short term causes of revolution Flashcards
intro
context- France before the revolution in 1789 was an absolute monarchy, power of king was not limited by parliament
- when Louis XVI had taken power in 1774, he was responsible only to God and saw himself as divinely appointed
- by July 1789 revolution had broken out in Paris and by October traditional French royal authority had collapsed
factors- financial problems, crisis of 1788/89, actions of Louis XVI, influence of philosophies, effects of American rev
loa- financial problems most important factor
financial problems of ancien regime
1
k- in 1775, gov income was 377.2 million lives, and expenditure was 411.4 million livres, by 1788, this would stand at 471.6mil income and 633.1mil expenditure
k- various controller generals tried to pass reforms to address crisis, all failed. ideas, such as necker deciding to publish the compte Rendu in 1781 made things worse in medium run as people more resentful when they learned that the released accounts misleading and hid true extent of crisis
a- debt meant that taxes had to be raised and this pressure would fall on the third estate, who were growing increasingly angry about there ancient regime and the burden of taxes
a+ - counter arguments not new and as finance was Louis’ most pressing problem when he became king in 1774, shows nothing new to kickstart revolution
a++ - may have always been a problem but severely worsened in lead up to revolution and led to France declaring bankruptcy in august 1788
financial problems ev
criteria - marked in severity leading up to 1788
financial situ grew much worse in short period of time- American war debt that ended in 1783 led them to declare bankruptcy in 1788, showing that the financial state severely worsened at the time just before the revolution
crisis of 1788/89
3
k- June 1789, estates general met but disagreed over voting. third estate declared themselves as nat assembly and took ‘tennis court oath’, the clergy and some nobles joined the National Assembly
k- august decrees dismantled the ancienne regime, led to declaration of the rights of man and citizen, largely drawn up by Lafayette
a- august decrees abolished most of the ancient regime and with little to replace the system- left dangerous lack of authority in the countryside
a+ -
crisis of 1788/9 ev
criteria - factor caused directly by another factor
(compared to financial issues)
crisis of 1788 was a direct result of the Economic crisis in France. without France declaring bankruptcy there would have been no political crisis and no calling of the estates general and all that followed. whereas the financial problems underpinned much of the third estates resentment and the actions of the nobility. professor David address, “it was what made it (the revolution) possible.”
actions of Louis XVI
2
k- after tennis court oath, louis met all three estates, refused to allow per head voting and banned discussion of reforming the privileges
k- new Louis actions at Versailles lavish banquet when he mocked the cockade spread to Paris, (people of France starving) march of the women 6000-7000 to Versailles, many guards killed and king forced to revoke his refusal to accept the august decrees
a- shows the weakness of Louis and lack of authority he had over france- lost respect of country so people more likely to want to overthrow monarchy
a+ - louis still believed to be appointed by god, unlikely devote citizens of France would have gone against the king with divine right, purely from his actions, something else inspired their desperate measures
actions of Louis XVI ev
criteria- was more encouraging of revolution and failed to prevent it
(compared with crisis of 77/78)
Louis was not proactive in avoiding revolution, incapable of making strong decisions and made poor choices from may 1789, William doyle argued, revolution almost a political accident that could have been prevented by Louis.
whereas in the crisis of 77/78 the nobility did not want a revolution, many acknowledged the need for tax reform but were most concerned about protecting privileges, those in power not want rev
influence of the enlightenment
4
k- writers of the enlightenment beloved men should control their own futures, challenge inequalities. criticised wealth, corruption and intolerance of the church
k- rousseau- a particularly famous writer, openly hostile about the monarchy and supported democracy , but at no point was he a revolutionary
a- ideas lead to growing complaints and discontent from members of the second estate that the king relied too much on his small group of favourites and his power was unchecked, led to criticism of ancient regime
a+ - enlightenment ideas never directly suggested revolution and started many years before any form of outbreak started, can’t have been a direct result of the enlightenment ideas
enlightenment ev
criteria- means to bring about revolution- impact on country
(compared with financial issues)
philosophies widely discussed with over 1000 encyclopaedia subscriptions, never directly discussed the flaws of the ancient regime. financial problems, however angered the whole country, making them desperate for change. waller states that the financial problems were the main reason for outbreak of revolution.
