History
A-level
French Revolution
,Why was the Ancien Regime weak?
- Formed in the 1400s: didn’t work in the late 1700s because it is based on absolute monarchy(they have total power),
below him were the Three Estates; he did nit belong to any of them.
- The king stands above the Ancien Regime, not at the top but above it. Three revolutions all at once:
-Nobility
- City workers tear down the Bastille -Bourgeoisie
The Ancien -Peasants (lower third estate)
Regime All want change but different for different
Overall
competing for their preferred change.
King -Divided
Above not part of -Unequal
it
-Poorly structured
First Estate - Clergy
Catholic Clergy
<0.5% pop, 10% land, paid an annual grand of 16m livre (5% of income)
Second Estate - Aristocracy
Nobility (2% of the population but own 20% of the land <1% of pop, 33% of land, exempt from most taxes (e.g. taille) & got all the top jobs
Third Estate - Everyone Else
1)Bourgeoisie- merchants & skilled workers Upper third (well educated), three fold increase in their numbers over 18thce to 2.3mil, 1%
2)City workers – servants, etc pop, 33%V land\
3) Peasants- 85% of population
Overall, doesn’t work because their classes are actually very different
Lower third, even varies here as some peasants owned their land and could make money from
crops, at the very bottom serfdoms still existed(people were the property of the land owner)
their children could not inherit anything without paying considerable dues to their lords. Bad
weather could further still push these people down to be vagrants who survived by stealing o
begging.
,First Estate Second Estate Third Estate
-exemption from taxes (the monarch is reluctant to tax them -exempt from taxes Bourgeoisie
because they will turn against him, Louis XV builds Versailles -tired in their own courts -had no power under absolutism
for them to keep them sweet and on his door step) -exempt from military services. -felt that their power should be reflected in the political system as it bo
-income from taxes equaled around 100mil livres per year -exempt from paying gabelle part of the tax revenue paid to the crown, they want power for their m
- its annual payment(instead of tax) was around 5% of the -exempt from corvee (working on the spent.
income and far less than it could afford roads) -their simmering anger is deemed a long term cause of the revolution.
-power over the people -received a variety of feudel dues -Bourgeoisie didn’t want to power the peasants because they are uned
- The influence of the church was considerable and touched - Exclusive rights to hunting and fishing to gain power.
many areas of people’s lives - Monopoly tights to operate mills, -take inspiration from the American Revolution
- They had wide ranging power over censorship, provided ovens and wine presses -no social mobility
poor relief, hospitals and schools - Also had issues Peasants
-tithes - Resentment against nobility for non- -peasants angry because their bore the burden of taxation, paid tithes
-plurality and absenteeism sons of nobility got important payment of direct taxes 10% of income) to the state and feudal dies to their lords.
positions just because of their title. - Feudal rights resented by tenants -peasants could be tried in the seigneurial court where their lord was b
-Also had issues -rent was increased due to a growing population and therefore a growi
-vast differences in wealth between the upper clergy and farming.
ordinary priests Urban Workers
-Resentment against the church regarding tithes and the don - The majority of workers in the towns lived in crowded and unsanitary
gratuit as tenements, they were unskilled and poor
- Small property owners and artisans in Paris known as sans-culottes.
- Skilled craftsmen were orgnised into guilds, 1776 100,000 men 1?£
The Enlightenment were part of a guild.
- Increasingly worsening economic situation causes resentment as pri
-18thce intellectual movement of writers and thinkers.
1789) but wages only by 22%. This was a long term factor of the rev
-questioned generally accepted views and idea, particularly relating to religion, nature and absolute
monarchy
-Based on reason and rational rather than superstition and tradition.
-Knowns as Philosophes in France, and were writers rather than philosophers.
-Most famous were Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. -main object of their attack was the church and despotic governm
-wrote on problems of the day and attacked the prejudice and superstition they saw around them. -condemned the catholic church saying it was intolerant, wealthy
-Many of them contributed to the most important work of the French Enlightenment, The took up Voltaire’s Cry ‘crush the infamous’- meaning the church.
Encyclopaedia, edited by Diderot -they were not revolutionary themselves as they did not necessa
Aims of Philosophes Ancien Regime, but they had an impact as their ideas attacked on
-apply rational analysis to all activities, didn’t accept tradition or revelation, as in the Bible, as a foundations on which t is was based on, namely the position of th
reason for doing anything – e.g miracles the role of the king as God’s servant.
-More in favour of liberty – of the press, speech, trade, of freedom from arbitrary arrest– than of
equality, although they did want equality before the law.
, Louis XVI – Character Profile
Louis XVI - Reigned from 23 August 1754 until 21 January 1793 when he was executed for treason. Married to Marie Antoinette
He was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.
In 1765, upon the death of his father, Louis Dauphin of France he became the new Dauphin. When his grandfather Louis XV’s death on 10 May
1774.
He assumed the title King of France and Navarre, until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of King of the French until the Monarchy
was abolished on 21 September 1792.
Character and Education Becoming King
Louis XVI grew up strong and healthy, though very shy. He was When Louis XVI acceded to the throne in 1774, he was nineteen years old. He lacked matu
confidence. This was not helped by the fact that he had an enormous responsibility, as the
tutored by French noblemen and studied religion, morality and was deeply in debt, and resentment of despotic monarchy (where the king in the single gre
humanities. He excelled in Latin, humanities and was fluent in
force) was on the rise. He himself felt unqualified to resolve the situation. His failure to su
both Italian and English. Louis enjoyed physical activities
address serious problems related to taxation would dog him for most of his reign. Louis lac
including hunting and wrestling. However, Louis' parents paid strength of character and decisiveness to tackle the influence of court factions or give supp
little attention to him, instead focusing on his older brother, the reformers in their efforts to improve France's government. His character also did not mean
heir apparent, Louis duc de Bourgogne, who died at age nine in suited to the position of a despotic monarch. His indecisiveness meant a lack of change an
1761. Then, on December 20, 1765, his father died of ultimately, he was the sole person with power to make and over-rule decisions.
tuberculosis, and Louis Auguste became Dauphin at age 11.His
mother too died soon after. Despite all of his interests he was ill
prepared for the throne. After the death of his parents Louis’
tutors provided him with poor interpersonal skills. They made Problems in his Policies
his shyness worse by teaching him that austerity was a sign of a Louis XVI’s had a policy of not raising taxes and taking out international loans, including to
American Revolution, this increased France’s debt, setting in motion the French Revolutio
strong character in monarchs. As a result, he presented himself
1780s the country was nearly bankrupt, this forced the king to support radical fiscal refor
as being very indecisive, not a trait that is typically good for taxation). This didn’t make him popular with the nobles or people. When the pressure mo
being king. Often swayed by those around him and his wife. reverted to his earlier teaching of being austere and uncommunicative, posing no solutio
and not responding to others who offered help. By 1789, the situation was deteriorating r
,The Enlightenment
-Known as ‘The Age of Reason’
-Many were anti-democracy
-Started in the Mid-C17th but developed greatly through to the mid-C18th
-The Philosophes started to question ideas of religion superstition and instead sought to acquire knowledge through reason and
-very diverse political ideas
-Not revolutionaries, but their ideas are taken on board to justify the revolution
In France:
-where it is most active – Paris is the intellectual capital of the world
-philosophes were more writers
-1750s more book printing
-1789 – 1/3 of people literate or relatively educates
-censorship not particularly effective – the king can’t control what is being published, Louis didn’t believe it was necessary becau
would dare question his right to rule.’ He was chosen by god, end of.
-growth of public libraries means you don’t have to be wealthy to access ideas-more people meet in there reading rooms leading
debate/discussion, increasing the spread of new ideas
-lead to the development of the ‘salon’
Ideas Spread:
-Spread in salons where speakers shared their ideas
-Newspapers also sprung up, increasing from 3 in 1700 to over 80 in 1785
, Key Ideas/Works Challenge to the Ancien Re
Philosophes
•-Constitutionalist
•co
•Liberal constitution monarchy was best system of gov, the power of the monarch is limited and -doesn’t want king to have all the power
spread across the nation.
• Suggested the French, should make use of the estates with which they were already familiar: theory of divided sovereignty,
Montesquieu the Crown, the aristocratic courts, the Church, the landed nobility and the chartered cities. -the king would become a part of the an
•-wanted a permanent parliament made up of the aristocracy, he is against despotic rule but
His ideas dominant in the first phase of didn’t want to give the peasants power as they are uneducated and may rebel for years of than above it ruling over it.
oppression
the French Revolution- L'Esprit des lois, •The comte de Mirabeau, the leading orator among the revolutionists of this early phase, was
very much the disciple of Montesquieu in his demand for a constitutional monarchy. Mirabeau
first published in 1753. believed that the only way to ensure freedom was to institute a divided sovereignty, but he did
not agree with Montesquieu as to which estates in France should have a share in that divided
sovereignty.
Voltaire •Centralist Threat as it separates Louis from the first
•Believe the king should have more power, power and therefore risks a rebellion as they fe
should be centralised around one individual -in a
paternal way.
•He thinks that if you spread power around it creates
imbalance and competition.
Rousseau -flip the Ancien regime and puts the pow
-Democrat
the third estate is the largest part of the
Defined freedom as ruling oneself, living under a law which one has oneself
enacted
-People kept sovereignty in their own hands Provided arguments which served the pu
-The nation became sovereign over itself No French King was ever to be secure on
-Contrived to make himself known as the man of the people – proclaimed Rousseau’s beliefs took root in the Frenc
his love of virtue and freedom and demonstrated that love in an exemplary consciousness
life and a constant struggle against oppression
Suggested a cult of a civil religion being established in place of Christianity
Authorised the head of the republic to overrule the dictates of private
consciences
-the people of France are France and in people is where the power should
be , the king can rule on behalf of the people but the people are the source
of power.
,American War of Independence
-The Seven Years’ War – 1756-1763 - was a global conflict, "a struggle for global primacy between Britain and France," which also had a major impa
Empire
-started as a skirmish in N. America over disputed French settlements but quickly escalated into a ‘world war’
-Britain (&Prussia) vs France (& Austria)- over dominance of Central Europe & global empires
-Humiliating loss for France after a series of major military defeats. France lost much of it’s overseas Empire, particularly In America, but held onto
producing Caribbean islands
-France yearned for revenge, so they get involved in the American revolution (against Britain and George III) despite their countries ideologies diffe
America.
Impacts of American War of Independence ( on France):
Financial Impact
-Had to borrow instead of raise taxes as taxes were already high to cover the costs pf previous wars, reluctant to tax the nobles
-1788 crown issues accounts that made royal finances look good, banks and financers were then willing to lend money, but these had to be repaid and crown was already pa
previous loans, crown found itself in a circle of debt taking new loans to pay off old ones – 1789 annual deficit was running at over 100 mil livres, taking over 50% of royal sp
payments
-financial reform was necessary to avoid bankruptcy, the attempt to achieve reform is what led to the political crisis causing the revolution
Economic Impact:
-wars are expensive and disrupt trade. Ports on west coast of France rely on trade with the West Indies and American colonies, which was disrupted during the war e.g. scar
which affected the textiles industry, workers (mainly peasant) income impacted, prices also rising, problems compounded as the end of the war was followed by an econom
Political Impact:
-spread of ideas, American colonist fighting for freedom against tyranny, supported notions of popular sovereignty and constitutional gov, believed in basic rights for citizens
-ideas brought across by soldiers from across the Atlantic – Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin (American visiting France) openly discussed ideas in Paris salons, ideas in tune w
American success against ‘tyranny’ made French ideas more of a reality, made intellectual debate action
-However, victory in war restored some prestige to the French monarchy, had secured some measures of revenge in the Seven Years War- however economic issues meant t
lived
-when trouble brewed in the Netherlands in 1788, France was powerless to act in defence of its interests against Britain and Prussia
,The Financial problems of the crown and the failure of reform
-cost of war + high ordinary expenditure + poor financial administration + insufficient revenue
-to finance the debt the crown borrowed money but then of course had to pay interest, which in turn added to expenditure and to the overall debt – spiraling debt unless reform
-war expensive, 1740-1783 France took part in 3 major wars, over lasting 20 years total, colossal cost, financed partly by taxation, and partly by borrowing, in addition came the
running the administration and royal household – immense, glamour at Versaille had to be maintained from the reign of Louis XVI, other royal members and their family also had
wife Marie Antoinette and his brother were particularly extravagant.
-conspicuous expenditure on building projects like the harbour at Cherbourg, and purchase of palace Saint-Cloud was deemed necessary to reassure creditors that royal finances
-another necessary expense was the necessity to dispense royal patronage in the from of pensions, presents, offices and other gifts
-Lack of uniformity in the tax system – including the tax privileges of the nobility and clergy and the variety of the other taxes like the gabelle and the taille which we calculated d
on area
-Inefficiency and corruption involved in their collection – some taxes were contracted out to the Farmers-General and the right to collect others attached to venal offices, whilst
accounting systems made it difficult to measure either income or expenditure accurately.
-This caused delays and shortfall in income, making the crown reliant on short term credit even for day-to day bills but the main problem was still that expenditure exceeded in
The crown and various ‘ controleurs generaux’ were not blind to the economic problems but every financial reform failed for the f
reasons:
-reforms were sometimes coupled with unpopular economic reforms. - reform was opposed by ministerial and court rivals and those vested interests who would lose out
- reform was sometimes attempted at times of general economic hardship. - The crown failed to support reforming ministers when apposition arose
-parlements, especially that of Paris opposed reform measures, seen as long term context, conflict between them and the crown over religious and financial polict. Louis XV tried to overcome
reforms with reform of parlements in 1770 , but these were abandoned 4 years later when Louis XVI came to the thrown. Their opposition became significant again in 1784/5 when they refused
decrees and in 1787/8 when they opposed Brienne’s reform package and later called for a Estates-General and issued their Declaration of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom (May 1788). Th
prospects of reform and the credit-worthiness of the monarchy
-The nature of the plans themselves, generally aimed at the income side alone and hit at powerful vested interests – attacked venal officers, attempting more central control of accounts, pressu
General and attacking the tax privileges of the nobility.
-reforms were always constrained by the need to keep a flow of credit to manage existing debt, any hint of financial problems could jeopardise that flow or increase interest of their debts so ref
insufficient for the scale of the problem, by mid 1780’s half of expenditure was being spent on interest payments
Spiraling debt eventually led to the credit crisis and bankruptcy and led to the decision to call the Estates-General in summer 1788, there was more to
than simply the matter of balancing the books but the financial crisis facing the monarchy allowed other forces to come into the open, when the gener
whole future of the absolute monarchy and the distribution of politial power in France was under scrutiny
,What were some of the financial problems Louis face
How bad was France’s financial crisis?
Taxes if France:
-Direct tax (Taille & Capitation) – collected by Royal Oficials Taille paid based on income or profit & Capitation was a poll tax with the 1 st
largely - fat tax everyone pays the same
-Indirect Tax – Collection ‘outsourced’ to separate organisations; paid on a variety of good and services with many in the 1 st/2nd Estates
political positions with special tax privileges
-1sr/ 2nd Estates largely didn’t pay tax, instead they paid dons gratuis (effectively gift) to the Crown - but the value of these is based on h
want to impress the king
-Pays d’etats are ‘tax zones’ in Ancien France
-gabelle – Tax on salt, needed for meat, meant poor couldn’t have it as it was vey high
What does the Marquis de Bouille blame for the financial crisis?
- blames financial disfunction for the revolution
- years of extravagance made worse by military expenditure
- misallocation of taxes
- overall the king
, France’s Finances
Income
Which two sources of income are consistently biggest across the 3 years? How would Direct and Indirect Taxes
you categorise these sources?
What problem with the French tax system does this suggest? Paid by the 3rd Estate who are the poorest, unfair on them but also highlig
income could be if they taxed the 1 st and 2nd Estates as they were significa
3rd Estate largely made up of peasants and their income is not reliable, th
weather dependent due to jobs in agriculture and in the late 1780’s there
harvests, therefore less income for the government
What is slightly surprising about the income statistics for 1788 compared to the other The income is higher in all categories, but there was no income from the c
years? in the other years, also a lot more income from the royal domain, Louis XV
help the economy of France
Expenditure
As a % of total, which are the two biggest expenditures in each of the 3 years (in order War and servicing the debt interest
of size)?
How does expenditure on the Court & Public Works compare? What does this suggest? Public works was the smallest expenditure, the expenditure on the royal h
around 4 times this and even as high as 8 times, this suggests that the king
the welfare of his people
What is surprising about expenditure in 1788 compared to the other years? They spent 3x more on public works and it was the first time they had eve
and spending on the royal household went down by 4% of a total
A-level
French Revolution
,Why was the Ancien Regime weak?
- Formed in the 1400s: didn’t work in the late 1700s because it is based on absolute monarchy(they have total power),
below him were the Three Estates; he did nit belong to any of them.
- The king stands above the Ancien Regime, not at the top but above it. Three revolutions all at once:
-Nobility
- City workers tear down the Bastille -Bourgeoisie
The Ancien -Peasants (lower third estate)
Regime All want change but different for different
Overall
competing for their preferred change.
King -Divided
Above not part of -Unequal
it
-Poorly structured
First Estate - Clergy
Catholic Clergy
<0.5% pop, 10% land, paid an annual grand of 16m livre (5% of income)
Second Estate - Aristocracy
Nobility (2% of the population but own 20% of the land <1% of pop, 33% of land, exempt from most taxes (e.g. taille) & got all the top jobs
Third Estate - Everyone Else
1)Bourgeoisie- merchants & skilled workers Upper third (well educated), three fold increase in their numbers over 18thce to 2.3mil, 1%
2)City workers – servants, etc pop, 33%V land\
3) Peasants- 85% of population
Overall, doesn’t work because their classes are actually very different
Lower third, even varies here as some peasants owned their land and could make money from
crops, at the very bottom serfdoms still existed(people were the property of the land owner)
their children could not inherit anything without paying considerable dues to their lords. Bad
weather could further still push these people down to be vagrants who survived by stealing o
begging.
,First Estate Second Estate Third Estate
-exemption from taxes (the monarch is reluctant to tax them -exempt from taxes Bourgeoisie
because they will turn against him, Louis XV builds Versailles -tired in their own courts -had no power under absolutism
for them to keep them sweet and on his door step) -exempt from military services. -felt that their power should be reflected in the political system as it bo
-income from taxes equaled around 100mil livres per year -exempt from paying gabelle part of the tax revenue paid to the crown, they want power for their m
- its annual payment(instead of tax) was around 5% of the -exempt from corvee (working on the spent.
income and far less than it could afford roads) -their simmering anger is deemed a long term cause of the revolution.
-power over the people -received a variety of feudel dues -Bourgeoisie didn’t want to power the peasants because they are uned
- The influence of the church was considerable and touched - Exclusive rights to hunting and fishing to gain power.
many areas of people’s lives - Monopoly tights to operate mills, -take inspiration from the American Revolution
- They had wide ranging power over censorship, provided ovens and wine presses -no social mobility
poor relief, hospitals and schools - Also had issues Peasants
-tithes - Resentment against nobility for non- -peasants angry because their bore the burden of taxation, paid tithes
-plurality and absenteeism sons of nobility got important payment of direct taxes 10% of income) to the state and feudal dies to their lords.
positions just because of their title. - Feudal rights resented by tenants -peasants could be tried in the seigneurial court where their lord was b
-Also had issues -rent was increased due to a growing population and therefore a growi
-vast differences in wealth between the upper clergy and farming.
ordinary priests Urban Workers
-Resentment against the church regarding tithes and the don - The majority of workers in the towns lived in crowded and unsanitary
gratuit as tenements, they were unskilled and poor
- Small property owners and artisans in Paris known as sans-culottes.
- Skilled craftsmen were orgnised into guilds, 1776 100,000 men 1?£
The Enlightenment were part of a guild.
- Increasingly worsening economic situation causes resentment as pri
-18thce intellectual movement of writers and thinkers.
1789) but wages only by 22%. This was a long term factor of the rev
-questioned generally accepted views and idea, particularly relating to religion, nature and absolute
monarchy
-Based on reason and rational rather than superstition and tradition.
-Knowns as Philosophes in France, and were writers rather than philosophers.
-Most famous were Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. -main object of their attack was the church and despotic governm
-wrote on problems of the day and attacked the prejudice and superstition they saw around them. -condemned the catholic church saying it was intolerant, wealthy
-Many of them contributed to the most important work of the French Enlightenment, The took up Voltaire’s Cry ‘crush the infamous’- meaning the church.
Encyclopaedia, edited by Diderot -they were not revolutionary themselves as they did not necessa
Aims of Philosophes Ancien Regime, but they had an impact as their ideas attacked on
-apply rational analysis to all activities, didn’t accept tradition or revelation, as in the Bible, as a foundations on which t is was based on, namely the position of th
reason for doing anything – e.g miracles the role of the king as God’s servant.
-More in favour of liberty – of the press, speech, trade, of freedom from arbitrary arrest– than of
equality, although they did want equality before the law.
, Louis XVI – Character Profile
Louis XVI - Reigned from 23 August 1754 until 21 January 1793 when he was executed for treason. Married to Marie Antoinette
He was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.
In 1765, upon the death of his father, Louis Dauphin of France he became the new Dauphin. When his grandfather Louis XV’s death on 10 May
1774.
He assumed the title King of France and Navarre, until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of King of the French until the Monarchy
was abolished on 21 September 1792.
Character and Education Becoming King
Louis XVI grew up strong and healthy, though very shy. He was When Louis XVI acceded to the throne in 1774, he was nineteen years old. He lacked matu
confidence. This was not helped by the fact that he had an enormous responsibility, as the
tutored by French noblemen and studied religion, morality and was deeply in debt, and resentment of despotic monarchy (where the king in the single gre
humanities. He excelled in Latin, humanities and was fluent in
force) was on the rise. He himself felt unqualified to resolve the situation. His failure to su
both Italian and English. Louis enjoyed physical activities
address serious problems related to taxation would dog him for most of his reign. Louis lac
including hunting and wrestling. However, Louis' parents paid strength of character and decisiveness to tackle the influence of court factions or give supp
little attention to him, instead focusing on his older brother, the reformers in their efforts to improve France's government. His character also did not mean
heir apparent, Louis duc de Bourgogne, who died at age nine in suited to the position of a despotic monarch. His indecisiveness meant a lack of change an
1761. Then, on December 20, 1765, his father died of ultimately, he was the sole person with power to make and over-rule decisions.
tuberculosis, and Louis Auguste became Dauphin at age 11.His
mother too died soon after. Despite all of his interests he was ill
prepared for the throne. After the death of his parents Louis’
tutors provided him with poor interpersonal skills. They made Problems in his Policies
his shyness worse by teaching him that austerity was a sign of a Louis XVI’s had a policy of not raising taxes and taking out international loans, including to
American Revolution, this increased France’s debt, setting in motion the French Revolutio
strong character in monarchs. As a result, he presented himself
1780s the country was nearly bankrupt, this forced the king to support radical fiscal refor
as being very indecisive, not a trait that is typically good for taxation). This didn’t make him popular with the nobles or people. When the pressure mo
being king. Often swayed by those around him and his wife. reverted to his earlier teaching of being austere and uncommunicative, posing no solutio
and not responding to others who offered help. By 1789, the situation was deteriorating r
,The Enlightenment
-Known as ‘The Age of Reason’
-Many were anti-democracy
-Started in the Mid-C17th but developed greatly through to the mid-C18th
-The Philosophes started to question ideas of religion superstition and instead sought to acquire knowledge through reason and
-very diverse political ideas
-Not revolutionaries, but their ideas are taken on board to justify the revolution
In France:
-where it is most active – Paris is the intellectual capital of the world
-philosophes were more writers
-1750s more book printing
-1789 – 1/3 of people literate or relatively educates
-censorship not particularly effective – the king can’t control what is being published, Louis didn’t believe it was necessary becau
would dare question his right to rule.’ He was chosen by god, end of.
-growth of public libraries means you don’t have to be wealthy to access ideas-more people meet in there reading rooms leading
debate/discussion, increasing the spread of new ideas
-lead to the development of the ‘salon’
Ideas Spread:
-Spread in salons where speakers shared their ideas
-Newspapers also sprung up, increasing from 3 in 1700 to over 80 in 1785
, Key Ideas/Works Challenge to the Ancien Re
Philosophes
•-Constitutionalist
•co
•Liberal constitution monarchy was best system of gov, the power of the monarch is limited and -doesn’t want king to have all the power
spread across the nation.
• Suggested the French, should make use of the estates with which they were already familiar: theory of divided sovereignty,
Montesquieu the Crown, the aristocratic courts, the Church, the landed nobility and the chartered cities. -the king would become a part of the an
•-wanted a permanent parliament made up of the aristocracy, he is against despotic rule but
His ideas dominant in the first phase of didn’t want to give the peasants power as they are uneducated and may rebel for years of than above it ruling over it.
oppression
the French Revolution- L'Esprit des lois, •The comte de Mirabeau, the leading orator among the revolutionists of this early phase, was
very much the disciple of Montesquieu in his demand for a constitutional monarchy. Mirabeau
first published in 1753. believed that the only way to ensure freedom was to institute a divided sovereignty, but he did
not agree with Montesquieu as to which estates in France should have a share in that divided
sovereignty.
Voltaire •Centralist Threat as it separates Louis from the first
•Believe the king should have more power, power and therefore risks a rebellion as they fe
should be centralised around one individual -in a
paternal way.
•He thinks that if you spread power around it creates
imbalance and competition.
Rousseau -flip the Ancien regime and puts the pow
-Democrat
the third estate is the largest part of the
Defined freedom as ruling oneself, living under a law which one has oneself
enacted
-People kept sovereignty in their own hands Provided arguments which served the pu
-The nation became sovereign over itself No French King was ever to be secure on
-Contrived to make himself known as the man of the people – proclaimed Rousseau’s beliefs took root in the Frenc
his love of virtue and freedom and demonstrated that love in an exemplary consciousness
life and a constant struggle against oppression
Suggested a cult of a civil religion being established in place of Christianity
Authorised the head of the republic to overrule the dictates of private
consciences
-the people of France are France and in people is where the power should
be , the king can rule on behalf of the people but the people are the source
of power.
,American War of Independence
-The Seven Years’ War – 1756-1763 - was a global conflict, "a struggle for global primacy between Britain and France," which also had a major impa
Empire
-started as a skirmish in N. America over disputed French settlements but quickly escalated into a ‘world war’
-Britain (&Prussia) vs France (& Austria)- over dominance of Central Europe & global empires
-Humiliating loss for France after a series of major military defeats. France lost much of it’s overseas Empire, particularly In America, but held onto
producing Caribbean islands
-France yearned for revenge, so they get involved in the American revolution (against Britain and George III) despite their countries ideologies diffe
America.
Impacts of American War of Independence ( on France):
Financial Impact
-Had to borrow instead of raise taxes as taxes were already high to cover the costs pf previous wars, reluctant to tax the nobles
-1788 crown issues accounts that made royal finances look good, banks and financers were then willing to lend money, but these had to be repaid and crown was already pa
previous loans, crown found itself in a circle of debt taking new loans to pay off old ones – 1789 annual deficit was running at over 100 mil livres, taking over 50% of royal sp
payments
-financial reform was necessary to avoid bankruptcy, the attempt to achieve reform is what led to the political crisis causing the revolution
Economic Impact:
-wars are expensive and disrupt trade. Ports on west coast of France rely on trade with the West Indies and American colonies, which was disrupted during the war e.g. scar
which affected the textiles industry, workers (mainly peasant) income impacted, prices also rising, problems compounded as the end of the war was followed by an econom
Political Impact:
-spread of ideas, American colonist fighting for freedom against tyranny, supported notions of popular sovereignty and constitutional gov, believed in basic rights for citizens
-ideas brought across by soldiers from across the Atlantic – Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin (American visiting France) openly discussed ideas in Paris salons, ideas in tune w
American success against ‘tyranny’ made French ideas more of a reality, made intellectual debate action
-However, victory in war restored some prestige to the French monarchy, had secured some measures of revenge in the Seven Years War- however economic issues meant t
lived
-when trouble brewed in the Netherlands in 1788, France was powerless to act in defence of its interests against Britain and Prussia
,The Financial problems of the crown and the failure of reform
-cost of war + high ordinary expenditure + poor financial administration + insufficient revenue
-to finance the debt the crown borrowed money but then of course had to pay interest, which in turn added to expenditure and to the overall debt – spiraling debt unless reform
-war expensive, 1740-1783 France took part in 3 major wars, over lasting 20 years total, colossal cost, financed partly by taxation, and partly by borrowing, in addition came the
running the administration and royal household – immense, glamour at Versaille had to be maintained from the reign of Louis XVI, other royal members and their family also had
wife Marie Antoinette and his brother were particularly extravagant.
-conspicuous expenditure on building projects like the harbour at Cherbourg, and purchase of palace Saint-Cloud was deemed necessary to reassure creditors that royal finances
-another necessary expense was the necessity to dispense royal patronage in the from of pensions, presents, offices and other gifts
-Lack of uniformity in the tax system – including the tax privileges of the nobility and clergy and the variety of the other taxes like the gabelle and the taille which we calculated d
on area
-Inefficiency and corruption involved in their collection – some taxes were contracted out to the Farmers-General and the right to collect others attached to venal offices, whilst
accounting systems made it difficult to measure either income or expenditure accurately.
-This caused delays and shortfall in income, making the crown reliant on short term credit even for day-to day bills but the main problem was still that expenditure exceeded in
The crown and various ‘ controleurs generaux’ were not blind to the economic problems but every financial reform failed for the f
reasons:
-reforms were sometimes coupled with unpopular economic reforms. - reform was opposed by ministerial and court rivals and those vested interests who would lose out
- reform was sometimes attempted at times of general economic hardship. - The crown failed to support reforming ministers when apposition arose
-parlements, especially that of Paris opposed reform measures, seen as long term context, conflict between them and the crown over religious and financial polict. Louis XV tried to overcome
reforms with reform of parlements in 1770 , but these were abandoned 4 years later when Louis XVI came to the thrown. Their opposition became significant again in 1784/5 when they refused
decrees and in 1787/8 when they opposed Brienne’s reform package and later called for a Estates-General and issued their Declaration of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom (May 1788). Th
prospects of reform and the credit-worthiness of the monarchy
-The nature of the plans themselves, generally aimed at the income side alone and hit at powerful vested interests – attacked venal officers, attempting more central control of accounts, pressu
General and attacking the tax privileges of the nobility.
-reforms were always constrained by the need to keep a flow of credit to manage existing debt, any hint of financial problems could jeopardise that flow or increase interest of their debts so ref
insufficient for the scale of the problem, by mid 1780’s half of expenditure was being spent on interest payments
Spiraling debt eventually led to the credit crisis and bankruptcy and led to the decision to call the Estates-General in summer 1788, there was more to
than simply the matter of balancing the books but the financial crisis facing the monarchy allowed other forces to come into the open, when the gener
whole future of the absolute monarchy and the distribution of politial power in France was under scrutiny
,What were some of the financial problems Louis face
How bad was France’s financial crisis?
Taxes if France:
-Direct tax (Taille & Capitation) – collected by Royal Oficials Taille paid based on income or profit & Capitation was a poll tax with the 1 st
largely - fat tax everyone pays the same
-Indirect Tax – Collection ‘outsourced’ to separate organisations; paid on a variety of good and services with many in the 1 st/2nd Estates
political positions with special tax privileges
-1sr/ 2nd Estates largely didn’t pay tax, instead they paid dons gratuis (effectively gift) to the Crown - but the value of these is based on h
want to impress the king
-Pays d’etats are ‘tax zones’ in Ancien France
-gabelle – Tax on salt, needed for meat, meant poor couldn’t have it as it was vey high
What does the Marquis de Bouille blame for the financial crisis?
- blames financial disfunction for the revolution
- years of extravagance made worse by military expenditure
- misallocation of taxes
- overall the king
, France’s Finances
Income
Which two sources of income are consistently biggest across the 3 years? How would Direct and Indirect Taxes
you categorise these sources?
What problem with the French tax system does this suggest? Paid by the 3rd Estate who are the poorest, unfair on them but also highlig
income could be if they taxed the 1 st and 2nd Estates as they were significa
3rd Estate largely made up of peasants and their income is not reliable, th
weather dependent due to jobs in agriculture and in the late 1780’s there
harvests, therefore less income for the government
What is slightly surprising about the income statistics for 1788 compared to the other The income is higher in all categories, but there was no income from the c
years? in the other years, also a lot more income from the royal domain, Louis XV
help the economy of France
Expenditure
As a % of total, which are the two biggest expenditures in each of the 3 years (in order War and servicing the debt interest
of size)?
How does expenditure on the Court & Public Works compare? What does this suggest? Public works was the smallest expenditure, the expenditure on the royal h
around 4 times this and even as high as 8 times, this suggests that the king
the welfare of his people
What is surprising about expenditure in 1788 compared to the other years? They spent 3x more on public works and it was the first time they had eve
and spending on the royal household went down by 4% of a total
