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French Rev Stuff > Origins of the Revolution > Flashcards

Origins of the Revolution Flashcards

1
Q

Who was Montesquieu, and what were his ideas?

A

Enlightenment philosophe, explained why he believed government powers should be separated. Regular in Paris social clubs, openly criticised Ancien Regime.

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2
Q

What were the works and theories of Montesquieu?

A

1721 Persian Letters satirically criticised French society. Believed that government should be run by educated elites. Wanted regulations in government to prevent abuse of power. 1748 Spirit of the Laws advocated for separation of powers and sold thousands of copies.

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3
Q

Who was Voltaire, and what were his ideas?

A

Enlightenment philosophe, spent a year in the Bastille for writing poems about the aristocracy. Had a lettre de cachet issued against him in 1726.

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4
Q

What were the works and theories of Voltaire?

A

Wrote Oedipus, play hinting at debauchery among aristocracy. 1729 Letters on the English Nation, comparing French and English systems and preferring the English ones. Critical of organised religion - especially the Catholic Church.

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5
Q

Who was Rousseau, and what were his ideas?

A

Enlightenment philosophe, friend and colleague of Diderot. Wrote about inequality of conditions and the effects of oppressive governments / societies.

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6
Q

What were the works and theories of Rousseau?

A

1755 Discourse on Inequality exploring why people tolerate unequal conditions. 1762 Emile exploring corrupting influences of society. 1762 The Social Contract ‘ Man is born free, but everywhere he is in fetters.’ Argued that government’s power was from the consent of the people. Argued against corruption.

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7
Q

When did Louis XVI become King?

A

1774

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8
Q

What were some personal qualities of Louis XVI?

A

Weak-willed and indecisive, hoped to reform France yet had little understanding of politics.

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9
Q

What did Ancien Regime Court factions concern themselves with?

A

Fighting for royal favours, e.g sinecures, pensions, contracts.

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10
Q

What did Louis XVI issue against political opponents?

A

Lettres de cachet, unpopular as seen as tyrannical and oppressive.

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11
Q

Did Louis XVI truly have absolute power?

A

Maybe not - had Divine Right but was bound by ruling ‘by the law’, so respecting rights and customs of subjects and provinces.

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12
Q

What were Louis’ councils?

A

Conseil d’Etat (State), des Depeches (Church), Royal des Finances.

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13
Q

Who did power really lie with in the Ancien Regime?

A

The King and a few chief ministers, e.g. secretaries for State and War, Foreign Affairs, Navy, Controller-General etc.

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14
Q

How did Louis choose ministers?

A

As much directed by Court intrigues and pressure from others than by the actual use of the people he was selecting.

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15
Q

What were Intendants?

A

(Essentially JPs). Collected tax, carried out edicts, managed police force, raised troops. Over-worked.

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16
Q

How many Parlements were there in the Ancien Regime?

A
  1. Highest courts. Controlled guilds, corporations, law and order, govt. finance.
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17
Q

What were remonstrances?

A

An opposition to a law sent by a parlement. Could be overruled by a lit de justice.

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18
Q

What were lit de justices?

A

The king overruling the remostrance of a parlement to force an edict into law, seemed very despotic.

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19
Q

What were some 3rd estate taxes?

A

Taille, vingtieme and capitation (direct taxes); indirect such as the gabelle (on salt), aides on drink and taxes on tobacco.

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20
Q

How many seigneurial courts were there, and what were they?

A

Courts where peasants could be tried by their seigneur, over 100,000 such courts. Peasants could be hanged for crimes such as ‘poaching’.

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21
Q

Outline the seigneurial system

A

A quasi-feudal arrangement with the land-holding lord, most working on the lord’s land were subsistence farmers legally bound to them. Owed them seigneurial dues, subject to a large range of taxes and rules.

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22
Q

Where did enlightenment debate take place?

A

Coffee houses, academies, salons and social gatherings. Freemasonry lodges too.

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23
Q

How did the number of freemasonry lodges increase?

A

From 1 in 1668 to 40 in 1744.

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24
Q

What was the literacy rate under the Ancien Regime?

A

Relatively high - around 60% in urban areas.

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25
Q

What did the Declaration of Independence draw upon?

A

1776, enlightenment ideas.

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26
Q

Outline the positives of the economy under the Ancien Regime

A

United, politically ‘'’stable’’’. Maize and potatoes becoming more common crops. Good roads thanks to corvee royale.

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27
Q

Outline the negatives of the economy under the Ancien Regime

A

Inefficient farming due to seigneurial system. Size of each holding decreased. Low yield farming and rural overproduction. Domestic economy overregulated. Many internal trade barriers.

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28
Q

How many units of measure were in use before 1789?

A

25,000

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29
Q

How many lived in towns and cities of over 2,000 under the Ancien Regime?

A

15%

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30
Q

How much did commerce increase by between 1715 and 1771?

A

8x

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31
Q

What was the population of France in the 1780s?

A

27 million, 3x that of UK.

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32
Q

How much did industry increase by from 1715 to 1771?

A

Doubled

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33
Q

Which time period saw the trade with colonies quadruple?

A

1715 to 1771.

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34
Q

When did the Ancien Regime have poor harvests?

A

1785-89, especially in 1788.

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35
Q

How did the Ancien Regime make money?

A

direct and indirect taxes, sales of offices, loans. Often a shortfall between expenditure and income.

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36
Q

What were some taxes of the Ancien Regime?

A

Taile personelle main tax, on value of posessions. Then capitation, poll tax, vingtieme, 5% levy.

37
Q

What was the Don Gratuit?

A

“Tax” paid by the church, self-calculated and very low compared to value of lands.

38
Q

List some indirect taxes

A

Gabelle on salt, tabac on tobacco, aides on consumer goods e.g wine, domaine on crown lands, traite custom duty, timbre stamp tax, octrois local customs duties.

39
Q

How much debt did Louis inherit?

A

2 billion livres

40
Q

How much debt was France in by 1764?

A

2.3 billion livres

41
Q

How much debt was France in after the Revolutionary War?

A

3.3 billion livres

42
Q

How much of government expenditure was on debt by 1780, and how much by 1788?

A

43% in 1780; 50.5% by 1788.

43
Q

Who was Turgot, and what were his ideas?

A

Controller-General 1774-1776, reformist. Believed economy would be better with less privilege. Pushed through cuts to royal expenditure. Made govt. depts. submit expenses. Reformed tax-farming

44
Q

When did Turgot resign?

A

May 1776, after being pressured by Marie-Antionette.

45
Q

What were Turgot’s policies?

A

Replaced many indirect taxes with a land tax, 1774 tried to establish free grain trade. 1776 six edicts - desire to tax all, abolish privilege and grant all the right to work. Opposed, especially edicts about abolishing corvee and reducing power of guilds.

46
Q

What was the Corvee Royale?

A

Forced, unpaid work peasants had to undergo; usually for maintenance of roads.

47
Q

When was Necker Controller-General?

A

1777-1781

48
Q

How did Necker reform royal accounting?

A

Restructured it - from 60 to 40 tax-farms, removed 48 “Recievers-general” of taxes, replaced with 12 officials.

49
Q

What were the drawbacks of Necker’s changes?

A

Removing venal officials reduced the amount of credit available to the crown.

50
Q

What were some of Necker’s policies?

A

Reducing royal household expenditure and expenditure on pensions, appointing salaried officials to run royal restates, removing vingtieme on industry.

51
Q

What was the Compte Rendu Au Roi?

A

1781 budget statement, sold 100,000 copies within weeks. Inaccurate, said France had a 10 million surplus instead of a huge deficit.

52
Q

Who forced Necker’s reisgnation?

A

Marie Antionette

53
Q

When was Calonne Controller-General?

A

1783-1787.

54
Q

What were some of Calonne’s policies?

A

He was a traditionalist - willing to support pensions and extravagant spending to cover up issues.

55
Q

Why was Parlement summoned in December 1785?

A

Summoned to Versailles to be lectured before agreeing to a loan that would keep finances afloat.

56
Q

What were Calonne’s 1786 reforms?

A

Implemented a general land tax and a survey of land-holdings. Added stamp duty. Ended corvee royale, replaced with a tax on landowners. Ended controls on grain trade. Removed all internal customs barriers.

57
Q

Why was the Assembly of Notables called?

A

Feb 1787, as Calonne’s reforms were controversial - supported by king but not nobles, needed to end the political deadlock.

58
Q

When and why was Calonne sacked?

A

April 1787, pressure from Marie-Antionette

59
Q

Who was at the Assembly of Notables?

A

144 men, including 7 princes of the blood, all parlement judges, 14 church reps and important nobles.

60
Q

What were the concerns of the Assembly of Notables?

A

Didn’t like plans to tax church. They were accused of self-interest, Calonne was then seen as despotic.

61
Q

What were the reforms of Brienne?

A

Reforms to army, navy, admin of royal domain, central govt, etc. Wanted tolerance of Protestants.

62
Q

What did Brienne want to do to provincial assmeblies?

A

Extend them and give local taxpayers the right to vote in these.

63
Q

What did Brienne try to implement, and how did the A o N respond?

A

Calonne’s land tax, the Assembly then started calling for an Estates-General.

64
Q

When was the AoN dismissed?

A

May 1787.

65
Q

When was the Clash with the Parlements?

A

May 1787 - May 1788.

66
Q

What did the Paris Parlement declare in the Clash?

A

July 1787, that it could not endorse tax changes or pass a land tax. Asserted right to speak for nation and speak against depotism.

67
Q

How did Louis respond to the Clash with the Parlements in July?

A

Issued a lit de Justice yet petitioned for an Estates-General.

68
Q

What did Louis do with Parlements in August 1787?

A

Banished the Paris Parlement to Troyes to distance it from Philippe, Duc’ d’Orleans and the public.

69
Q

What did Parlement issue in May 1788?

A

“Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom” - EG needed to pass any changes.

70
Q

What were the May edicts?

A

1788, created a new court appointed by king to register laws. Parlements would effectively lose power, forced through by Lit de Justice?

71
Q

What was the response to the May Edicts?

A

All-night protest in the Paris Parlement.

72
Q

When was the Revolt of the Nobles?

A

May-August 1788.

73
Q

What was the Revolt of the Nobles?

A

Court flooded with remonstrances, protests against lettres de catchet. Assembly of Clergy joined cries for EG.

74
Q

How much Don Gratuit did the Crown receive in 1788.

A

June 1788, 1/4 of the expected amount.

75
Q

When and what was the day of tiles?

A

June 1788. Royal troops / intendants in Grenoble were attacked with stones and roof tiles.

76
Q

When were payments from the royal treasury suspended?

A

June 1788.

77
Q

Why did Louis agree to call the EG by 1789?

A

Payments from the royal treasury had been suspended.

78
Q

When was France declared bankrupt?

A

August 1788

79
Q

When was Necker recalled, and what did he do?

A

25th August 1788, Rescinded May Edicts, raised some temporary loans then waited for the EG.

80
Q

What was the debate over voting in the EG?

A

Whether to vote by estate using the 1614 procedure or by head, where it would be fair for the 3rd estate.

81
Q

Which method of voting in the EG did the Paris Parlement support?

A

Sept 1788 supported by estate, made it unpopular among people.

82
Q

What was the state of EG voting by the end of 1788?

A

December King + Necker agreed on double representation for the 3rd, no agreement on by head or by estate.

83
Q

When was ‘What is the third estate?’ published

A

January 1789

84
Q

What was the Society of Thirty?

A

1789 group that worked to politicise the 3rd estate, would later become the Society of 1789, relatively moderate political club.

85
Q

What was the state of the economy by Spring 1789?

A

Parisian workers were spending 88% of their wages on bread and textiles production had fallen by 50%.

86
Q

What were the Cahiers de Doleances?

A

Grievances drawn up by the 3rd estate on their problems, showing political awareness and genuine hardship. January - April 1789.

87
Q

What did the Cahiers of the 1st estate show?

A

Interests of the parish clergy, mostly speaking out against pluralism and for more equality for who could become bishops - would give up Don Gratuit.

88
Q

What did the Cahiers of the 2nd estate show?

A

Liberal sentiment amongst nobles - 89% would give up financial privilege. Attacked injustice, said 3rd should be allowed to hold offices.

89
Q

When and what were the Revellion riots?

A

April 1789 after rumours that a wallpaper factory could cut wages; factory attacked.

French Rev Stuff (8 decks)

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