POLITICAL CRISIS

THE ARISTOCRATIC REVOLT

THE MEETING OF THE NOTABLES - BACKGROUND

O What date? Find it on the class timeline!

O Calonne – had personal enemiesO Calonne spending on public works:

beautification of royal residences…WHY?

O How did surplus of 10 million livres under Necker become HUGE debt by 1787?

22 FEBRUARY 1787 – CALONNE’S PROPOSALSO new land tax would simplify taxation system. O Local provincial assemblies: represent land-

owners and would help assess and collect taxes

O Eradication of customs dutiesO Eradication of the CorveeO Single tax on imports

CREATION OF A MORE EFFICIENT NATIONAL ECONOMY

THINK OF 3 ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THE MEETING OF NOTABLES.

AGREEMENTO Most proposals met with approval of the

NotablesO Nobility and Clergy should be guaranteed

seats on local assembliesO Corvee to be changed – however

Notables went further and suggested that the tax should be applied to all as a public works tax.

O Elimination of internal customs charges

HOWEVER…

ARISTOCRATIC REVOLT!

O Widespread dissent in relation to relinquishment of taxation privileges

O Bishops: could not give up self-assessment of tax without agreement from Assembly of the Clergy

O Magistrates said they must consult fellow magistrates

O LARGEST ISSUE: Notables refused to approve tax reform unless they were fully informed of the state of the finances

CHALLENGE

WHICH ASPECT OF THE ANCIEN REGIME OF FRANCE WERE THE

ARISTOCRATS EFFECTIVELY CHALLENGING?

ABSOLUTISMHOW SO?

BY DEMANDING ACCESS TO THE FULL ACCOUNTS, THE NOTABLES

WERE MAKING THE KING RESPONSIBLE TO THEM.

ACCOUNTABILITYTRANSPARENCY

IMPORTANT QUOTELafayette writing to George Washington:

“We were not the representatives of the Nation but…we declared that

although we had no right to impede, it was our right not to advise unless we

thought the measures were proper and we could not think of new taxes unless we knew the returns of the economy”.

CALONNEO Louis XVI dismisses Calonne – no

consensus was achieved! O Archbishop Brienne appointed

Principal Minister and Head of the Committee of France.

O Brienne unable to negotiate agreement with the Assembly of Notables and it was dissolved in late May 1787

HISTORIANS’ VIEWSWhy was there an Aristocratic revolt?

Make a table in your books that explains the views of Rude, Soboul,

Schama and Andress.

Which view/interpretation do you think is the most reliable?

Be ready to justify you opinion in class!

VISUAL ANALYSIS

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS: (USE ‘IDIU’ AS A GUIDE)

O Name the event that is being depicted in this image. Provide the date of the event.

O Identify two ways this image represents the formality of the Ancien Regime

O Using your own knowledge and reference to the source, explain how absolutism was challenged during the Assembly of Notables

O Explain the strengths and limitations of this image in understanding the Aristocratic Revolt of 1787. What other perspectives exist?