1- Causes, 1789 Flashcards
(10 cards)
Three farming issues of Ancien regime France, and the outcome.
Variability of wind crop, livestock reliance on fodder crop, small shareholding’s and reluctance to make change. Only 3 good harvests 1770-89.
Three statistics to show debt of crown?
1b livre of debt from American War alone, over 4b livre debt in 1789 with over 100m livre annual deficit.
Why was the church resented, and when was this relevant?
Tithes excessive and go to bishops and abbots, not curés. All but 1 bishop in 1789 was of noble birth. Expressed in Cahiers de Doleances, summer 1788.
Two things Turgot did, and their impact?
Free trade and physiocrat-esque attempt to remove guilds, price controls, leads to 1775 Flour War. Then, Six Edicts, 1776, (general land tax, free trade)- lit de justice forces it through.
Why did Turgot’s attempts fail?
Courtly intrigue, rejection of Marie Antoinette and Maurepas. Paris Parlement don’t want land tax.
Three things Necker did, and their outcomes?
Attempt to cut down on court estranges Marie. Raises 520m livre of loans (interest rates 5-10%), forcing repayment issues. Publishes Compte Rendu (10m livre credit), sells 100,000 copies: Paris faith in him.
What three things did Calonne do, or attempt to do?
Raises 400m livre of loans, interest rates as high as 16%. Lavish spending and borrowing, eg Cherbourg harbour. Then, 1786 Credit crisis prompted reform plan (land tax, regional assemblies), rejected by Assembly of Notables.
Outline two enlightenment thinkers and when their ideas had most influence.
- Montesquieu ‘L’espirit des Lois’ for lib. con. monarchy. Influences Mirabeau, Lafayette and Talleyrand. 2. Rousseau ‘the social contract’ for general will, civil religion, and ‘forced into freedom’. Influences Robespierre.
When did King Louis overrule the bodies, pre 1789?
- Lit de justice used to pass Turgot’s Six Edicts in Parlement. 2. Assembly of Notables exiled to Troyes in 1787.
Pre Estates general action and rioting?
Day of the Tiles, Grenoble, June 1788 (economic discontent in rural area). Réveillon riots, Paris, April 1789 (economic motivations, threats to wages in factory).
