Origins Of The French Revolution - Topic 1 Key Vocab

Question 1

Absolutism

Answer 1

System where the monarch has complete authority over the lives of his people

Question 2

Ancien Règime

Answer 2

Term coined in 1790 by Mirabeau; used to describe the political and social system of France before 1789 (especially the estates system)

Question 3

Assembly of Notables

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Cahiers de doléance

Answer 4

Ledgers of complaints compiled in early 1789 in preparation for the meeting of the Estates – General in May 1789

Question 5

Clergy

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Constitution

Answer 6

Set of rules by which a country is governed

Question 7

Controller – General

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Don gratuit

Answer 8

Instead of paying tax, the Church decided an amount that they would pay to the king every 5 years; usually amounted to 2% of their income

Question 9

Enlightenment

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Estate

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Gabelle

Answer 11

Indirect tax on salt

Question 12

Intendant

Answer 12

Royal agent who helped him maintain his rule in the provinces and fed back information

Question 13

Laissez – faire

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Lettre de cachet

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Lit de justice

Answer 15

Royal session of the Paris Parlement for the compulsory registration of royal edicts

Question 16

Parlement

Answer 16

High court of law which also registered royal decrees, establishing them as law

Question 17

Remonstrance

Answer 17

Document sent by a parlement to the monarch protesting against a royal decree

Question 18

Revolt of the Nobles

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Taille

Answer 19

Direct tax on land paid only by peasants

Question 20

Venality

Answer 20

Practice of selling government jobs/ offices