The French Revolution: French Monarchy Faces a Crisis

It was the best of times,It was the worst of times,It was the age of wisdom,It was the age of foolishness,It was the epoch of belief,It was the epoch of incredulity

--Charles DickensA Tale of Two Cities

Louis XIV

The French social structure

before the revolution is

referred to as the Old Regime. Louis XIV, who ruled France from 1661 to

1715, is considered to be the founder of

the Old Regime.

French Monarchy Faced a Crisis

A. Old Regime - Absolute Monarchy and Feudalism

- French people growing tired of these institutions

1. Big Debts-King spends more than he takes in-King borrowed heavily to help American revolutionaries against France’s chief rival, Britain

50%

25%

19%

6%

By 1788 the national budget broke down like this

Extravagant Lifestyle of King and Queen

-The average peasant earned about 500 livres a year. How much do you think the Queen spent in a year?

-How many people do you think worked on the household staff of the royal family?

B. King’s Solution?

-Call meeting of Estates General, which hadn’t met since 1614

-Contains representatives from the 3 Orders or Estates (Clergy, Nobles, and

Commoners)

2. Inequality of Taxes

a. Peasants Pay, Nobility and Clergy Don’t

3. Poor Grain Harvests in 1788 and 1789 =

High Bread Prices

--Poor city workers and peasants struggled to feed their families.

a. #1 + #2 + #3 = Social Unrest

10

The Old Regime,

Population breakdown by estate

97%

1%

2%

B. Three Estates

1. First Estate (Clergy)

a. Higher Clergy- high officials in

Catholic Church - of noble birth- lived lives of luxury

b. Lower Clergy -parish priests often lived a simple, hard-

working life. Their role was to administer the church, run schools, care for the poor, and keep birth and death records for their congregations

-often as poor as peasants and sympathetic to plight of peasants

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To support these activities, the church required that people pay a tithe, or income tax (10% of inc), to the church.

The church used the tithe money to buy huge tracts of land on which it paid no taxes. The clergy were only required to pay a “voluntary gift” (3% of their income) to the government every five years. Church owned 10% of land despite making up only 1% of population

2. Second Estate (Nobles)

-Don’t pay taxes

-Own 25% of the land, despite

making up only 2% of the

population

-Held all of the important

positions in the Church, Army,

Govt. and Courts of Law

-Positions determined by

birth, not wealth or talent

15Self-Portrait as Huntsman, A. F. Desportes, 1699

Nobles also had other privileges that further

burdened the poor peasants.

For instance, it was illegal for peasants to

hunt or fish. Peasants could not hunt

even rabbits or birds that were eating their

crops. Nobles tore up and

ruined farmers’ fields as they galloped across

them enjoying a recreational hunt.

3. Third Estate (Commoners)

-Make up 97% of the population

-Pay the majority of the taxes

-Have little influence or power

a. Bourgeoisie

-city dwelling middle class

-merchants, doctors, lawyers

-dressed like nobles

(wear fancy pants!), but

treated as peasants by the

law

-have $, but no power or

prestige

b. Sans-Culottes

-city workers

-butchers, brewers, cooks

-poorer than bourgeoisie,

thus can’t afford the fancy

pants

-especially hard hit by poor

grain harvests of 1788 and

1789 because this causes a

dramatic rise in bread prices

C. Peasants-Largest group in 3rd Estate and in the whole country

-21 of France’s 26 million people are peasants

-Bear a very heavy tax burden

-Pay the Church’s tithe, feudal dues to their lord, royal taxes to the King

-Also required to pay corvee (peasants could be required to do unpaid road repair work for up to one month each year)

-6 year of Army service

III. Fundamental Causes of the French Revolution

A. Abuses of the Old Regime1. Political

a. King exercised unlimited powers

-As absolute monarch in control of everything

-believed in divine right

b. King’s officials selected by birth or favoritism, not ability or wealth

-bourgeosie especially frustrated since they have money but no power or influence

c. censorship of press and speech

-put opponents/critics in prisons like Bastille

d. King imprisoned his enemies indefinitely without

charge, bail, or trial

e. King denied people a voice in the government

-3rd Estate makes up 97% of population, but have no voice even when King calls meeting of the Estates General

2. Social

a. First and Second Estates are privileged classes-own 35% of land even though they only make up 3% of population-collect taxes from peasants-don’t pay taxes-hold best jobs

b. Third Estate unprivileged class-don’t have a voice or any power-bourgeoise especially frustrated, they have money but no power

3. Economica. Third Estate bears entire tax burden

i. tithe- church’s taxii. taille- gov’t taxiii. Feudal dues- lords taxiv. Corvee- forced labor

IV. Other Causes of French RevolutionA. French Bourgeoisie

1. wanted to discard mercantilism and

replace it with “laissez-faire”-want freedom of business as well as freedom of speech -ideas based on Wealth of Nations written by

Adam Smith

B. French Philosophers (Enlightenment)

1. Voltaire (1694-1778)

a. Praised England’s limited monarchy and civil liberties and denounced France’s govt.

b. believed that Church’s insistence upon authority barred human progress

2. Rousseau (1712-1778)a. Social Contract“Man is born free, and everywhere he

is chains.”b. people have natural and inalienablerights to life, liberty, and property c. by contract among themselves, people give govt. the power to serve themd. when dissatisfied people may change the govt.

3. Montesquieu (1689-1755)

a. separation of powers

-divide govt. into 3 branches to prevent one branch from becoming corrupted

C. Influence of English & American Revolutions

D. Incompetent and Unpopular Gov’t

1. Louis XVI (1774-1792) and Marie Antoinette

III. Immediate Causes of French Revolution

A. Louis XVI brings France to Financial Bankruptcy by 1788

1. Spent heavily to aid American colonists against England

2. maintained lavish court at Versailles

3. refused to tax privileged classes

B. Bad harvest/ bread prices

C. Louis Summons the Estates General in

1789

-By calling meeting King admits he can’t solve financial crisis

-King opens can of worms

-Tradition allows 3rd Estate to list grievances