Absolutism

Absolutism is a system of government where all political power rests with one
‘absolute’ ruler, usually a tsar, emperor or monarch.

Active Citizens
(In French, citoyens actifs) ‘Active citizens’ were French citizens with the right to
vote and participate in elections, as defined by the National Assembly and the
Constitution of 1791. To qualify as active citizens individuals had to pay annual
taxes of the value of three days’ labour.

Agrarian
Describes agricultural production, methods of farming or workers employed on the
land.

Ancien Régime
(French for ‘old regime’) The Ancien Régime refers to French government and
society before the revolution.

Aristocracy
An aristocracy is a small but elite class, distinguished from other classes by noble
titles, privileges and/or ownership of land. Members of the aristocracy are called
aristocrats or nobles. They are often wealthy and/or exert considerable political
influence.
Assignat
An assignat was a currency certificate, issued by the National Assembly in 1790.
Originally started as bonds backed by the value of seized church
lands, assignats soon became an alternative form of paper currency. Price inflation
and excessive printing of assignats soon rendered them almost worthless.
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in eastern Paris, constructed in the 14th century to
defend the city. By the time of the revolution it was being used as an armoury, a
storage facility and a royal prison for selected detainees.
Bourbon
The Bourbons were the ruling house of France to 1792. Bourbon was therefore the
surname of Louis XVI.

Bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie were France’s wealthy middle classes, particularly those who
owned businesses or profited from production or trade. In revolutionary France
the bourgeoisie were the wealthiest members of the Third Estate.

Committee of Public Safety (or CPS)

In French, Comité de Salut Public. The Committee of Public Safety was a 12 man
committee of the National Convention, formed in April 1793. The CPS was given
wide-ranging powers to protect security, It eventually became a de facto executive
council of the government. Many now consider the CPS the body most responsible
for the Reign of Terror.

Constitution
A constitution is a legal document that outlines the system of government, its
division of powers and individual rights in a nation or state.

Constitution of 1791
The Constitution of 1791 was drafted by a committee of the National Constituent
Assembly and passed in September 1791. It created a constitutional monarchy with
a unicameral (single chamber) legislative assembly and the king as head of state. It
was rendered inoperable by the suspension of the monarchy in August 1792.

Constitution of 1793 (or ‘Jacobin Constitution‘, ‘Montagnard Constitution‘)

The Constitution of 1793 replaced the Constitution of 1791. It was drafted by the
Committee of Public Safety and passed by the National Convention in June 1793.
Its implementation was suspended in October 1793 due to threats of foreign
invasion and counter-revolution.

Constitution of 1795 (or Constitution of the Year III)

The Constitution of 1795 was passed by the Thermidorian reactionaries in August
1795. It attempted to halt the revolution by forming a bicameral legislature and an
executive council (the Directory) and restricting voting rights to persons of
property.
Constitutional monarchy (or limited monarchy)
A constitutional monarchy is a political system where the powers of the monarch
are outlined in and limited by a constitution. Most constitutional monarchies have a
strong legislature and government ministers.

Cordeliers
The Cordeliers were a republican political club, formed by Danton, Desmoulins
and Marat in May 1790. Based in the suburbs of Paris and open to anyone
regardless of class, the Cordeliers were the most radical political club during the
first years of the revolution (1789-91).

Corvee
(French for ‘due labour’) The corvee was a feudal obligation that
required commoners to perform an amount of unpaid labour. This work was often
performed on public facilities, such as roads or bridges, or on the private buildings
of seigneurial lords.

Divine Right
Divine right is a pre-Enlightenment political concept where a ruler, usually a
monarch or an autocrat, claims his authority to be derived from God.

Dynasty
The ruling family in a hereditary system of monarchy.

Economic Terror
A term sometimes used to describe the economic policies of the Jacobin-
Montagnard regime in 1793-94. These policies were either anti-capitalist (for
example, the Law of the Maximum) or involved the redistribution of wealth (such
as the seizure and sale of church and émigré property).

Emigré
(French for ’emigrant’) An émigré is an individual who flees their homeland,
usually to escape political conditions or persecution. In the French Revolution
most émigrés were exiled nobles and royalists, some of whom took up arms
against the new government.
Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a period of scientific, intellectual and philosophical
curiosity that began in the mid-1600s. It contributed to new thinking and
revolutionary ideas, particularly the development of liberal, democratic and
republican political theories.

Estates-General
(In French, Etats Generaux) The Estates-General was a gathering of delegates from
the Three Estates nationwide, summoned by the monarch. The role of the Estates-
General was to provide information and counsel to the crown, usually on matters
of pressing importance. It had no executive or legislative authority. Louis XVI
summoned the Estates-General for May 1789, the first time it had been gathered
since 1614.

Feudalism
Feudalism is a medieval political, social and economic system with strongly
defined classes and class relationships. The core principle of feudalism is that
nobles own land and share it with tenant farmers, in return for rent, fealty,
obedience and some unpaid labour.

First Coalition
The First Coalition was a European alliance that waged war against revolutionary
France between 1792 and 1797. Members of the First Coalition included Austria,
Prussia, Britain and the French emigres.

First Estate
(In French, Premier Etat) The First Estate was the Catholic clergy in pre-
revolutionary France. It included ordained persons of all ranks, including both
higher clergy (cardinals, archbishops and bishops) and lower clergy (priests,
monks, nuns, etc).

Gabelle
The gabelle was a long standing state tax on salt. Revenue from the gabelle went
directly to the royal treasury. The importance of salt as a food preservative and
flavouring made the gabelle a very unpopular tax.
Girondins (or Girondinists)
The Girondins were a political faction active in the Legislative Assembly and the
National Convention in 1791-93. Led by Jacques Brissot, the Girondins pushed for
the abolition of the monarchy and the declaration of war against foreign powers –
however they baulked at the radicalism of the Jacobins and the Montagnards. The
Girondins were eventually arrested and expelled from the Convention in 1793.

Great Fear
(In French, Grande Peur) The Great Fear was a spontaneous campaign of property
damage and violence in rural France in July and August 1789. It was fuelled by
panic and rumours of a royalist counter-revolution, as well as personal interests.
During the Great Fear thousands of peasants ransacked and burned
noble chateaux and destroyed feudal records.

Guild
A guild was a powerful association or corporation that regulated and controlled a
particular skill – such as metalcraft, masonry or weaving – in a city or town.
Individuals were usually required to be guild members before they could trade or
conduct business there.

Guillotine
The guillotine was a mechanical device for carrying out executions by removing
the head quickly and cleanly. Similar devices had been used in Europe since the
14th century. The name guillotine was derived from a 1789 recommendation to the
National Assembly from Doctor Joseph Guillotin.

Jacobins
The Jacobins were a political club, formed at Versailles during the Estates-General
of 1789. Initially known as the Breton Club, the Jacobins began as a group of
political moderates, their number including Mirabeau, Sieyes and Barnave. The
club radicalised after their shift to Paris in late 1789, as more moderate members
left to form new groups like the Feuillants. By 1791 the Jacobins had become both
democratic and republican, calling for the removal of Louis XVI. Their
radicalisation continued during the Reign of Terror.
Law of the Maximum (or ‘Grain Maximum‘, ‘The Maximum‘)
The Law of the Maximum was a National Convention decree of May 4th 1793 that
was intended to improve the supply of bread at lower prices. The decree placed a
maximum price on wheat and flour, and authorised provincial officials to seize
stores to ensure supply.

Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly was the governing assembly of France between October
1791 and September 1792. It replaced the National Assembly and was superseded
by the National Convention.

lettre de cachet
(French for ‘stamped letter’) A lettre de cachet was an arbitrary royal order,
signed by the king. It was legally unchallengeable and could not be blocked or
appealed. Lettres de cachet took several forms, the most notorious ordering the
detention of individuals without trial or legal review.

Liberty
Liberty is a state of individual freedom, usually from government oppression or
intervention.

Loyalist (also royalist)

In revolutions, a loyalist is one who continues to support the old regime.

Moderate
A moderate is an individual, group or idea that supports limited or gradual change,
rather than radical change.

Monarchy
Monarchy is a system of government where some or all executive power is vested
in a hereditary king or queen, who acts as the head of state.
National Assembly
(In French, Assemblée Nationale) The National Assembly was a revolutionary
body, comprised mainly of representatives of the Third Estate. It was formed at
Versailles on June 13th during the Estates-General, and was responsible for the
Tennis Court Oath and forcing the king to accept political reform. On July 9th,
four weeks after its formation, the National Assembly renamed itself the National
Constituent Assembly.

National Constituent Assembly

(In French, Assemblée Nationale Constituante) The National Constituent
Assembly was the governing assembly of France in the first two years of the
revolution. It was formed from the National Assembly on July 9th 1789 and
dissolved on September 30th 1791, to be replaced by the Legislative Assembly.

National Convention
(In French, Convention Nationale) The National Convention was the governing
national legislature of France from September 1792, when it replaced the
Legislative Assembly, until August 1795. The National Convention oversaw the
most radical phase of the revolution, including the Reign of Terror.

National Guard
(In French, La Garde Nationale) The National Guard was a revolutionary militia,
formed in Paris and other French cities in July 1789. Its main function was to
keep order, prevent looting and property damage and protect the gains of the
revolution.

National razor
The ‘national razor’ was a slang term for the guillotine.

Nobility
The nobility is a social class that possesses titles or peerages, either by birthright,
military service, administrative service or venality.

Passive citizens
(In French, citoyens passifs) Passive citizens were defined in the Constitution of
1791. They were not entitled to vote because they did not pay a sufficient amount
of tax (see active citizens).
Peasant
A peasant is a farmer or farming labourer, particularly one subject to feudal dues.

Philosophe
(French for ‘philosopher’) A philosphe is a writer or intellectual in pre-
revolutionary France, particularly one who advocates Enlightenment ideas.

Reign of Terror (or The Terror)

(In French, Règne de la Terreur) The Reign of Terror was a period of political
hysteria, persecution, state sanctioned violence and mass executions between
September 1793 and the fall of Robespierre in July 1794. More than 40,000 people
were guillotined as enemies of the revolution during the Reign of Terror.

Social contract
The social contract was a political concept emanating from the Enlightenment. It
was devised by the English writer John Locke and further expanded by Jean-
Jacques Rousseau. According to Rousseau the social contract was an unspoken
agreement between individual citizens and the state. Citizens surrender some of
their rights and freedoms to the government, which in return protects their other
rights and enforces the public will.

Taille
The taille was a land tax, levied in proportion to the amount of land owned. It was
only levied on the Third Estate, the church and nobility being exempt.

Third Estate
(In French, Tiers Etat) The Third Estate was a social class comprising all common
citizens of France. Anyone who was not ordained in a religious order or did not
hold a noble title was considered a member of the Third Estate. More than 97 per
cent of the population belonged to the Third Estate, which contained much socio-
economic diversity: from extremely wealthy bourgeoisie down to landless
peasants.
Tithe
The tithe was a compulsory contribution to the church, usually levied at one tenth
of a person’s income or production. The tithe was intended to fund local parishes,
however it was often diverted and used elsewhere in the church.

Tricolour
The three coloured flag of France. It was formed in 1789 as a union of red and blue
(the colours of Paris) and white (the colour of the Bourbon monarchy).

Tuileries
A royal palace in Paris, located on the banks of the Seine. Louis XVI and the royal
family resided here after their relocation to Paris on October 1789.

Versailles
Versailles was the royal palace of the Bourbon monarchs, located 12 miles south-
west of Paris. One of the largest mansions in Europe, Versailles contained more
than 2,000 rooms and employed more than 4,000 servants. It was home to the royal
family and many court nobles and their retinues.

Veto (see also suspensive veto)

A veto is an executive power, usually held by a monarch or a president. A veto
allows the monarch to block, suspend or reject laws passed by the legislature. The
question of whether the king should have a veto was a contentious issue in 1790-
91.

Vingtième
(French for ‘one-twentieth’) The vingtième was an income tax introduced in
France in the mid-1700s and payable by all citizens. As its name suggests
the vingtième was levied at one-twentieth, or five per cent, of personal income.