Origins of French Revolution

Question 1

Who did the King meet with to discuss policy formation?

Answer 1

Conseil des Depeche ( Church)

Conseil d’Etat (State + Foreign Affairs)

Conseil Royal des Finances (Finances).

Question 2

What could the King do to overrule the Paris Parlement?

Answer 2

lit de justice

Question 3

What happened to resolve the political deadlock following Calonne’s reform package?

Answer 3

It was decided to put the measures to an “Assembly of Notables”.

Question 4

When / What was the Revolt of the Nobles?

Answer 4

May - August 1788

Political breakdown and collapse of royal authority.

Question 5

Why was Brienne appointed as finance minister?

Answer 5

Had led the opposition to Calonne’s proposals at the Assembly on Notables

Question 6

Royal debt growth between 1715 and 1764?

Answer 6

300 million livres

Question 7

Events in the Revolt of the Nobles?

Answer 7

Provincial parlements flooded the royal court with remonstrances

Radical pamphlets attacked Brienne

Day of Tiles in Grenoble - 7th June

Question 8

Who was there tension between with the intendants?

Answer 8

Provincial Governors

Pays d’états

Seigneurs

Question 9

Turgot’s accomplishments

Answer 9

Wanted a freer economic system

Cut royal expenses

Reformed tax-farming system

Question 10

Abandoned proposals of Turgot

Answer 10

Replacing indirect taxes with a land tax

Ending price controls

Six Edicts - suppressing guilds / abolishing corvee

Question 11

What were the May (1788) Edicts?

Answer 11

Plans drawn up by the King to remove the parlements’ powers

Question 12

What limited the King’s power?

Answer 12

Laws and customs

Conseil du Roi

Paris parlement

Question 13

Where were the ideas of the Enlightenment implemented?

Answer 13

USA following Revolution and War of Independence.

Question 14

Necker’s accomplishments

Answer 14

Cut royal expenses

Replaced venal offices with salaried officials

Removed “vingtieme” on industry

Restructured financial administration (tax farmers reduced from 60 to 40)

Published France’s first ever “budget statement” - compte rendu au roi

Question 15

Name an indirect tax

Answer 15

Gabelle (salt)

Question 16

When did the Paris Parlement refuse to register Brienne’s proposals?

Answer 16

July 1787, saying that only the Estates-General could consent to any new taxes

Question 17

Where did “philosophes” meet to discuss the ideas of the Enlightenment?

Answer 17

Salons

Question 18

What did “philosophes” do?

Answer 18

Questioned traditional assumptions, ideas and institutions (Absolute monarchy, Church, Social structure)

Stressed the importance of reason and logic over faith and superstition.

Question 19

What was included in Calonne’s reform package?

Answer 19

Replacing corvee with a land tax

Removing controls on grain trade

Removing internal customs barriers to boost commerce

Question 20

Brienne’s accomplishments

Answer 20

Reformed the education system

Abolished tax-farming

Established a central treasury

Question 21

What exacerbated French debt?

Answer 21

Wars

Economic depression

Question 22

Factors behind growing politicisation of the third estate

Answer 22

Publication of “What is the Third Estate?” - Sieyes’ response to Necker’s invitation for writers to state how they thought the Estates-General should be organised

Poor economic situation

Drawing up of the cahiers de doleances

Question 23

Name two direct taxes

Answer 23

Vingtieme (5% levy)

Taille (land tax)

Question 24

Name three “philosophes”

Answer 24

Voltaire

Rousseau

Diderot

Question 25

What did the Paris Parlement do?

Answer 25

Controlled guilds Ensured the King's edicts conformed with previous legislation Placed scrutiny on decrees.

Question 26

Who composed the Assembly of Notables?

Answer 26

Princes Judges of the parlements Notables representing provincial estates Representatives of the Church

Question 27

Name four economic problems developing from 1770

Answer 27

Over-reliance on agriculture Lack of river/canal network required to carry goods Decline in textile industry Antiquated banking system

Question 28

What did the Church offer the Crown instead of paying taxes?

Answer 28

"don gratuit"

Question 29

What were parlements and how many were there?

Answer 29

Sovereign courts 13

Question 30

Issues provoking debate around the Estates-General What was eventually decided and why?

Answer 30

Number of deputies elected by each estate (Equal representation or proportional to population) Method of debate (one single body or each estate meets separately before convening?) Voting procedure (single vote per estate or voting by head?) Decided to follow procedures laid down at last meeting of the Estates-General. - Equal representation / separate estate meetings / one vote per estate.

Question 31

When was the previous meeting of the Estates-General?

Answer 31

1614

Question 32

1715 - 1771 How much did French commerce increase? How much did industrial production increase?

Answer 32

Eight-fold Double

Question 33

What proportion of France was the Paris Parlement responsible for?

Answer 33

2/5

Question 34

When did the Assembly of Notables meet?

Answer 34

February 1787

Question 35

When was the Assembly of Notables dismissed?

Answer 35

May 1787

Question 36

What was the royal debt in 1783?

Answer 36

3.3 billion livres

Question 37

What were intendants and what did they do?

Answer 37

Representatives of the crown in the provinces Maintained control and fed back information to Paris.

Question 38

Order of finance ministers

Answer 38

Turgot (74-76) Necker (77-81) Calonne (83-87)

Question 39

Assembly of Notables

Answer 39

February - May 1787

Question 40

Between which years did royal debt grow by 300 million livres?

Answer 40

1715-1764

Question 41

When and where was the Day of Tiles

Answer 41

7th June 1788 Grenobles

Question 42

Factors behing growing unpopularity of the Church

Answer 42

Absenteeism Tithes Its exemption from taxes Its power over the people

Question 43

Noble privileges

Answer 43

Tried in special courts Exempt from military service, paying the gabelle, and the corvee Received feudal dues

Question 44

Short-term causes of the Revolution

Answer 44

Foreign policy The financial crisis The economic crisis

Question 45

How did foreign policy cause the Revolution?

Answer 45

**The Seven Years War (1756-63)** Defeated in India and North America by the British Lost much of France's overseas territories (Canada / Louisiana) **The American War of Independence (1776-83)** Cost a great deal of money - 1066 million livres Exposed French soldiers to the ideas of liberty and democracy

Question 46

How did the financial crisis cause the Revolution?

Answer 46

The French government was building up a huge deficit 1786 - Revenue = 475 million livres, Expenditure = 587 million livres Deficit of 112 million livres was almost a quarter of the total income 16th August 1788 - Brienne suspends all payments from the royal treasury, an acknowledgement of bankruptcy

Question 47

Factors behind financial crisis

Answer 47

War Tax

Question 48

When and why did the King exile the Paris Parlement to Troyes?

Answer 48

15th August 1788 They refused to reigister Brienne's tax reforms, saying that only the Estates-General could consent to any new taxes

Question 49

How did the economic crisis cause the Revolution?

Answer 49

Bad harvest of 1788 - Wet Spring and freak hailstorms in July Food shortages - 88% of a labourer's daily wage spent on bread during the winter of 1788-89, up from half normally Decline in textile industry / over-reliance on agriculture / lack of river and canal network / antiquated banking system Led to the politicisation of the 3rd Estate