined their privileges
land ownership & tax exemption were especially resented by ordinary people - 2nd estate avoided their share of tax burdens borne by others

44
Q

Second Estate
joining the nobility?

A

various ways besides inheritance
1) direct appointment by the King
2) buying certain offices which carried hereditary titles - called venal offices - 12,000 in the service of the Crown - carried titles which could be bought/sold/inherited like other property

some limitations to gaining noble status -> noblemen were not allowed to take part in industrial/commercial activities - they would suffer derogation if they did (loss of their nobility), in theory
in practice - many did - rule was not rigidly enforced

45
Q

Third Estate

A

consisted of everyone who did not belong to the other two estates
- bourgeoisie
- peasantry
- urban workers
- grievances

46
Q

bourgeoisie consisted of…

A

top end of Estate
rich merchants, industrialists, landowners, civil servants
many were venal office-holders
merchants & traders were wealthiest of 3rd estate - made fortune out of France’s overseas trade

47
Q

bourgeoisie changing …

A

rising in wealth & numbers
threefold increase in 18th century - 2.3 million
no conflict with nobility until end of ancien régime

48
Q

bourgeoisie wanted …

A

power and wealth in the political system
(it bore substantial part of the tax revenue paid to Crown)
this simmering resentment - key long-term cause

49
Q

bourgeoisie definition

A

middle-class urban dwellers
make a living through their intellectual skills or business practices

50
Q

peasantry (higher end)

A

low end of spectrum
85% of population
varied fortune:
some farmers owned land - richer
more numerous were the labourers
both groups were successful due to good harvests - 1770s

51
Q

peasantry (middle end)

A

half were sharecroppers who didn’t own their own land; worked on the land - paid rent in the form of half their crops
one quarter only owned their house & garden

52
Q

peasantry (low end)

A

bottom of hierarchy - children unable to inherit personal property without paying huge dues
lived in state of chronic uncertainty
bad weather / illness - would make them vagrants

53
Q

vagrants

A

lived by begging, stealing, occasional employment

54
Q

serfdom

A

continued to exist in some areas of France
one million in the east (Franche Comté)

55
Q

grievances of peasants

A

bore burden of tax - largest societal group - extremely resentful
- tithe to Church
- feudal dues to their lord [nearly all land was subject to feudal dues]
- taxes to State

peasants could be tried in seigneurial court; lord acted as both judge and jury

rent paid to landlords
- increased a lot due to increase in population
- rose from 22.4 million (1705) to 27.9 million (1790)
increased demand for farms - landlords could raise rent

56
Q

Feudal dues paid by peasants

A
  • corvée
  • champart [due paid in crops to landlord; from 5-35% of harvest]
  • lods et ventes [payment to the seigneur when property changed hands]
57
Q

taxes paid to State by peasants

A
  • taille
  • capitation
  • gabelle

increased largely between 1749-1783
needed to pay for French wars
taxes took between 5-10% of peasants’ income

58
Q

urban workers

A

rest of the Third Estate

59
Q

sans-culotte (poorer urban workers)

A

“those without knee breaches”
classed as workers
small property owners and artisans in Paris (sans-culottes)
most workers in towns - tenements - unskilled & poor

later used to identify more extreme urban revolutionaries of 1792-5

60
Q

richer urban workers

A

skilled craftsmen organised into guilds
1776, Paris - 100,000 workers (1/3 of male population) were in guilds

standard of living had fallen in 18th century
- prices had risen 65% between 1726-1789; wages only by 22%

this resentment explained their readiness to get involved in popular demonstrations

61
Q

Enlightenment

A

an intellectual movement of writers and thinkers
in 18th century
challenged a range of views & ideas especially;
- religion
- nature
- absolute monarchy

known as philosophes in France
most famous: Voltaire / Montesqieu / Rousseau
attacked prejudice & superstition with reason and rational thought
many contributed to most important work of French Enlightenment:
The Encyclopaedia (edited by Diderot)
- first volume - 1752
- last volume (out of 35) - 1780

62
Q

aim of the philosophes

A

not prepared to accept tradition - applied rational analysis
in favour of liberty [of press, speech, trade, freedom from arbitrary arrest]
not as fussed about equality -> did want equality before the law
rejected anything not explicable by reason

were NOT essentially opposed to regime
- were critical of many aspects
- their ideas & approaches influenced those who would become revolutionaries

63
Q

main objects of attack of philosophes

A

Church
despotic governments

condemned Catholic church
- corrupt, wealth, intolerant

took up Voltaire’s cry “écrasez l’infame” (crush the infamous) - the Church

French revolution (32 decks)

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