Chapter 1 - Origins of French

Revolution (Long Term)

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OUTLINE

notably issues during the ancien regime (in which french society was governed
before the French Revolution took place in 1789)

structure of french governance

structure of royal government

taxation system

structure of french society (the wide division)

the three estates

gradual spread of ideas that challenged this structure

the enlightenment

Royal Government 🤴
in which the king was responsible only to God in a governing system called
absolutism

French Crown was not limited by any representative body, and ruled by the
Bourbons

However, the king was limited to the laws and customs of their kingdoms

ex. independent bodies like the Clergy held rights and privileges that were
interferable because it was guaranteed by the law

The king had ministers and advisers to help make laws, but they did not form
any sort of cabinet system

the king’s rule was carried out by intendants through police, justice, finance, public
works, trade and industry

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 the French government was dependent on the personality and character of the king
in rule. when Louis XVI came into power in 1774, France fell into shambles

there was an unfit ruler meaning there was no government to control the
impending revolution, damages and dissatisfactions of the people

weak and indecisive

married Marie Antoinette

extravagance in personal expenses, construction projects and gambling

suggested that her interests were out of touch of ordinary people

influenced the King to avoid granting concessions

portrayed negatively as an “Austrian whore” because of her ties to her

homeland (resentment because of her origin)

believed to sacrifice the interests of the country for her homeland and
herself

Taxation System
taxes were collected using tax farming, which were chaotic and inefficient

the French government never received enough money to pay off expenditure,
so frequently had to borrow which raised interest

tax reception was regularly corrupted because under venality, they could
not be dismissed (i.e. they bought their way in) —> a lot of money never
reached the treasury

Louis XVI tried to reform the tax and finances of the state by appointing Turgot
as Controller general (the minister managing finances)

Turgot ultimately failed because of the protest from parlement

abolishing trade guilds, corvee, reform tax system all went against the
interests of the parlement

(land tax, direct tax) - Third estate, but mostly peasants because some had
• taille
been granted exemption by Crown

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 • Vingtieme (5% direct income) - Third Estate
• Capitation (poll tax, direct tax on people) - Second and Third Estate (in theory)

• Gabrelle (goods salt tax) - everyone

• Aidas (food and drink indirect tax) - everyone

• Octois (goods entering a town tax) - everyone

the taxation system was incredibly ineffective and yet the bulk of royal
revenue was made up of taxation, it was an extremely important long term
causes of the revolution

French Society
Estates of the Realm - the first two estates had privileges beyond the third, and
divisions began to appear betweeen and within estates, becoming a long term
cause of the revolution

First Estate:
clergy, consisting of religious people and the Church

hundreds

many clergies held more than one diocese, practicing plurality. however, they
owned several diocese but did not visit them (absenteeism).

the first estate would also collect tithes, which were the large portion of wealth
that helped them receive large incomes

the largest of these being bishops and archbishops, which could receive
upwards of 400 000 livres, while an average priest (curees) could only receive
700

the difference is that bishops could own land, practice plurality in stark
amounts and receive tithes as a payment

tithes were supposed to provide for priests, poor relief and upkeep Church
buildings, but it went instead into pockets of bishops and abbots,

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 the first estate also did not pay taxes though its income was immense

there were “don gratuits” which were annual payments, but it was under 5% of
the church’s income

the church also resisted new ideas, including censorship but also controlling all the
information circuits (poor relief, hospitals, schools, lists of births, marriages, deaths)
- acted as a sort of ministry of information on new policies and initiatives (that all
support their own agenda)

this grew a growing resentment towards the Church, especially towards

peasantry and clergy

they complained in cahiers

Second Estate
the nobility was the most powerful in political decisions

ex ministers, intendants and upper ranks in the army

hundreds of thousands

great variations in wealth and status

the most powerful being 4000 court nobility, restricted to noble ancestry to
before 1400 (affording living at Versailles)

noblesse de robe - legal and administrative nobles, 1200 magistrates of the

parlements

remainder - lived in various states of prosperity, land estate was inherited by

eldest and youngest were forced to fend for themselves (under the law of
primogeniture)

many young songs join church, army or administration

the main source of income was land (owning a third and a quarter of france)

the second estate, like the first estate, held many privileges

tried in their own courts

exempt from conscription

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 exempt from paying gabelle (indirect salt tax)

exempt from corvee (unpaid, forced labour)

feudal dues

exclusive rights to hunting and fishing

monopoly (banalities) right to operate mills, ovens and wine presses

exemption of taxation

extremely important because they barely paid any direct taxes AND said
indirect taxes (gabelle)

tax privileges, seigneurial rights were very important to the second estate,
and they heavily tried to protect them (i.e. reform process failure)

you can join the nobility through direct appointment from the king or buying certain
offices with hereditary titles - these are called venal officies

the only limitation of being a noble was in theory not being allowed to take part in
industrial or commercial activity (but the rule was not rigidly enforced)

The Third Estate

there was a vast variety of third estate, because they’re only consisting of everyone
who is not of the two other estates (incredible extremes of wealth)

Bourgeoisie

middle class urban citizens who made a living through intellectual/business

practices

merchants, industrialists, landowners, lawyers, (office holders)

rising wealth and population led them to have clashes with lower level
Second estate members because of the tax payment (which was direct to
income), but no political power

Peasantry

the second extreme of extreme poverty (however still having extreme differences in
wealth)

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 comprising of 85% of the population

the most wealth are landowners of farmers

most numerous were labourers (farmers) — 50% of the population

many by the 1770s were sharecroppers who did not own land but gave 50% of
crops for rent (landless labourers)

some of these were still under serfdom

peasants bore the burden of taxation

tithe, feudal dues, taxes to the state

taxes to the state : taille, capitation, gabelle

taxes increased significantly due to war, raising rents due to rising population (in
which taxes took 5-10% of peasant income)

Urban Workers

workers in towns

skilled craftsmen and artisans could belong into guilds to earn a fair standard of
living (the membership of guilds grew)

worsening economic situations decreased the standard of living of wage

earners, while wages did not rise significantly

the majority of these workers were still poor, unskilled and worked in the town

lived in crowded housing blocks called tenements

The Enlightenment
over the course of the eighteenth century, intellectual writers and thinkers
emerged in the Europe during the enlightenment

challenged traditional review such as religion, nature and monarchy

based on reason and rational thought

IN FRANCHE:

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 called philosophes (and were often more so writers)

wrote problems and attacked prejudice and superstition of the traditional world

their goals were to apply reason to everyday life (i.e. they did not accept the
tradition or the bible as reasons of doing things)

they objected Church and government, because they rejected their

traditions

believed that the Church was corrupt, intolerant, etc

they undermined the position of the church

in favour for liberty and freedom rights than of equality (although wanting
equality before the law)

though they were against aspects of the ancien regime, they were not
directly opposed to it and therefore not a revolutionary facotr, but the
teachings and influences became a long term influence to revolution

many of them contributed to the Encyclopaedia

KEY VOCABULARY:
ancien regime - french society and government before the revolution of 1789
intendants - officials appointed by the crown responsible for police, justice, finance,
public works, trade and industry in generalites
generalites - 34 areas that france was divided into to collect taxes/administer

livres - the currency. 1 livre = 8 pounds

tax farming - government puts a tax figure on an area, and a company (officials) come
and collect it

venality - purchase of a certain job - can also be inherited

philosophes - group of thinkers and writers that formed the core of the french
enlightenment

guild - organizataion that tightly contls entrey to trade

corvee - unpaid labour services to feudal lords/higher ups

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 parlements - 13 high courts of appeal - edicts need to be registered by parlement before
they can be enforced as law (the king is powerless to these decisions)

cahiers - grievaces and suggestions for reform to present to Estates General for
consideration, drawn up by representations of each estate/community
diocese - an area served by a bishop. made up of a large number of parishes

plurality - holding of one or more diocese, bishopric or parish (church district) of a single
individual
versailles - royal palace of boubons + seat of royal government

feudal dues - financial and work obligations imposed on peasants

bouergeoisie - middle class urban dwellers

serfdom - system in which people were property of landowners

artisan - skilled worker or craftsmans
sans culottes - classified workers, later used to identify extreme urban revolutionaries

literally “those without knee breeches) aka wearing trousers

IMPORTANT PEOPLE:

Marie Antoinette -

married Louis, daughter of Austrian

suspicion of exerting influence on the indecisive husband

extravagant tastes - Madame Deficit

Louis XVI -

Louis lacked strength of character to combat powerful factions in his court and failed
to give necessary support to reforming ministers

increasing reliance on Marie Antoinette

attempts to leave France during the seize of Third Estate

True thoughts on the revolution

aware of the need of problems - financial revenue

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 failed to back ministers when there were reforms in place

intelligent, hardworking, possessed some skills but was overwhelmed

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