Origins Of The Revolution

Question 1

How far did the Ancien Régime create tension?

Answer 1

• financial privileges of 1st/2nd estate angered the 3rd estate, who were taxed punitively
• very little social mobility
• no power/representation within government for Bourgeoisie, who were incredibly wealthy
• trade barriers restricted the Bourgeoisie
• Sans-Culottes made to work long hours, standard of living and wages were falling, and price of bread was rising

Question 2

How punitive was the French taxation system?

Answer 2

• peasants had to pay taille, vingtième, capitation, gabelle, aidas and octrois
• clergy paid the Don Gratuit
• nobles paid nothing (peasants performed corvée for them)
• 3rd estate had burden of all taxation, despite taking just 5-10% of the income of the country
• taxes began to increase to fund wars

Question 3

How was France governed before 1789?

Answer 3

• provinces often represented by nobles
• généralities run by intendants
• monarchy ruled by Bourbons
• council of ministers/advisers who met with Louis individually (huge amount of power in the hands of a small number of men)

Question 4

How was Louis XVI’s power limited?

Answer 4

• provinces had ancient rights/privileges
• clergy had clerical rights
• parlements were the 13 high law courts in France that could refuse to pass laws
• noblesse de robe could criticise these laws

Question 5

How did Enlightenment ideas challenge the Ancien Régime?

Answer 5

• RELIGIOUS: Locke — reject religious dogma/superstition of the church, Rousseau — religion should be private and encourage good citizenship
• MONARCHICAL: Rousseau — power should lie with the sovereign
• POLITICAL: Rousseau — legislative power in the hands of the public, Paine — challenged the idea of to only a few people being able to vote
• SOCIAL: Rousseau — laws should ensure liberty and equality

Question 6

Who was inspired by the Enlightenment ideas?

Answer 6

• Bourgeoisie and modern nobles exposed to these ideas in books
• questioned authoritative church and absolute King
• little impact on the masses as the majority were illiterate, lived in the countryside or were too poor for books
• these ideas hadn’t been put into practice anywhere

Question 7

How far did the American Revolution challenge the Ancien Régime?

Answer 7

• France involved in the war, providing military support (Sans-Culottes and Peasants)
• Sans-Culottes who returned from war spread ideas of liberty and equality
• Bourgeoisie linked ideas with books they’d read, as America was the first country with representative democracy rather than a monarch
• revolution didn’t start straight away as there was no vanguard and peasants were widely spread out in the countryside

Question 8

What impact did the Urban Movement have on the spread of new ideas?

Answer 8

• end of censorship at Estates-General caused a new wave of pamphleteering so ideas spread very quickly
• social conventions of salons grew so ideas spread through discussion
[• pamphlets directly reflected grievances of the people/Bourgeoisie as they were written for and by the people]

Question 9

What is absolutism?

Answer 9

• limitless power of monarch, who answers to God only
• the King is above the law
• monarchy can choose to be as powerful as they want (can choose to use ministers/assemblies/Estates-General)
• monarchy and state are inseparable