French Revolution Outcome 1 Flashcards
“The power to make the laws belongs only to me”
Louis XVI
“The weakness and indecision”
“Of the king are beyond description.” Comte de Provence
How was the legal system of the ancien regime divided?
Southern Provinces were governed by Roman law, Northern areas used medieval Saxon practices
Which areas of France bore heavier tax burdens?
Northern and central France bore heavier tax burdens than the south
What was the gabelle, and was it measured at a constant rate?
The gabelle was the tax on salt, levied at six different rates according to area.
When was the Seven Years war with England?
1756-63
What overseas territory did France loose and retain after the Seven Years War?
France lost territory on the North American mainland, and was unable to establish permanent government presence in India.
They retained possessions in the Indian Ocean, the West Indies, and slave stations in Africa.
How much did direct income taxes take from a peasants gross product?
10-15%
How much did tithes take from a peasants income?
8% on average
Who was exempt from the taille?
The church, most towns, and the nobility
What was the capitation?
A tax per head, paid by commoners
What were three indirect taxes?
The gabelle, salt tax, the octrois, for goods brought into town to be sold, the aides on food and drink
What was the vingiteme and how many times had it been levied in the 1700s?
A direct tax of a twentieth on income levied on times of war, paid by commoners and nobility. It was levied three times, due to France’s involvement in the Austrian War of Succession, the Seven Years War, and the American Revolution.
What were venal offices and how many were there?
Positions that could be bought. There were around 50 000.
Who collected direct taxes?
Financiers in venal offices
Who collected indirect taxes?
The Farmers General
What did the church pay to the king?
The don gratuit, given every five years, varying on the mood of either party.
How much of a peasants produce was due in feudal dues to their lord?
3-25%?
What were banalités?
Manorial dues peasants paid for using the seigneurs equipment; mill, oven, wine press.
What was the lods et ventes?
When land changed hands form farther to son, or by direct sale, this was the tax that had to be paid.
What was the champart?
Tax on harvest dues peasants paid.
How many people at any time were reduced to begging?
5-8 million
“This is a poverty…
“…which strikes at the root of national prosperity.” Arthur Young
How many times faster had prices risen than wages over the century?
3 times faster
How much of the land did the Catholic Church own? How much of the population did they comprise?
10%, 0.6%.
What were 4 noble privileges besides tax exemption?
Being tried in special courts, having special hunting and shooting rights, being exempt from military service, being excused from the corvée
How much of the land did the nobility own? How much of the population did they make up?
33%, 0.4%.
“Poverty becomes more insupportable at the sight of the astonishing progress…
“…of luxury which tires the view of the poor. Hatred grows more bitter and the state is divided into two classes.” Mercier, 1783
When had France fought in the War of Austrian Succession?
1740-48
When did France support American revolutionaries? How did they do this?
From 1778 France sent soldiers and equipment to America, and provided financial support.
What was the Compte Rendu au Roi and when was it published?
This was a public account of the financial situation of France. It was published by Necker in 1781. It was widely read, and showed France to be 10 million livres in surplus.
Between 1777- May 1781, Necker attempted to balance the French budget by taking steps to establish a central treasury, and by getting a full account of venal offices. How did he finance this?
Necker financed this by raising 520 million livres in loans with high interest rates.
When was Necker first dismissed from office?
1781.
Who was Comptroller General form 1783-1787? How much money was borrowed b him?
Calonne, 653 million livres
When was the vingtieme for the American war to end?
1786.
What was the French state deficit in 1786?
112 million livres, almost a quarter of the total income
“The only means of managing finally”
….to put the Finances truly in order, must consist in reviving the entire state by recasting all that is unsound in its constitution.” Calonne
When did Calonne present his Plan for the Improvement of the Finances?
20 August 1786
What did Calonne propose in his plan for the improvement of Finances?
Abolishing the vingtièmes, abolition of tax privileges, and that a new direct tax ‘territorial subvention’, tax on all land owners, be levied without exemption. Stamp tax on documents extended, corvée would be replaced with a direct tax. Nobility excused from capitation and taille. Abolish internal tax barriers and controls over the grain trade.
How much was Calonne’s territorial subvention estimated to raise?
35 million livres.
