Ancien regime

Question 1

situation at Louis coronation?

Answer 1

france in a crisis after 7 year war with England, huge debt made worse by a bad harvest

Question 2

3 areas of central government?

Answer 2

-Conseil d’etat (council of the state): major state issues and foreign affairs.
-Conseil des dépêches( council of the interior, dispatches from kings officials and church matters)
-Conseil royal des finances (state finances and household cost, 1787 economic policy)

Question 3

Intendants?

Answer 3

sent to all 39 Provences to maintain law and order.

Question 4

remonstrance?

Answer 4

right for the parliaments to complain about kings edicts, could be overturned by a lit de justice.

Question 5

don gratuit?

Answer 5

lump sum of tax payed by church instead of paying the taille.

Question 6

two types of nobles?

Answer 6

noblesse deep- nobles of the sword, hereditary, access to versailles..
noblesse de robe- aquired, many privileges, neither pay tax!!!

Question 7

4 philosophes?

Answer 7

+Montesquieu: argued for separation of powers.
+Voltaire: freedom of speech
+Rousseau: social contract, “man is free but everywhere he is in chains”
+Diderot: rejected church and saw it as inhibiting progress

Question 8

literacy rate in Paris

Answer 8

60%-> salons and freemasonry very popular.

Question 9

debt?

Answer 9

Louis arrived at throne with 3 billion of debt, this rose to 3.3 billion livres following American rev war.

Question 10

first controller general?

Answer 10

Turgot- economy would improve if less restricted, enforced a detailed budget, reducing royal spending, reforms to tax.
did reduce debt, however de reg of grain trade failed following bad harvest and flower wars, land tax strongly opposed.
6 edicts, desire to tax all and reduce privilege, pushed through by lit de justice but offended Marie and removed 1776.

Question 11

Necker?

Answer 11

made director general as protestant, removed vingtiemme on industry, appointed salaried officials to run royal estates, admin more streamlined,
-produced first ever budget statement, inaccurate showed a surplus of 10 million
-very popular, resigned 1781.

Question 12

Calonne?

Answer 12

replaced Necker, more traditional, wanted a general land tax and removal of internal customs, led to the assembly of notables.

Question 13

assembly of notables?

Answer 13

1787- 144 members- hostile to calonnes reforms, situation not bad enough.. removed in April.

Question 14

Brienne?

Answer 14

replaced Calonne, reforms to army/navy, royal domain and central governement. extended tolerance to protestants, deregulation grain trade and attempted land tax again…
Notable ‘no taxation without representation’
had to take out another loan.
Attempted to enforce land tax and stamp duties through lit de justice, was blocked.
petition for estates-general

Question 15

Louis May edicts?

Answer 15

also referred to as the judicial reforms. These edicts aimed to centralize power and limit the influence of the parlements, the French royal courts, by establishing a new judicial system and restricting their jurisdiction.
-In Grenoble, after attempting to close a court, soldiers pelted with tiles ‘day of tiles’

Question 16

Brienne resigned?

Answer 16

in July, forced to suspend payments to royal treasury, could no longer gain loans as could not pay interest, Necker recalled. forced to call estates- general.

Question 17

estates general?

Answer 17

to be the same as 1614, 3rd estate would gain double representation.

Question 18

politicisation of third estate?

Answer 18

activities of society of 30, fight for right eg Lafayette
-Abbe Sieyes Pamphlet, what Is the third estate- argues that its everything
-poor economic situation, average Parisian spent 80% of salary on bread, high unemployment..
-Cahiers de doléances- list of grivences.