FRENCH REVOLUTION

Dismantling the Ancien régime

The assembly could not ask the King's troops to crush the peasants,because afterwards they might turn against the Assembly. But the assembly could not allow the anarchy in the countryside to continue.

The Revolution in the Provinces

'Municipal Revolution' throughout July 1789. News of the storming of the Bastille was known in the provinces between 16th and 19th July,depending on the distance from Paris. The authority of the King collapsed in most towns. His orders would now only be obeyed if they had been approved by the newly formed National Constituent Assembly. In some towns, the old council merely broadened its membership and carried on as before. Bordeaux- the electors of the Third Estate seized control. Lille,Rouen and Lyon, the old municipal corporations,which operated during the ancien regime and which excluded ordinary people were overthrown by force. Dijon and Pamiers- The former councils were allowed to stay in pffice,but were integrated into a Committee on which they were a majority. Citizens militias were set up in several towns,such as Marseille before the National Guard was formed in Paris. In Rouan, revolutionaries seized power at the beginning of July, before the revolt in the capital, followed food riots. In nearly every town a National Guard was formed,designed to control popular violence and prevent counter-revolution. Nearly all intendants abandoned their posts. The King had lost control of Paris and of the pronvincial towns.

Paul Hanson (2009)

'Older descriptions of Louis XVI as intellectually lazy isolated at Versailles, scarcely engaged with matters of state have given way to more flattering biographies that portray the King as devoted to his subjects, committed to reform, more the victim of circumstance than his own failings'

Rudé

'eager to bring about substantial reform in his own administration...had a high sense of personal responsibility'. Louis dreams were shattered because of the intransigence of the parlements, upper clergy and nobles who fought to protect their own interests and forced Turgot out of office within two years. Louis was high handed when he exiled the Paris Parlement in 1788,or called up the troops in 1789. When he was forced back down on these and similar occasions, he just looked ridiculous.

George Lefebvre (1939)

'lacking in will;honest and well-intentioned,he was far from being a great mind'.

Cobban

'one of the most uninterested and uninteresting spectators of his own reign'.

Peter Jones (2010)

'unlike his grandfather,took an intelligent,if fluctuating interest in matters of government'.

First estate (the clergy)

0.5% = 125,000 59,000 priests, 60,000 monks and nuns, 5000 non-beneficed people. Church owned 1/10 of land- largest landowner in France. Archbishop of Strasbourg (400,000 livres per annum), most cures between 700-1000. Extreme political power. Only Catholics had legal rights. 1787-Protestants were given full legal rights e.g. get married. 1789- Protestants given freedom of worship. Church controlled almost all education,most hospitals and poor relief. Extensive power of censorship- pulpits were used to publish the King's Government's messages. The clergy also dominated towns, running convents,seminaries,schools and hospitals. Countryside- the parishpriest (cure) was entitled to receive the tithe which was 1/10 of every persons livelihood,to support him. Some bishops held more than one diocese (PLURALITY) many never visited their diocese i.e abseentism. Made the church very unpopular with many ordinary people, who considered that bishops were more interested in wealth than the religious and spiritual needs of the people. Clergy did not pay taxes. The Church's General Assembly had managed to resist any attempts to take away their tax exemptions. Church made a voluntary annual grant of 16 million livres to the state (5% of total church income). Clergy were divided , lower clergy identified with the peasants and artisans and were often more hostile to their noble superiors.

The Second Estate

120,000, members of noble families. Less than 1% of the population, owned between 1/4 to 1/3 of all land in France. Exemption from doing military conscription but many volunteered to fight for France by buying commissions as Officers in the army and thus all offices were noble. Not in theory allowed to take part in industrial or commercial activities. Noblesse de Court- lived at Versailles,King's ministers,ambassadors,councillors and intendants. Access to the King gave nobles influence over government policy and access to royal patronage of lands,officers and money. Noblesse de Robe- lived throughout France (towns and cities). Nobles who purchased legal and administrative offices and carried out a hereditary title from the monarch. 1789- over 70,000. Buying a venal office or marriage-middle classes could join the nobility. Men from impoverished noble families married the daughters of rich commoners for their dowry. Gaining noble status was accessible: 30,000-50,000 during the 18th Century. No better off than the average bourgeoisie ,some were much poorer, and were named habereau by courtiers. Poor nobles- jealous of the court nobles' great wealth and access to royal patronage. Very protective of their own status-enforce feudal rights. Ever since the Frondes of the 17th century, the traditional nobility- the Noblesse d'Epee- had been excluded from political office and despite their status, still harboured direct grudges towards the monarchy. It was the noble's own vested interests , that had stood in the way of the reforms proposed by the King's Minister,Maupeou. Such developments weakened the monarchy by encouraging criticism and loss of respect, and also, ironically, damaged the position of the privileged classes that depended on the monarch. The Historians George Talyor and Guy Nogaret have shown, there was some who invested heavily in industry, particularly coal and textiles,and who therefore shared a similar lifestyle to the industrial bourgeoisie. They had little in common with the rich nobles who lived at courts or dominated the salons of Paris and again, neither shared the problems of some of the impoverished nobility of the provinces who were struggling to maintain a reasonable income from their estates.

The Legislative Assembly

13th September 1791- End of the Constituent Assembly. Final meeting was on the 30th September. 1st October- The first meeting of the new Legislative Assembly. Suspicion and hatred amongst the deputies had replaced the optimism of 1789. The king's reluctance to accept measures he disliked. Suspicions regarding the King's commitment to the revolution as revealed by the flight to varennes. The fear of counter-revolutionary plots. To prevent his political opponents in the Constituent Assembly from dominating the next assembly, Robespierre proposed a self-denying ordinance. This stated that no member of the Constituent Assembly, including Robespierre,could sit in the next Legislative Assembly. In the elections for the new Legislative Assembly, 29th August-5th September under a quarter of active citizens voted. The assembly of 745 members which was elected were almost wholly bourgeoisie. In front of the speaker gave rise to new political labels-left,right and centre. There were few nobles,most of whom had retired to their estates and kept themselves to themselves ,hoping for better times. Only 23 clergy were elected. No peasants or artisans and few business men. Three Broad Groups for deputies: 1. The Left: 136 deputies most of whom were members of the Jacobin Club. The most prominent were a small group of deputies from the Girond Department,known as the Girondins. 2. The Right- 264 deputies who were members of the Feuillant Club and considered the Revolution to be over. 3. The Centre- 345 deputies making up the largest group who were unattached.

The influence of the American War of Independence

1778-Louis had taken the fateful decision to enter the American War of Independence,fighting against Britain. The American colonies had been in revolt against Britain for over two years and many in France were sympathetic to the American colonist's pursuit of freedom (liberty) and democracy. Some idealistic French aristocrats, notably the Marquis de Lafayette had already crossed the Atlantic to enlist in the American Forces. Britain was defeated and the colonies got their independence. Some historians such as the American Forest Macdonald, have tried to show a connection between the return of French Soldiers from the American wars and the outbreak of rural violence in 1789. Although Macdonald's research has been questioned, there was a good deal of revolutionary fervor in the Ile de France which sent more troops to America than anywhere else. The educated classes were certainly interested. American federal and state constitutions were studied in the literacy societies of France. It is said that the American Declaration of Independence (1776) helped shape the revolutionary Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789). Coincidence of timing demonstrates a link, although it would seem that the economic impact was greater than the political and intellectual. The war forced the French Government to take out loans at interest rates that it could not afford. The costs of the war itself, coupled with the disruption to trade that followed, all helped weaken the monarchy and provoke the financial crisis of 1786-8, which preceded the political upheaval.

The Champs de Mars Massacre

17th July 1791- 50,000 people went to the Champs de Mars, a huge field in paris where the Feast of Federation,celebarting the fall of the Bastille,had been held three days previously. They were there to sign a republican petition on the 'altar of the father land'. Political demonstration by the poorer sections of the Paris population. The Commune,under pressure from the Assembly,declared martial law. They sent Lafayette with the National Guard to the Champs de Mars,where the guards fired on the peaceful and unarmed crowds. About 50 were killed. First bloody clash between different groups in the Third Estate. Martial Law remained in force for a month, during which time some popular leaders were arrested. Hebert,Danton and Marat amongst others fled or went into hiding. Took nearly a year for the popular movement to recover. As far as the extremists were concerned only the overthrow of the monarchy would satisfy their demands. The feuillants were more determined than ever to make an agreement with the King. Although they did not trust him and had lost popular support, for the moment they controlled Paris and the Assembly. Their longterm success depended on the co-operation of Louis.

1791

20-21 June: 'flight to Varennes' Louis escapes from Paris September-new constitution agreed by Louis November- Louis vetoes decrees against the emigres and non-juring priests

1792

20th April- Declaration of War against Austria 10th August- Storming of the Tuilleries,overthrow of the monarchy. November- Discovery of the 'armoire de fer' in the Tuilleries December-trial of Louis

The Tennis Court Oath

23rd June- The king decided to hold a royal session known as a séance royale, atteneded by all three estates when he would propose a series of reforms. 20th June- the deputies of the Third Estate found that the hall in which they met had been closed to prepare for the royal session. They were furious, They met instead on a Tennis Court nearby and made an oath not to disperse until they had given France a constitution, thus claiming a King had no right to dissolve them. Only one member voted against the motion: since only three days before 90 had voted against a motion to call themselves the National Assembly, it was clear that the deputies were rapidly becoming more radical.

The August Decrees

3rd August- Leaders for the Patriot Party drew up a plan for the liberal nobles to propose the dismantling of the Feudal system. 4th August 1789- the Vicomte de Noailles, followed by the Duc d'Augillon, one of the richest landowners in France, proposed that obligations relating to personal service should be abolished without compensation: these included serfdom and the corvée. Rights such as champart and lords et ventes were regarded as a form of property,and although proposed to be abolished were to be redeemed (paid for by the peasant). These dues affected the peasants more severely, so there was little satisfaction in the countryside with the limited nature of reforms. The decrees of 5th-11th August: 'The National Assembly abolishes the feudal system entirely. It decrees that, as regards to feudal rights and dues...those relating...to personal serfdom...are abolished without compensation: all the others are declared to be redeemable'. Other noble deputies began to renounce their privileges. These changes proposed were far more than the cahiers... 1. Tithes payable to the Church were abolished. 2. Abolition of Venality 3. All financial and tax privileges relating to landed persons was abolished. 4. All citizens to be equally taxed. 5. Special privileges (including tax exemption) for provinces, principalities, pays,cantons,towns and villages were abolished. 6. All citizens without distinction of birth were eligible for all offices-whether ecclesiastical,civil or military. When the assembly adjourned at 2am on 5th August the deputies were weeping for joy. One of the deputies Duquesnoy exclaimed 'What a nation! what glory. What honour to the French!'.

The reaction of the Monarchy

5th August- Louis wrote to the Archbishop of Arles 'I will never consent to the spoliation of my clergy and of my nobility. I will not sanction decrees but which they are despoiled'. He could not use force against the Assembly as the loyalty of the army was in doubt, many were sympathetic to the Revolution. Louis adopted a policy of non-cooperation and refused to officially support the August Decrees and the Declaration of Rights. The Assembly decided that the King should have a 'suspensive veto'- the power to suspend or delay all laws other than financial ones passed by the Assembly for a period of up to 4 years. It was agreed by the deputies that legislative power should reside with the National Assembly and that no taxes or loans could be raised without it's consent while 'supreme executive power resides exclusively in the King's hands'.

1774

Accession of Louis XVI following the death of his grandfather. Appoints Turgot as finance minister.

The constitution of 1791

An important aim of the Constituent Assembly was to draw up a constitution that would replace an absolute monarchy with a constitutional one. Power would pass from the constituent assembly (which would be dissolved) to a legislative assembly of 745 members. These members would be elected every two years and would have a significant power. The King would have a suspensive veto. There would be only one elected assembly. The King: 1. Had the right to appoint his ministers (although they could not be members of the Assembly) and military commanders. 2. Was given a suspensive veto, although this could not be applied to financial or constitutional matters such as new taxes. 3. Was dependent on the Assembly for his foreign policy, as he needed it's consent before he could declare war. 4. Agreed that his office, although hereditary, was subordinate to the Assembly, as it passed the laws which the King had to obey. 'In France there is no authority superior to the law.. it is only by means of the law that the King reigns'. September-Louis XVI reluctantly accepted the Constitution. Marie Antoinette's attitude was that it was 'so monstrous that it cannot survive for long'.

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Approved 12th July 1790 It reformed the Catholic Church in France, and adapted the organization of the Church to the administration framework of the local government. Dioceses were to coincide with departments. The number of bishoprics would be reduced from 135 to 83 There would not only be fewer bishops but fewer clergy generally, as all other clerical posts except for parish priests and bishops ceased to exist. The attempt to extend democracy to all aspects of government was also applied to the Church. 1. Each department would form a single diocese. 2. There would be no recognition of any bishop appointed by the Pope but not approved by the French State 3. All titles and Offices,, other than those mentioned in the Civil Constitution were abolished. 4. All priests and Bishops were to be elected to their posts 5. All elections were to be by ballot and by absolute majority of those who voted 6. Priests were to be paid by the state 7. There would be no abseentism by priests or bishops- no bishop was to absent from his diocese for more than 15 days consecutively in any year. Most clergy opposed the principle of election which was unknown in the Church, but even so the majority, (including many bishops) were in favour of finding a way of accepting the Civil Constitution and avoiding a split in the Church. They demanded that the reforms be submitted to be a national synod of the French Church. This would have made a compromise possible but the Constituent Assembly would not agree to this, as it believed that it would give the Church a privileged position in the State once again, something which had just been abolished.

The Oath of Loyalty

As a Church Assembly was not allowed to discuss the matter, the clergy waited for the Pope to give his verdict. He delayed the coming to a decision. The assembly grew tired of meeting and on 27th November 1790 decreed that clergy must take an oath to the constitution. This split the Clergy. 2?44 bishops and 1/3 of the other clergy took the oath, in the assembly. 7 bishops and 55% of the clergy took the oath. When the pope finally condemned the Civil Constitution in March and April 1791, many clergy who had taken the oath retracted it.

The Royal Government

Authority of the French Crown was not limited by any representative body. The personality and character of the ruler is very important,sets the tone for the style of government. Louis XV in 1766 'sovereign power resides in my person alone...the power of the legislation belongs to me alone'.

How significant was the Flight to Varennes

Before leaving,Louis had drawn up a proclamation to the French People which set out in great detail his true feelings regarding the developments that had taken place. 'The King does not think it would be possible to govern so large and important a kingdom as France by the means established by the National Assembly such as they exist at present'. Significance- In the declaration it is obvious that Louis had failed to understand the popularity of the change which had taken place in 1789. It became clear that once again that the French People would have to make choices that many of them would have preferred to avoid. Louis in his declaration had emphatically renounced the Revolution. Could he continue as head of state The credibility of the new constitution was undermined before it had ever been implemented. Support for a Republic started to grow, while the popularity of the King declined. 24th June- 30,000 people marched to the National Assembly in support of a petition from the Cordeliers Club calling for the King's dismissal.

The Nationalization of Church Land

By September- the Government was facing a serious financial crisis. Tax revenue was not flowing in and the Government was unable to raise a loan. Many in the Assembly were contemplating radical action against the Church-one of the largest landowners in the country. Debates through late October and early November 1789 , the assembly agreed on 2nd November 1789 that all the property owned by the Church should be placed at the disposal of the Nation. Church land was nationalized. The state would assume responsibility for looking after the clergy and carrying out their work with the poor Bonds called Assignats were issued and sold to back up the sale of church land. These were used to settle debts and for purchasing goods and were accepted as currency. Royal land was also sold. It was anticipated that the sale of Church and royal land would raise around 400 million livres.

Conclusion

By the 1780's there was economic hardship,social discontent and a good deal of resentment within French Society. Intellectual climate that fostered criticism of a monarch moulded in the absolutist tradition. Rudé 'It is doubtful whether any intelligent person living in 1787 could have found good reason to predict that a revolution was close at hand'. Bankruptcy in 1788 precipitated the revolution, but then then the French Government might have weathered the Storm but for the failure of the harvest and the agricultural crisis that followed. To the political and financial crisis was added a social and economic crisis because of long-term developments in the economy and disastrous harvest of 1788. The calling of the Estates-General focused attention on grievances and forced the various parties to define their positions and expectations-most practically in the cahiers. Alignments changed after the Estates-General met.

Popular discontent in rural and urban areas

By the start of 1790 many peasants became disillusioned with the Revolution. Their feudal dues were not abolished outright. Rural Revolution began in 1790 in Brittany, in Central France and in the South-East. Lasted until 1792 and placed pressure on the Jacobins. Peasants fixed the price of grain,called for the sale of Church Land in small lots and attacked chateaux. The rising in the midi (Languedoc,Provence and the Rhone Valley) in 1792 was as important as any in 1789. These risings and the detioriorating military situation contributed to the most serious crisis of the Revolution. 10th August 1792- Louis was deposed and shortly afterwards all feudal and seigeneurial dues which could not be justified were abolished without compensation by the Jacobins.

The Political Crisis (1787-8)

Calonne was replaced by one of the Notables,Loménie de Brienne,Archbishop of Toulouse,while another Notable Lamoignon,President of the Parlement of Paris,become head of the Judiciary. The Assembly of Notables proved to be no more co-operative with Brienne than it had been with Calonne. Brienne retained Calonne's land tax and introduced a number of new reforms following on from Necker's earlier plans. There was to be an end to Venal financial offficials, a new central treasury established,laws codified in a printed form accessible to those who needed to consult them, the educational system reformed, religious toleration introduced and the army made more efficient and expensive. When Brienne presented this reforms to the Parlement of Paris for registration they refused and said that only the Estates-Generals who represented the whole nation could consent to any new taxes. Louis' reaction was to exile the Parlement to Troyes on the 15th August. There were subsequent riots in some of Provincial capitals where the Parliament met,such as Rennes in Brittany and Grenoble in Dauphine. In all parts of the country nobles met in unauthorized assemblies to discuss action in support of the Parlements. An assembly of the clergy also joined in on the side of the Parlements, breaking it's long tradition of loyalty to the Crown. It condemned the reforms and voted a don gratuit of less than a quarter the size requested by the crown. Despite being fragmented and dispersed Opposition continued because of the collapse of the government's finances. August 1788- The royal treasury was empty. Brienne agreed with Louis's reluctant approval, to summon the Estates-General for 1st May 1789. 16th August 1788- He suspended all payments from the royal treasury, in effect acknowledging that the Crown was bankrupt. 1787- The Navy Minister, the Marquis de Castries told the King 'As a Frenchman I want the Estates-General, as a minister I am bound to tell you that they might destroy your authority'. September 1788- Louis was forced to back down and allow the Paris Parlement to return. Following the resignations of Brienne and Lamoignan, the King recalled Necker, in the belief that he was the only one who could restore the government's credits and raise new loans. Necker abandoned his predeccessors reform plans and indicated he would try and raise new loans and do nothing until the Estates-General met. The Crisis had shown the limitations of royal power. Although Louis was in effect, an absolute ruler, in reality he was unable to impose his government's reforms on the State. The Forces of Opposition detected clear signs of weakness in the Crown. The failure to secure reform contributed to a paralysis of the government.

July 17th 1791

Champs de Mars Massacre

The sale of Church Land

Church Land was nationalized on 2nd November 1789 and assignats were introduced. The National Assembly had three main reasons... 1. To provide money for the state in the period before the new fairer taxation system was introduced. 2. To guarantee the success of the Revolution since those who bought Church Lands would have a vested interest in maintaining the revolutionary changes, and would be more likely to oppose a restoration of the ancient regime, which might lead to the Church recovering it's land. 3. It was also hoped that the clergy would support the new regime, as they would be dependent on it for salaries. The Government would issue bonds,known as assignats, which the public could buy and use for the purchase of Church lands. April 1790- The Assembly converted the bonds into paper money, which could be used in all financial transactions.

November 2

Church Property nationalised

July 12th 1791

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

The rise of the Jacobins and the Cordeliers

Clubs were established to support the popular movement. Set up soon after the Estates-General met in May 1789. They provided a stage from which speakers could debate the great issues of the day.

Marie-Antoinette

Daughter of the Empress Marie Theresa of Austria. Austria was blamed for France's defeat in the Seven Years War in 1763. Austria was the traditional enemy of France and she was often called 'l'autrichienne'. Her reputation came under attack in the 1780's in a pamphlet called Le Lever d'Aurore (author was identified and imprisoned). Rumours continued to circulate.

1790- May 21st

Creation of the Paris sections

August 26th 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

November 9th 1791

Decree against émigrés (vetoed by Louis on 12th November)

August 4th 1789

Decrees dismantling feudalism passed

The right to vote

Deputies did not intend that those who had taken part in the popular protests should have a direct role in government. December 1789- a law introduced the concept of 'active citizens'. Men over 24 who paid the equivalent of three days labour in local taxes. In 1789 this was roughly 4.3 million. Citizens who did not pay this were known as 'passive citizens'. The only active citizens could do was vote for 'electors'. Electors paid 10 days labour in local taxes. About 50,000 men who elected members of the canton and department assemblies and could become officials there. They elected deputies to the National Assembly. To become a deputy in the National Assembly an 'active citizen' had to pay at least a marc d'argent the equivalent to 54 days manual labour. Still heavily weighted to the wealthy 61% of Frenchmen had the right to take part in some elections. In England it was only 4%. At local level- Most Peasants could vote and were qualified to stand for office. Before 1789 government officials ran the provincial administration, where there was no elected council. 1790- There was no government officials at the local level as they were totally replaced.

Great Fear

Despite hundreds of Chateaux being ransacked and set on fire, landowners or their agents were killed only when they resisted. 20th July 1789- The attacks on the Chateuax became known as the grande peur which lasted until 6th August 1789. They began with local rumors that bands of brigands, who were being paid by the aristocracy were going to destroy the harvest. The peasants took up arms waiting for the brigands, who were payed by the aristocracy were going to destroy the harvest. The peasants took up arms waiting for the brigands before turning to the Landlords. Areas such as Brittany, Alsace and the Basque region were unaffected.

March 2nd 1791

Dissolution of the Guilds

May 5th 1789

Estates-General meet at Versailles

1793-21st January

Execution of the King

July 17th 1793

Final abolition of Feudalism in France

March 1792

Guillotine to be used for all public executions

Vingtième

Five percent tax on income Direct Third Estate

June 20th 1791

Flight to Varennes

Gwynne Lewis

Focuses on political and cultural issues such as the nature of absolutism and the role of the Church. Lewis' main criticism of the Revisionist historians is the way in which they have tended to down-play the importance of social causes of the Revolution.

Short term causes of the French Revolution

Foreign Policy The Financial Crisis The Economic Crisis The Political Crisis

July 10th 1789

Formation of the citizen's militia

The Cordeliers Club

Founded in April 1790 More radical than the Jacobin Club and had no membership fee. Objected to the distinction between 'active and 'passive' citizens. Favoured... 1. Direct Democracy where voters choose deputies 2. The recall of deputies to account for their actions, if these went against the wishes of the people. 3. The right of insurrection- rebellion, if a government acted against popular wishes. Much support from working classes. Leaders were bourgeoisie- Georges Danton et Camille Desmoulins were lawyers. Jacques- Rene Herbert was an unsuccessful writer who had become a journalist when freedom of the press was allowed. Brisot was also a journalist Most notorious writer was Marat, a failed doctor turned radical journalist. he hated all those who had enjoyed priveleges under the Ancien Regime and attacked them violently in his newspaper L'ami de Peuple. He was chief spokesman of the popular movement. Winter of 1790-1: The example of the Cordeliers Club led to the formation of many 'popular' or 'fraternal' socities which were soon to be found in every district in Paris and several provincial towns. 1791- The Cordeliers Club and the popular societies formed a federation and elected central committee. The members of the popular societies were drawn mainly from the liberal professions such as teachers and officals,and skilled artisans and shopkeepers. Labourers had no time for politics so did not join.

Economic Reforms

French economic process as much slower than the rpaid progress in Britain. Restrictive social structures and internal barriers inhibited economic development. All the deputies in the Constituent Assembly had a laissez faire attitude. They introduced free trade in grain in August 1789 and removed price controls. This was extended to other products in 1790-1, but this was not desired by the people. The people wanted the price and distribution of all essential goods to be controlled, in order to avoid scarcity,high prices and possible starvation. October 1790- Internal tarrifs were abolished, so a national market was created.

1778

French soldiers join American War of Independence.

D.M.G Sutherland

Identifies the Civil Constitution of the Clergy as one of the great crises of the Revolution. The decision to reform the Catholic Church was notable for the boost it gave the counter-revolution, because it provided it with a popular base. The large numbers of ordinary peasants in various parts of rural France were mobilized by refractory priests to oppose the Revolution.

Reforming the Taxation System

Indirect taxes-aides,traites,Octrois,Gabelle The state monopoly on growing,distributing and selling tobacco. The old Direct Taxes-taille,capitation and vingtièmes. Establishing the new direct taxes- - The contribution foncière (land tax from which there was no exemptions or special privileges) The contribution mobilière- a tax on movable goods such as grain payable by active citizens. The patente- a tax on commercial profits Citizens would pay according to their ability to do so The new taxes would be collected by the municipal councils. It did not work because there was no systematic valuation of the land and a large number of officials were needed. But this would have cost the assembly too much. A survey of land values were not begun until 1807 and were not completed until the 1830's. Meanwhile the new tax rolls were based on those under the ancient regime, so there were great regional variations. People in the Seine-et-Marne department, paid five times as much in taxes as those in the Ariège. It was also easier to avoid paying direct taxes than indirect taxes as it is easier to hide income than goods. The new system benefitted the poor, as the burden of taxation fell on producers rather than consumers, with the abolition of indirect taxes. All property and income was to be taxed on the same basis. No longer privileges or exemptions. Citizens would pay according to their means.

The ancient régime

Invented by Comté de Mirabeau (1790). Absolute monarchy- no legal limits to his power over his subjects. Louis' power was based upon the consent of the noble elite and bound by the laws and customs of the Kingdom. Louis decided government policy. Difficult to bring around the reforms. Huge variation in laws and customs around France. No representative body which could pass laws covering the whole country. France's Kings had won control of new territories but allowed these areas to keep local laws and customs. France had many different forms of administration,legal systems, different taxes and different rules on who paid them. The country was split into 36 generalities or Administrative areas ,each under the control of an intendant who was responsible for carrying out the policies of the King's government in his region. Often unpopular and constantly hindered by local law courts and local Parlements. The Paris Parlement had to register each royal deity issued by the King before it could become law. Louis could over-ride their objections by using a special royal session know as a lit de justice but if he did that too often,confidence in the power of the King's government would weaken and raising money would become increasingly expensive and difficult.

The revolutionary clubs

Kept the public informed on the major issues of the day,supported election candidates and acted as pressure groups to influence deputies in the assembly and to promote actions which the deputies seemed reluctant to undertake. Provided education in political participation.

Consequences of the Flight

King lost what remained of his popularity Royal inn signs and street names disappeared all over Paris. His flight persuaded many who had hithero supported him that he could no longer be trusted. People started to talk of openly replacing the monarchy with a republic. The deputies wanted to save the monarchy and did not want a republic. They feared that the declaration of a republic would lead to civil war and war with European monarchs. Nor did they want to concede victory to the radicals, one deputy asked 'Are we going to end the Revolution or are we going to start it again?' 16th July- The assembly voted to suspend the King until the constitution was completed. Governing without head of state would encourage those who favored republicanism. He would be restored only after he had sworn to observe it. 290 deputies abstained from voting as a protest. Some viewed it as too far and some not far enough. After the flight to Varennes, radicals were appalled when the King was not dethroned or put on trial. Their anger was directed against the Constituent Assembly,which they claimed no longer represented the people. The Cordeliers took the lead with the popular societies and persuaded the Jacobins to join them in supporting a petition for the King's despotism. This split the Jacobin Club. Those who did not want the King disposed- and this included nearly all the members who were deputies-left the Club. They set up a new club ( the Feuillants) which for the moment had control of the Assembly. Robespierre remained as a leader of the small group of radical members. Only 72 of the Provincial Jacobin Clubs in France defected from the control of the Parisian Club, and most of these drifted back in the next few months.

Limitations to Louis' power

Kings were bound by the laws and customs of the Kingdom Many independent bodies such as the Assembly of Clergy which had rights and privileges guaranteed by law. The King could not interfere with these The King had to consult his council of ministers and advisers to make laws Considerable power was in the hands of a few The most important was the Controller-General who was in charge of royal finances.

Louis' weaknesses

Lacked confidence and failed to control the competing noble factions at court. Lacked self-confidence and appeared austere. Failed at crucial times to give the necessary support to reforming ministers. Strong sense of his own divine right and tried to maintain the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV,even in the atmosphere of Enlightenment and reform before the outbreak of the revolution. His indecisiveness did not ride easily alongside his attempt to retain absolute status. He failed to support his ministers' schemes for reform in 1788,until it was too late, and the government was paralysed by Louis' failure to rule on the voting procedure in June 1789. He appeared unable to see the likely consequences of his own actions and his gathering of troops and abrupt dismissal of Necker in July 1789 led directly to the storming of the Bastille. His constant double-dealings and intrigue made the revolutionaries doubt his sincerity.

Taille

Land Tax Direct Third Estate

The Popular movement

Late June- journalists and politicians established a permanent headquarters in the Palais Royal in Paris, home of the Duc d'Orleans. Each night thousands of ordinary Parisians gathered to listen to revolutionary speakers such as Camille Desmoulins. It was the unofficial headquarters of the popular movement whose activities were directed through it's speakers. 11th July- Louis had about 25,000 troops in total located in the Paris-Versailles area. The King dismissed Necker who at the height of his popularity and was considered the minister who could tackle the financial crisis. The deputies of the Estates-General expected Louis to use force to dissolve the Assembly and arrest it's leading members.News of Necker's dismissal reached Paris on 12th July-inspired large scale demonstrations against the King. Speakers encouraged citizens to take arms themselves. There were clashes with royal troops guarding the Tuilleries. When the Gardes-Francaises were ordered to withdraw from Paris many disobeyed their orders and deserted to the Representatives of the people of Paris. Discipline in this elite unit deteriorated rapidly. Crowds of poor people attacked the hated customs posts that surrounded Paris and imposed duties on goods,including food entering the city. 40/54 posts were destroyed. Barricades were thrown up on 13th July across many streets in Paris to impede the movement of royal troops.

George Lefebvre and Albert Sobul

Lefebvre regarded the French Revolution as a bourgeosis one. The commercial and industrial bourgeoisie had been growing in importance in the eighteenth century and had become stronger economically than the nobility. Yet they were kept out of positions of power by the privileged nobility. According to Marxists a class struggle developed between the rising bourgeoisie and the declining aristocracy. The bourgeoisie won this struggle because the monarchy became bankrupt owing to the cost of war in America. The French Revolution was according to Lefebvre a struggle for equal rights.

September 14th 1791

Louis accepts the new constitution

The Flight to Varennes

Louis regretted his acceptance of the civil constitution of the clergy. He decided to flee from Paris,where he felt restricted by the Constituent Assembly , to Montmedy in Lorraine,on the border of Luxembourg, and put himself under the protection of the military commander in that area. He hoped that from a position of strength, he would be able to renegotiate with the Constituent Assembly, the parts of the constitution that he disliked. Louis left Paris with his family on 20th June 1791. He reached Varennes during the night of 21st-22nd June, he was recognized by the local postmaster,Drouet and stopped. He was brought back to Paris. Louis' youngest brother the Comte de Provence was luckier than the King. He also fled from Paris on 20th June with his wife but he arrived safely in Brussels the next day.

1788

Louis sends the Parlement of Paris into exile causing popular disturbances/agrees calls for summoning of Estates-General.

The Taxation system

Main direct tax was the taille. Payable by anyone who did not belong to one of the privileged estates. Many inhabitants of towns had been granted exemption by the crown so the burden fell only on the peasantry. Not everyone was taxed equally and this created resentment. Indirect taxes were levied on goods not incomes. They was a considerable burden on those on low incomes but brought in a great deal of income for the Crown. Taxes were collected by a chaotic and inefficient system known as tax farming. The Farmers-General that collected the indirect taxes for the government. They paid the state an agreed sum and kept the rest for themselves. The French Government never received enough money from taxes to cover it's expenditure and had to borrow. Interest rate payments became a large part of government debt. Taxes were collected by officials who through venality had brought their titles and could not be dismissed. 1774, Louis appointed Turgot as Controller-General. He was influenced by the ideas of the Philosophes and embarked on a reform programme. His attempts to abolish the trade guilds and the corvée and to reform the tax system provoked such a storm of protest from the Parlements and other interested parties that Louis withdrew his support and Turgot left office. Because of the system of exemptions the crown was denied an adequate income with which to govern. The issue of taxation weakened the crown and created resentment among the Third Estate.

The Legal System

Many features of the legal system were abolished in 16th August 1970... - The different systems of law in the north and the south of the country - The different types of law court- The Parlements, seigneurial and ecclesiastical courts. - The lettres de cachet, in place of the old structure, a new uniform system,based on the administrative divisions of the reformed local government. MAIN FEATURES OF THE NEW SYSTEM... 1. In each canton there was to be a justice of peace, dealing with cases previously held by seigneurial courts. 2. The justice's main task was to persuade the different parties to come to an agreement; he could also judge minor civil cases, such as trespass without appeal. 3. Serious civil cases such as property disputes were dealt with in a district court. 4. A criminal court would be located in each department, where trails would be held in public before a jury. The idea of having a jury, like that of justices of the peace, was taken from English Law. 5. At the head of the judicial system was a Court of Appeal, whose judges were elected by the department assemblies. 6. All judges are elected by active citizens but only those who had been lawyers for five years were eligible. This ensured that judges were well qualified and reasonable. The Penal Code was made more humane: torture and mutilation were abolished. Anyone arrested had to be brought before a court within 24 hours. The number of capital crimes were vastly. March 1972- a new and efficient method of execution- 'the guillotine' was approved by the Legislative Assembly. Replaced all other forms used on those condemned to death, it's first used in April 1792. The concept that justice was made free and equal was very popular. The Constituent Assembly wanted to create a Church that was... 1. Free from abuses such as absenteeism and plurality. 2. Free from foreign (papal) control-independent of Rome 3. Democratic 4. Linked to a new system of local government- primarily the department 5. Linked more closely to the State in order to strengthen the Revolution. The Deputies wanted to extend to religion the principles they applied elsewhere They had no intentions of interfering with the doctrines of the Church and it's spiritual functions August 1789- the Assembly abolished the tithe,annates and pluralism. It ended the privileges of the Church, such as it's right to decide for itself how much tax it would pay. Most Parish Clergy supported these measures. They also accepted the sale of Church Lands,because they would be paid more than they had been under the ancient regime. February 1790- A decree distinguished between monastic orders which did not work in the community and those which provided education and charity. Monastic orders were suppressed as they made no direct contribution to the common good December 1789- Decree passed which gave civil rights to Protestants. These rights were extended to Jews in September 1791.

1789

May-Louis opens the Estates-General at Versailles. 14th July- storming of the Bastille- Louis records 'rien' in his diary. October- Royal family brought forcibly to Paris.

The meeting of the Estates-General

Met on 5th May 1789, the Government had the opportunity to take control of the situation. The third estate lacked experience and had no recognised leaders,would have supported the King if he had promised reforms, but the government put forward no programme. Necker talked about making taxation fairer but did not mention any other. Nothing was said about a new constitution, which all the cahiers had demanded. There was discussion about whether the Estates-General should meet as one body and vote by head. The nobles rejected the Third Estate's demand and declared themselves a separate order by 188 votes to 46,as did the clergy but with a slender majority of 19. The Third Estate refused to do anything until the other two orders joined them, so weeks of inaction followed, with the government failing to provide any leadership. 10th June- Third Estate passed a motion that it would begin verifying the deputies credentials, even if the other two orders did not accept theie invitation to join in. A trickle of priests joined the Third Estate in the following days. After a debate on 15th June, the deputies of the Third Estate on 17th June voted by 490 to 90 to call themselves the National Assembly. The Third Estate claimed that as it represented the majority of the nation, it had the right to manage its affairs and decide taxation. 19th June- The clergy voted to join the Third Estate.

J.H.Shennan

Most likely cause of the Revolution is the long-term problems and resentments due to the events preceding 1789. Most important reasons in the 1770s and 1780s were finance and Government. The financial problems were the American War of Independence and bad harvests and the subsequent steep increases in the price of breads. Another factor, was the permanent problem posed by conservative social and political order which prevented the rich land of France developing and the fact that the government was constantly starved of income.

June 17th 1789

National Assembly proclaimed

1789 November 2nd

Nationalization of Church Property

27th May 1792

New Decree against refractory priests

The Economic Crisis in Paris

Normally a worker spent up to 50% of his income on bread. (August 1788- 1.8kg loaf was 9 sous). March 1789- a Parisian worker could be spending 88% of his wages on bread. Hardship and unrest among the Parisian population. 28th April - the premises of a prosperous wallpaper manufacturer, Réveillon, were set on fire, following a rumour that he was going to reduce wages. This riot was more a violent protest against the scarcity and high price of bread than a protest against wages. At least 50 people were killed or wounded by troops. Economic issues were creating dissatisfaction and discontent. This was harnessed by political opponents of the King who brought crowds onto the streets to save the National Assembly. Contributed to the emergence of a 'popular movement'. Protests among workers and small traders were directed against the government because of it's inability to deal with the economic crisis.

1787

Notables reject Louis' reform proposals.

Two Churches

Now there was two Catholic Churches in France. One was the constitutional Church, which accepted the Revolution but was rejected by Rome. The other was a non-juring Church of 'refractory' priests,approved by the Pope but regarded by patriots as rejecting the Revolution. Nigel Aston, a modern historian: 'Faced with what was crudely reduced to a stark choice between religious and revolution, half the adult population ( and the great majority of women) rejected revolution'. Rise of the counter-revolution which was now receiving mass support. It had been supported only by a few royalists and émigrés. In the most strongly Catholic areas- the west,north-east and south of the massif central- very few clergy took the oath. 27th May 1792- The Legislative Assembly attempted to take a firmer line with those priests who refused to take the oath by passing a measure which enabled their deportation, if 20 citizens were prepared to denounce them. Villagers complained that the Assembly was trying to change their religion especially when refractory priests were expelled. This and other factors such as Conscription led to unrest and open revolt in 1973 in areas such as the Vendée. This led to the civil war.

October 5-6 1789

October days

Abbé Sieyès

One of the main constitutional planners of the revolutionary period. He declared that he survived the Terror and helped draw up the Constitutions linked the Revolution and was one of it's most influential political thinkers. 1787- Elected as clerical representatives at the provincial Assembly of Orleans, where he was particularly interested in issues relating to taxation, agriculture and poor relief. 1789- Published a highly influential pamphlet 'what is the third estate?' in which he argued that it was the most important part of the nation. Represented the Third Estate of Paris in the Estates-General. Drew up the Tennis Court Oath and contributed to the declaration of the Rights of Man. 1792- Elected to the Convention and voted for the King's execution but took no active part in the terror. 1793- Following Thermidor he served on the CPS 1794- Elected to the council of 500 1798- Appointed Ambassador to Berlin 1799-Elected Director and plotted the Coup de Brumaire with Bonaparte. Left public office during the Napoleonic Empire and retired from public life.

The Jacobin Club

Originated in meetings of radical Breton deputies with others of similar views. When the Assembly moved to Paris after the October days these deputies and their supporters rented a room from the monks of a Jacobin convent in the Rue Saint-Honore. Their official title was 'society of the Friends of the Constitution'. Members debated measures that were to come before the Assembly. The Jacobin Club set a high entrance fee for it's members. There were 1200 by July 1790 and they came mainly from the wealthiest sections of society. They associated themselves with the ideas of the physiocrats. They raised no serious objections to the introduction of free trade in grain, or the abolition of guilds in 1791. They started to move towards accepting a more controlled economy which can be explained by the problems posed by war a counter revolution. Jacobin ideology was based upon a combination of Enlightenment thought and revolutionary practice. they came to reject he notion of monarchy. They moved further to the left in the summer of 1792, they favored increased centralization of government in order to defend the Republic. By the end of 1793, there were over 2000 Jacobin Clubs across France. 1790-1799, the movement involved 2% of the population (500,000). They enabled for the first time large numbers of people to become directly involved in politics.

The gradual spread of ideas which started to challenge this structure

Over the 18th Century, there emerged in Europe an intellectual movement of writers and thinkers known as the enlightenment. It questioned religion,nature and absolute monarchy. Voltaire,Montesqui and Roussueau. many of them contributed to the most important work of the enlightenment- the Encylopaedia edited by Diderot, 1752. Not prepared to accept tradition or revelation as in the Bible as a sufficient reason. In favour of liberty- press,speech,trade,freedom from arbitrary arrest, equality before the law. Attacked the Church and the despotic government. Condemned the Catholic Church because it was wealthy,corrupt and intolerant. Took up Volatire's cry of 'Ecrasez l'infame'. Not opposed to the regime and not revolutionary. Did affect the Revolution, as their ideas attacked all the assumptions that the ancien regime was based on. Challenged and helped undermine the position of the Church and the role of the King as god's servant. Although literacy was rising, the philosophes did not enjoy mass readership and even political pamphlets had a limited circulation. As the spirit of criticism increased, so did censorship and control. None of them questioned the institution of monarchy, apart from Rousseau.

1781

Publication by Necker of the Compte Rendu- suggesting royal finances are in surplus.

August 16th 1791

Reorganization of the Judiciary

Buying Church Land

Sales of land in 1791-2 were brisk Haute-Marne,nearly 39,000 hectares of Church land, representing 1/10 of the arable land in the department, were sold. Mainly benefitted the bourgeoisie who had ready cash. The biens nationaux were sold off in large plots. Members of the bourgeosisie brought most of the available land near the towns. Peasants bought land further away. George Lefebvre found that 25% of the Church Land had been sold by 1799. Peasants had bought 52% and the bourgeoisie 48%. 1/3 of the peasants were first time owners ,so land did not only go to the wealthy. The Bourgeoisie often resold it in smaller quantities to peasants. Number of peasant smallholders increased by a million between 1789-1810

Gabelle

Salt tax Indirect Everyone

Control of the new councils

South-Bourgeoisie landowners controlled the new councils. North- the Bourgeoisie was largely urban and took office in the towns,which left the rural communes in the hands of the laboureurs,small merchants and artisans. 1789-99,about a million people were elected to councils. Councils had to assess and collect direct taxes,maintain law and order,carry out public works, see to the upkeep of churches and control the National Guard . Later they had to administer the clerical oath of loyalty, register births and marriages and deaths, requisition grain and keep a watch of people suspected of opposing the Revolution. Often impossible in the villages to fill the councils with men who could read and write, in rural places, commune duties were carried out badly. In strongly Catholic areas officials disliked persecuting priests who had refused to take the oath of loyalty. Consequently, many resigned and areas were left without any effective local government.

July 20th 1789

Start of the Great Fear

Significance of the decrees

Started the process of dismantling the ancient regime Marked the end of noble power and privilege of birth establishing a society based on civil equality. All Frenchmen had the same duties and rights, could enter any profession according to their ability and would pay the same taxes. The career open to talent benefitted the Bourgeosie rather than the peasants or workers,who lacked education. The peasants were committed to the new regime as it removed their feudal obligations. They did not like having to compensate landowners for the loss of their feudal dues. Many stopped paying them until they were finally abolished without compensation in 1793. Peasants in the Vendée and Britain were to become active opponents of the Revolution. The Revolution marked the end of the feudal system and they feared that if they did not support the changes, then aristocratic privilege and the tithe would return and they would lose all they had gained. The August Decrees swept away institutions like the provincial estates and cleared the way for a national uniform system of Administration. The assembly now began to replace institutions and often personnel relating to local government,law, financier and the Church (whose income was halved by the loss of the tithe, so that it could no longer carry the burden of funding education, hospitals and poor relief) and the armed forces. Widespread fear of an aristocratic plot

Nigel Aston

Supports McManner's view that the Church on the eve of the Revolution

Aidas

Tax on Food and Drink Indirect Everyone

Octrois

Tax on goods entering a town Indirect Everyone

Capitation

Tax on people-poll tax Direct In theory second and third estates

June 20th 1789

Tennis Court Oath

The reform programmes of the National Assembly

The Assembly set about reorganizing how France was governed, it's legal system and the finances, taxes and economy of the country. They tried to apply the principles of the Declaration of Rights to give France, a uniform,decentralized Representative and humanitarian system which treated people equally and with dignity. Many deputies had been affected by the enlightenment and wished to end cruelty, superstition and poverty. By the end of 1789 most people wanted a constitutional monarchy. The main areas of change: 1. Local Government 2. Taxation and Finance 3. The economy 4. The legal system 5. The Church 6. The Constitution

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

The August Decrees prepared for the creation of the Constitution. Before the Constitution the deputies drew up the principles on which it should be based- the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. It condemned the practices of the ancient regime and outlined the rights of citizens, as demanded in the cahiers of all three orders. 1. All men are born free and equal,in their rights. 2. The main rights of man are Liberty, Property and Security and resistance to oppression. 3. Power (sovereignty) rests with the people 4. Freedom of worship 5. Freedom of Expression-speech and publication. 6. Taxation to be borne by all in proportion to their means. 7. Freedom to own property. The declaration mainly represented the interests of the property-owning bourgeoisie. Historian George Rudé 'it sounded the death knell of the ancien régime,while preparing the public for the constructive legislation that was to follow'.

The Historians

The French 'liberal-monarchists' of 1815-30,including Adolphe Thiers,Germaine de Stael and Francois Mignet, approved of the early stages of revolution but condemned the Republic and the Terror. Later 'liberal' or, in Britain 'Whiggish' historians, the most famous representative of whom as was Alexis de Tocqueville, favoured the 'freedom' brought by the revolution in principle but were suspicious of the notion of 'equality'. The 'Liberal-democratic' historians ,beginning with Jules Michelet (1856), favoured all revolutionary developments, including the birth of the Republic F. Aulard (1901), who set a new standard of scholarship by his systematic and critical use of sources, also belonged to this group.

Electing the deputies

The Government did not make any attempt to influence the elections to the to the Estates-Generals and had no candidates of its own. The Government believed the deputies chosen would be sympathetic to the King. For the First Estate, the clergy overwhelmingly elected parish priests to represent them: only 51 of the 291 deputies were bishops. For the Second Estate, the majority of noble deputies were from old noble families in the provinces, many of them poor and conservative, but 90/182 could be classed as liberals . The 580 deputies elected to represent the Third Estate were educated, articulate and well-off because deputies were expected to pay their own expenses. Peasants and Artisans could not afford this. Not a single urban worker or peasant was elected. The largest group of Third Estate deputies were venal office holders(43%) followed by lawyers (35%)although 2/3 deputies had some legal qualification. Only 13% were from trade and industry. The industrial middle class did not pay a leading role in events leading to the Revolution or indeed in the Revolution itself. All the adult male members of the two privileged orders had a vote for electing their deputies. Frenchmen over the age 25 were entitled to vote in a primary assembly, either of their parish of their urban guild,if they paid taxes. At these primary assemblies they would choose Representatives who in turn elected the Deputies.

1785

The affair of the Diamond Necklace tarnished the royal family.

The significance of the storming of the Bastille

The King had lost control of Paris, where the electors set up a commune to run the city. Lafayette was appointed commander of the predominantly Bourgeois National Guard. The Assembly (on 9th July had taken the name of the National Constituent Assembly) prepared to draw up a constitution, no longer under threat of being dissolved by the King. Real power had passed from the King to the Elected representatives of the people. Louis had to share power with the National Assembly. Louis could no longer dictate to the Assembly because he could not rely upon the army. The news of the Bastille falling spread throughout France and intensified activity amongst the peasants. The revolt of Paris led to the emigration of some nobles,led by the King's Brother, the Comte d'Artois. 20,000 emigres fled abroad in 2 months. 17th July- The King went from Versailles to Paris, the people gave him a hostile reception. Louis recognized the new revolutionary Council-the Commune and the National Guard. He wore a Blue,Red and White Cockade, blue and red symbolic of revolution but white was the colour of the Bourbons. Gouverneur Morris, who was later the US ambassador to France, told George Washington 'you may consider the Revolution to be over, since the authority of the King and nobles has been utterly destroyed'.

The October Days

The King's refusal to approve the Assembly's decrees caused considerable tension. Louis decided to reinforce his guard by summoning to Versailles the loyal Flanders Regiment. Evening of 1st October = Given a banquet by the King's bodyguard in the Opera House of the palace to celebrate their arrival. Anti-revolutionary demonstrations. Officers trampled on the tricolor cockade and replaced it with a white cockade for the Bourbons. There were demands that the King should be brought back to the capital. The demand coincided with a food shortage in Paris. 5th October- a crowd of women striked at the Hotel de Ville, the headquarters of the Commune,demanding bread. They were persuaded to march to Versailles to put their complaints to the King and the Assembly. Six or seven thousand marched for 5 hours. Later in the day so did 20,000 National Guards under Lafayette. When the women reached Versailles they invaded the assembly and sent a deputation to the King, who agreed to provide Paris with Grain. He also agreed to approve the August decrees and the Declaration of Rights. 6th October- The King and the Queen appeared in the balcony and were told to go to Paris by the crowd. That afternoon the royal family left Versailles. The National Assembly also moved to Paris.

June 14th 1791

The Le Chapelier

Foreign Policy

The Seven Years War- Britain was viewed as France's only serious colonial rival and Austria was a rival for the dominance of mainland Europe. By the middle of the 18th Century, France and Austria had resolved their differences and were allies when the Seven Years War (1756-63) broke out. France was unable to recover most of the territory lost during the Seven Years War.

Poor and Needy

The assembly regarded relief for the poor as a duty of the state. The Church could not provide for the poor now it's land was sold and it had lost it's main sources of income. Urgent need for a national Organization funded by taxation. A committee stated in 1791 concluded that nearly two million people could only support themselves by begging. The committee was impotent as there was not enough money.

The Rural RiotG

The bad harvest of 1788. Most peasants had to buy their bread and were badly affected by the rise in it's price in the spring and summer of 1789. There was also depression in the textile industry. January 1789-grain convoys and the premises of suspected hoarders were attacked. The peasants believed that the King would not have asked them to state their grievances in the cahiers if he did not intend to do something about them. After the fall of the Bastille, risings immediately followed in Normandy and France Comté. Demonstrations and riots against taxes, the tithe and feudal dues spread throughout France. On the great estates of the Church and other landowners, there were storehouses of grain that had been collected as rents, feudal dues and tithes. In the spring and summer of 1789 they were the only places where grain was held in bulk. Landlords were regarded as hoarders. The President of the Grenoble parlement wrote on the 28th June ' There is daily talk of attacking the nobility, of setting fire to their Chateaux in order to burn all their title-deeds'. Grain stores were looted. Chateaux were attacked and frequently burnt. Documents known as 'terriers' which listed peasant obligations were seized and destroyed.

The significance of the October Days

The crowd that marched to Versailles aimed to bring the royal family back to Paris where their freedom of action and political influence would be reduced significantly. The king regarded himself as prisoner of Paris October- The Assembly had been ignored and humiliated by the decisive action of ordinary Parisians. Many deputies wanted to work out a compromise with Louis, but this was difficult. The Assembly issued a decree that changed the title and status of the monarch from 'King of France and Navarre' to 'Louis, by the grace of God and the constitutional law of the State,King of the French'. Louis' subjects now became citizens.

Local Government

The deputies wanted to make sure power was decentralized and in the hands of the local authorities. This would make it more difficult to receive the power that the King had before the Revolution. Officials would be elected and responsible to those who elected them. Decrees in December 1789 and February 1790. France was divided into 83 departments, which were subdivided into 547 districts and 43,460 communes. Communes were grouped into Cantons, where primary assemblies for elections were held and justices of the peace had their courts. All administrative divisions,except the Cantons, were run by elected councils. 21st May 1790- the Constituent Assembly passed a decree which reorganized the local government to the city in 48 sections.

Employer/work relations

The deputies were determined to get rid of any organizations which had special privileges and restrictions regarding employment. Aim was to open trades for more people Guilds abolished in 1791 as they restricted the entry of people into certain trades in order to ensure that wage levels and prices charged for goods remained high. June 1791- a coalition of about 80,000 Parisian workers was threatening a general strike to obtain higher wages, so the assembly passed the Le Chapelier Law, named after the deputy who proposed it, which forbade trade unions and employer's organizations . Collective bargaining,picketing and strikes were declared illegal. No one in the assembly objected to this.

The Growth of the Counter Revolution

The deputies were worried by the non-juring clergy and the émigrés, whose numbers had increased greatly since the flight to Varennes. Nearly all the ancient-regime bishops and so many of the great court and parlementaire families had emigrated to Austria and by the small german states along the river rhine. Desertion of army officers- by early 1791, 1200 noble officers had joined the émigrés, though a large majority of pre-revolution Officers remained at their posts. All this changed after Varennes. By the end of 1791 = 6000 had emigrated, 60% of all officers. The Assembly passed two laws in November. One declared that all non-jurors were suspects. The other said that all émigrés who did not return to France by 1st January would forefeit their property and be regarded as traitors. The King vetoed these laws and appeared to undermine the Revolution. His popularity decreased.

The Establishment of the Commune of Paris

The disturbances in July 1789 were a reaction of ordinary people to the actions of the King and his ministers. The Bourgeoisie were afraid that a break down of law and order was occurring, resulting in a destruction of property,looting and attacks on individuals and property. 15th July- the Paris Electors (Representatives of the 60 electoral districts that had chosen the deputies of the Estates-General) set up a new body to govern the city. This was the Commune, Sylvain Bailly was elected the mayor of Paris to carry out the commune's policies. 10th July 1789- Before the formation of Commune, the electors of Paris proposed forming a citizen's militia to defend the interests of property owners. It was envisaged that the militia would be predominantly Bourgeoisie, and that the sans-culottes would be excluded from its ranks. It protected property against the attacks of the menu people and of defending Paris against any possible threat by royal troops. 15th July- the Citizens Militia became the National Guard and Lafayette was appointed it's commander.

The Economic Crisis

The economy was largely based on agriculture and this sector had grown steadily between the 1730's and 1770's. Good harvests had resulted in food surpluses,which in turn contributed to an increase in the population. The crown's dependence on credit to finance war had proved disastrous. France's three major wars between 1740-1783 had cost around 4000 million livres. There were disastrous harvests in 1778-9,1781-2,1785-6 and 1787. In 1788, there was a wet spring and a freak hailstorm in July which meant a very poor harvest. Disastrous for peasants who produced wine as a cash crop. A bad harvest in a pre-industrial society always led to massive unemployment. The rise in the price of food led to a decrease in demand for manufactured goods at a time when both peasants and urban workers needed unemployment to cope with the high prices. 1726-1789: Wheat prices increased by about 60%. About half a labourers daily would be spent on bread. 1788-9, this proportion was increased by 88%. Production and employment in the textiles industries which accounted for half of industrial production, fell by 50% in 1789. The industry had been badly hit by the Eden Treaty of 1786 (allowed imports of English goods,including textiles, at reduced import duties) which came into operation in May 1787. Many ordinary people blamed tithe owners and landowners for making the situation worse. They were accused of hoarding grain and speculating on prices during times of shortage, thereby contributing to the lack of food. There were food riots and disturbances as people attacked grain stores. These were more frequent in the spring and summer of 1789 when grain prices were at the peak before the new harvest had been collected. Many ordinary people in both rural and urban areas believed that the economic crisis was the fault of the nobility. The politicization of the majority of the Third Estate began as a result of the economic crisis. Louis' handling of the crisis was perceived badly. By the 1780's over half of royal revenue went on interest payments. Gwynne Lewis 'The French Revolution was born in a state of bankruptcy'. Although the summoning of the Estates_general did not, in itself,amount to a revolution,it set in motion a process whereby the various groups that made up French society were forced into a position of defining their aims.

Cahiers

The electors of each of the three orders drew up cahiers which were lists of grievances and suggestions for reform. The cahiers of the first estate reflected the interests of the Paris Clergy. They called for an end to Bishops holding more than one diocese, and demanded that those who were not noble be able to become bishops. They were prepared to give up their financial privileges but not the dominant position of the Church. Catholicism should remain the established religion and retain control of education. They did not intend to tolerate Protestantism. The nobles cahiers were surprisingly liberal-89% were prepared to give up their financial privileges and nearly 39% supported voting by head. They showed a desire for change and were prepared to admit that merit should be more important than birth. They attacked the government for it's despotism, it's inefficiency and it's injustice. All three orders were against absolute royal power and all wanted a King whose powers would be limited by an elected assembly, which would have the right to vote taxes and pass laws. The issue separating the first and second estates from the third was voting by head.

The emergence of a republican movement

The outstanding politician and orator for the Constituent Assembly was Mirabeau, a nobleman who was elected for the Third Estate in 1789. His willingness to deal directly with the King cost him a great deal of popular support by the time of his death in April 1791. Typical of a group of moderate politicians who became increasingly influential in the Assembly. Three of the leading figures were Barnave,Du Port and Lameth, known as the triumvirate. They aimed to heal the divisions between the aristocracy and bourgeoisie that had emerged during 1789. They feared the extremism of new clubs and the emergence of an organized working-class movement and wished to bring the Revolution to an end. There had to be a compromise with the King. Anyone suspected of negotiating with the King was accused of selling out to the court. No means of knowing if the King was sincerely prepared to co-operate with the moderates.

The Estates-General- method of voting

The recently restored Paris Parlement declared that the Estates General should meet as in 1614 and that voting should be by estate or order. This would favour the two privileged orders, who wished to protect their priveleges and tended to act together. First time that the bourgeoisie played an active role in political agitation. The Bourgeois leaders of the Third Estate began to suspect that the privileged orders who wanted voting by order had opposed the government because they wanted power for themselves and not because they wanted justice for the nation as a whole. The Third Estate now demanded twice the number of deputies and voting by head. This would give them a majority, as many of the First Estate's deputies were poor parish priests who were likely to support the Third Estate. December 1788- The King's councils allowed the number of Third Estate deputies to be doubled. Nothing was said about voting by head. When the Estates-Generals met there was confusion. The Third Estate assumed there would be voting by head (otherwise doubling served no purpose) while the other two Estates believed this was not the case.

Jacques Sole

The reform of the Church undertaken by the Constituent Assembly, result of a misunderstanding. These clerical deputies had many grievances against the Church and drove the reform process for their own ends.

Alfred Cobban and Francois Furet

The revisionist (anti-Marxist) historians. The first important critic was Alfred Cobban who questioned the validity of the social interpretation and also whether the Revolution was led by leading bourgeoisie. Francois Furet went beyond merely questioning the economic and social interpretations of the Revolution as a class-based struggle,favoured by the Marxists, to considering the intellectual and cultural background to 1789. According to Furet, the driving force for change was the advanced democratic ideas of the Enlightenment philosophes such as Rosseau.

July 14th 1789

The storming of the Bastille

Louis McManners

The unity of the church was more apparent than real. The priests were vocal in asking for an improvement in their situation. Their complaints influenced clerical deputies, who in turn promoted and supported reform of the Church,culminating in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Mcmanners considers that this was the point when the Revolution 'went wrong'.

The Capture of the Bastille

Their search for weapons took the Parisian demonstrators to Les Invalides, an old solider's retirement home that also served as an arsenal, where they seized over 28,000 muskets and had 20 cannon. Because they were short of gunpowder and cartridges, they marched on the fortress of the Bastille (considered a permanent reminder of the ancient regime). News of the desertions among the Gardes-Francaises led the army commanders to advise the King that the reliability of the troops to crush the rising could not be counted on. Throughout June, many Gardes-Francaiseswho worked at various trades in Paris in their off duty hours were being influenced by agitators at the Palais Royal. 24th June- two companies had refused to go on duty. 14th July 1789- 5/6 batallions of the Gardes-Francaises had deserted and some joined the Parisians besieging the Bastille. There were 5000 other troops nearby, but the officers told their commander that they could not rely on their men. Troops were removed from the streets of Paris to the Champs de Mars, a wide-open area south of the River Seine. The crowd outside the Bastille was denied entry by the governor, De Launay, who also refused to hand over any gunpowder. There was no intention of storming the fortress, athough a group managed to enter into the inner courtyard. De Launay ordered his troops to open fire on them and 98 were killed. Gardes-Francaises supporting the crowd,using cannon taken from Les Invalides that morning,overcame the defenders. De Launay was forced to surrender. He was murdered and decapitated by an enraged crowd. Those who had taken part in the attack on the Bastille were not wealthy middle class but sans-culottes . About a quarter of a million Parisians were up and arms. First and most famous of the Journées.

The Financial Crisis

There was a huge government deficit. 20th August 1786,Calonne,the Controller-General, told Louis XVI that the government was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenue for 1786 would be 475 million livres, while expenditure would be 587 million livres, making a deficit of 112 million-almost a quarter of the total income. In 1788, Royal Income was 503 million livres but expenditure was 629. Education and poor relief- 12 Court Expenses- 36 Civil Expenditure- 36 Military- 165 Debt Interest- 318 The Deficit had increased in two years to 126 million livres- 20% of total expenditure It was anticipated that for 1789, receipts would only amount to 325 million livres and that the interest payments on the deficit would amount to 62% of the receipts. The cost of helping the American colonists defeat the British Government was approximately 1066 million livres. This was mainly achieved through Necker's efforts in raising loans, rather than imposing taxes. This did not directly lead to revolution, the lack of an elected parliament to guarantee loans, as in Britain ,did not give lenders confidence. The crown was not receiving much of the money collected in taxes and until it recovered control of it's finances,no basic reforms could be carried out. The privileged classes whose, income from property had increased, were an untapped source of revenue that the Crown urgently needed to access. There was powerful resistance to any change in the taxation structure for those with vested interests in retaining the status quo. After Necker was dismissed in 1781, his successor Joly de Fleury discovered the true nature of France's finances. The Treasury was 160 million lives short for 1781 and 295 million livres short for 1782. Fleury and his successor Calonne undid Necker's worker by resuming the practice of selling offices (many of which had been abolished). They both also borrowed much more heavily than Necker. 1786- With loans drying up, Calonne implemented a plan... Replace the capitation and the vingtième on landed property by a single land tax. It was a tax on the land and not on the person, and would therefore affect all land proprietors-Church,noble and commons. Regardless of whether the lands were used for luxury purposes or crops. There was to be no exemptions. Everyone including the nobles, the clergy and the pays d'état would pay. The Second part of the programme was aimed at stimulating the economy to ensure that future tax revenues would increase. In order to try and achieve this Calonne proposed abandoning controls on the grain trade and abolishing internal customs barrier,which prevented the free movement of grain from one part of France to another. The Final part was to try and restore natural confidence so that new loans for the short term could be raised. Calonne hoped that the parlements would be less likely to oppose these messages. This would display national unity. It was obvious that the Estates-Generals should approve these reforms but this was considered too unpredictable. Calonne and Louis XVI decided on a handpicked Assembly of Notables, it was considered that this group would willing to agree to these reforms. This 144 members of the Assembly met in February 1787. It included leading nobles and important bishops and it became clear that this group would not agree to the reforms of Calonne and Louis XVI. As representatives of the privileged order they had the most to lose. Notables were not completely against reforms and agreed that everybody should be taxed. They claimed that the approval of the antion was needed for Callone's reforms and urged the summoning of the Estates-Generals which had last met in 1614. Realizing the strength of opposition to Callonne,Louis dismissed him in April 1787.

The reponse of the crown

To restore authority, Necker advised the King to hold a séance royale. It was hoped that the King would ignore the events of 10-17 June and accept voting in common all important matters. Louis was under pressure from the Queen and his brothers to side with the privileged orders. When the séance royale met on 23rd June, Louis declared the decisions taken by the deputies of the Third Estate on 17 June as unlawful. He would not allow the privileges of the nobility and clergy to be discussed in common. The King was prepared to accept considerable restrictions on his own power. No taxes would be imposed without the consent of the Representatives of the nation,lettres de cachet would be abolished and the freedom of the press introduced. Internal customs barriers, the Gabelle and the corvee were to be abolished. These did not meet the demands of the Third Estate. The King ordered the deputies to disperse and meet in their separate assemblies. 24th June- 151 Clergy joined the Third Estate. The Day after 47 nobles,including one of Louis' leading opponents, the Duc d'Orleans. Popular demonstrations in Paris in favour of the assembly. 27th June- The King reversed his decision of 23 June and ordered his nobles and clergy to join the Third Estate and vote by head. Louis ordered troops to be moved to Paris and Versailles on 22nd June. By late June, nearly 4000 troops, including 2600 in foreign speaking units were stationed around Paris. Many of these troops were elite units of the army-the French guards whose loyalty to the Crown Louis believed to be certain. 26th June- 4800 extra troops were ordered into the Paris region and on 1st July, 11,500 more. In less than a week the strength of army units called to Paris increased from 4000 to over 20,000. Evident that the King and his advisers wanted to dissolve the National Assembly.

Taxation and Finance

Very few taxes were collected after the royal administration collapse. The Assembly needed money. It was decided that the existing system of direct and indirect taxation should continue until 1791. This was very unpopular. People wanted the demands made in the cahiers to be met at once. There were outbreaks and violence in Picardy, one of the most heavily taxed areas under the Ancien Regime. The Gabelle was abolished in May 1790 and within a year nearly all the unpopular indirect taxes, except for external customs duties were also abolished.

The Sans-Culottes

Workers in towns. Included Artisans and master craftsmen, who owned their own workshops, as well as wage-earners. They were responsible for the successful attack on the Bastille and for bringing the Royal family back to Paris after the October Days, yet had received few rewards. Many were 'passive' citizens. They suffered greatly from inflation. To meet it's expenses the government printed more and more assignats whose value therefore declined. Wave of strikes by workers against the falling value of their wages early in 1791. Grain prices rose up to 50% after a poor harvest in 1791. This led to riots,shopkeepers were forced to reduce prices. The discontent of the urban workers could be used by the popular societies, which linked economic protests to the political demand for a republic whose representatives were directly elected by the people,and by groups in the Assembly who were seeking power. This made the Revolution more radical in ways in which the bourgeoisie leaders of 1789 had neither intended nor desired.

The Third Estate

commoners 28 million people top = Bourgeoisie, lived in towns- merchants,industrialists,business people,landowners,doctors,lawyers and civil servants. Growing in wealth and size and increased by three-fold between 1660 and 1789. Owned most industrial and all commercial capital, about 1/5 of all private French wealth and roughly 1/4 of all land. ambition was to become noble over 80% of the population were peasants Some peasants farmed at subsistence level, and had such a low income that they usually had to work as labourers on other land as migrant workers in town. 250,00 vagranrts Peasants paid taxes to the Lord of the Manor on their grain harvest (the seigneur) Some also paid tax to the lord when their property changed hands Some worked on the lord's land, while others paid taxes instead of working on the lord's land. They had to do labour service on the road (corvees royales) and pay the taille,the main land tax,the gabelle, the salt tax. Paid tithe to the Church Their lives depended on the price of bread The peasants could be tried in the seigneural court, where the lord acted as both judge and jury. Urban workers = Sans Culottes, lived in crowded unsanitary housing blocks, known as tenements. Unskilled and poor. Skilled craftsmen were organized into guilds Paris, 1776 = 100,000 workers which was a third of the population belonged to guilds. The standard of living fell as prices increased on average by 65% between 1726 and 1789 but wages only by 22%. French bourgeoisie had been growing due to the expansion of trade and manufacture but according to historians such as Mathiez,Lefbvre and Godechot, social and political opportunities had not been growing accordingly. The purchase of a hereditary office or state or an army commission- had been blocked during the second half of the eighteenth century. Fewer than 20% of 680 new magistrates in parlements 1774-8, were non-noble. Inflation hit at fixed incomes. The two principal supplements to farm work, the wine trade and weaving, were also troubled by fluctuations in demand, particularly in the 1770s and 1780s, while taxes continued to rise. Recession in French agriculture after 1778, the year France entered the American war, as a result prices fell. Small tenant farmers, peasant proprietors and wine growers were particularly badly hit. Catastrophic harvests of 1787-8,which doubled the price of wheat in the north of France, taking it to record levels in the midsummer of 1789. According to Cobban, what the landlords were doing was 'less a reversion to the past than the application to old relationships of new business techniques'. Unemployment grew because of the ill-advised Eden free treaty with Great Britain in 1786, which hit the French textile trade particularly hard. The economic situation and the rise in food prices brought urban craftsmen, workers and peasants and to some extent manufacturers, together in a common bond of hostility towards government,landlord,merchants and speculators.