The Origins of the French Revolution Flashcards
Storming of the Bastille
July 14, 1789. marked the beginning of the French Revolution
the problems of the monarchy
it was an absolute monarchy but the king had to follow the dictates of reason and rule according to laws and customs.
main reasons for the monarchical government’s weakness:
1. inability to balance its income and expenses. France led costly efforts to maintain its position relative to other states. they also helped the British American colonies in their war of independence but gained very little and spent a lot.
2. inability to ensure the welfare of its subjects. this again was related to the treasury. most times the privileged groups were protected over the commoners.
3. keeping up an extensive administrative network which was not very successful. the business that was made of selling government positions enabled some income but did not make the system work well.
failure of reform
raising taxes was hard as the system of tax collection for it was ineffective and largely unorganized.
in the 1760s Physiocrats wanted to abolish traditional restriction on grain sales but bad harvest made that impossible.
in the 1770s ministers were appointed who aimed at a systematic effort to overcome the obstacles that were frustrating reform. the switch of kings forced an abandonment of the controversial ministers.
in 1775/6 Turgot wanted to revamp the organization of France’s economy. his efforts were largely protested.
A more cautious Necker tried to eliminated unnecessary offices and collect taxes more efficiently.
government also asserted power over the church, abolished torture in judicial cases, gave protestant minority basic civil rights, and edicts meant to limit the harsh treatment of slaves were issued.
social structure and crisis
it was a system of corporate privilege. society was divided into three orders: clergy, nobles, peasants (estates 1,2,3). this, however, is a simplified structure as later on more groups emerged.
the country was divided into regions and those too came to have differing privileges.
clergy and nobility had the most (noticeable) privileges, townspeople had some too. peasants, blacks, jews and protestants among with the slaves in the colonies lived under restrictions, some more than others.
any attempts to reform the system resulted in opposition, especially from the well-privileged groups, as it threatened their social standing.
the Third Estate
early reforms targeted the clergy and nobility and third estate was left out even though they would have supported the reforms the most.
they lacked proper unity, made up the majority of the population and had a variety of people from the richer merchants, bankers etc. to the poorest beggars.
the bourgeoise was critical of the nobility and challenged the Church’s teachings along with criticising the government.
some have argued that french revolution was actually a bourgeoise revolution but this claim has recently been more and more refuted.
the lower classes
petty bourgeoise had much influence over the lower class people and regular rural and urban poor. journeymen and women had a very hard time keeping their head above the water.
the poorest resented the government and privileged as they reaped from them but never payed attention to their hardships.
rural villages saw more poverty but even there, one could find more prosperous families.
petty bourgeoise
merchants, manufacturers and other small business owners.
new ideas and new ways of living
increasingly loud criticism of leading institutions mainly by philosophes but also (implicitly) by the reform-minded leaders. main and loudest critics were Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau.
there was also prompts to new ways of life (motherhood, agricultural innovations etc.).
the growth of public opinion
this idea evolved and spread together with salons, periodicals, reading rooms, theatres, masonic lodges, essay competitions. the Jansenist movement and American revolution had much to offer in terms of new ideas and debates among the wider public.
public opinion shifted to be less supportive of the lavish king and nobles, as well as more adversed to the church.
