Week 4- Financial and political problems and policies

Question 1

What happened to the value of assignats?

Answer 1

By the end of 1795, the remaining assignats in circulation had become worthless.

Question 2

What economic problems did the Directory inherit?

Answer 2

An unbalanced budget and problems with tax-collection.

This was made worse by the expenses of war.

Question 3

What issues were there with trade?

Answer 3

Trade was compromised by war and the British Naval blockade.

Question 4

When did the directory introduce mandats?

Answer 4

In February 1796, 800-million francs worth of mandats were released.

Question 5

Why did the mandats fail?

Answer 5

They were quickly counterfeited and lost their value.

This alienated the bourgeoisie who the directory relied on for political support.

Question 6

What did the Directory replace the mandats with?

Answer 6

Metal currency

Question 7

What issues were there with metal currency?

Answer 7

They halted inflation but there was not enough in circulation which hindered trade.

Question 8

How did the directory try to regulate trade?

Answer 8

In 1795, weights and measures were standardised.

This brought down the price of grain.

Question 9

Who was the finance minister at the time?

Answer 9

Vincent Ramel

Question 10

What did Vincent Ramel do as finance minister?

Answer 10

He reorganised the taxation system in 1798.

This made the assessment and collection of direct taxation more efficient.

Question 11

Which two groups were a threat to the Directory?

Answer 11

Royalists and Jacobins,

Their only supporters were from the bourgeoisie.

Question 12

When did the Royalists rise up against the directory?

Answer 12

The rising in the Vendémiaire in October 1975

Question 13

What was the significance of the rising in the Vendémiaire?

Answer 13

Showed how much royalism had grown since the Terror.

Question 14

How did the Directory supresses the Royalist rising?

Answer 14

General Hoche and his army were called upon in 1795-96 to deal with the royalists.

Question 15

How did the Directory view Jacobinism?

Answer 15

They initially tolerated Jacobins such as Gracchus Babeuf.

However, in early 1796, when he began calling for a revival of the Terror, he was guillotined.

Question 16

What was the impact of suppressing Royalists and Jacobins?

Answer 16

While dealing with them, the directory became engaged in a series of corrupt practices which undermined their aim of democracy.
They revived the methods of the Terror.

Question 17

When was the Coup of Fructidor?

Answer 17

4th September 1797

Question 18

When was the Coup of Floréal?

Answer 18

11th May 1798

Question 19

When was the Coup of Prairial?

Answer 19

18th June 1798

Question 20

What were the causes of the Coup of Fructidor?

Answer 20

In April 1797 elections, seats of Constitutional monarchists increased to 182.
More than one third of the total deputies had royalist sympathies.
This raised fears that the next elections would produce a royalist majority.

Question 21

What actions were taken at the coup of Fructidor to supress royalist gains?

Answer 21

The Five Hundred were accused of acting against the constitution. 177 royalist deputies were arrested and their positions were left vacant.

Question 22

How was the coup of Fructidor significant?

Answer 22

The actions taken undermined the 1795 constitution and added to a lack of confidence in the electoral process.

Question 23

What caused the coup of Floréal?

Answer 23

The Directory passed a new electoral law in January 1798 to minimise royalist gains in the next election.
However, instead the Jacobins soared ahead.

Question 24

What actions were taken at the Coup of Floréal to supress Jacobin gains?

Answer 24

The Law of Floréal purged 127 deputies from the Council of Five Hundred.
The results from eight départements were completely quashed.

Question 25

What was the significance of the Coup of Floréal?

Answer 25

It reinforced the difficulties of operating the constitution of 1795.
It suppressed the aims of democracy that were central to the directory.

Question 26

What caused the coup of Prarial?

Answer 26

By 1798, both the Council of Five Hundred and the Ancients questioned the conduct of war and complained that the election of Director Treilhard had been illegal.

Question 27

What happened at the coup of Prairial?

Answer 27

Sieyes demanded that the Directors Lépeaux and Dounai stand down.
Sieyes called for the army in Paris, to organise troops in Paris.
The resignations were received and Sieyes was triumphant.

Question 28

What was the significance of the coup of Prairial?

Answer 28

For the first time, the Council had forced a purge of the Directors.
The Directory only increased divisions and was growing increasingly dependent on the army to maintain itself.
After this, there was little holding the government together.