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Complete Summary of France in Revolution Course
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Colour Coded, theme and timeline organised, summarised note on the key events and people of the French Revolution 1774-99, edexcel course
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French Revolution revision documentThe Three Estates
The Monarchy
• Head of the social and government it was his duty to ensure that has people were
provided with law and order.
• Appointed ministers and he also chose 36 intendents, who acted as his local officials
and were responsible for the different parts of France known as generalities.
• Louis ruled as an absolute monarch and later faced charges of despotism (tyrannical
power/dictatorship). Louis’ belief was that he ruled by divine right.
• The king was expected to rule over a fair and just regime, he was expected to pass
only such laws as were necessary for the well-being of the whole kingdom and to
preserve his subjects’ freedom within the law.
The process of law making- an edict was drawn up by the king and advisers, this was then
sent to the parlements for approval. These were the 13 supreme courts of appeal in France;
who also had political powers. They had the right to challenge all edicts before they became
law.
First Estate
• The clergy, both high and low. The clergy occupied the highest position in society
and was known as the First Estate.
• Its members varied tremendously in type- there was a huge difference, in terms of
wealth and power, between humble parish priests, monks and nuns and the bishops
and archbishops and cardinals (who came from the ranks of the nobility).
• Not all members of the first estate were rich. Clerics were very influential in France,
the Catholic Church governed the daily lives of most people, and it controlled
education and provided care for the sick.
Privileges: They could only be prosecuted in their own church courts, they could not
be asked to perform military service or house troops or provide money for royal troops, and
they also had various financial privileges and were not required to pay the taille (the main
direct tax).
Second Estate
• The nobility, including the royal family, which owned around a fifth of the land in
France.
• The nobility was divided, and not all were exceptionally wealthy. The first group was
the ancient nobility, whose status came from their birth. They were known as the
nobility of the sword as they were originally the only men allowed to carry a sword.
• The other group was made up of those whose noble status derived from the work
they did and was known as the nobility of the robe. Nobility might be acquired
through performance of a particular job, such as judge, given in return for money, as
a reward for outstanding military service, or, more often, as a ‘perk’ accompanying a
particular governmental office.
• Venal offices were those that could be purchased and they provided a useful source
of income for the crown during the 18th Century. The numbers of the second estate
had grown considerably during this century.
Privileges: the right to wear a sword, display their coat of arms and take precedence
at public ceremonies helped reinforce their belief in a natural superiority. They had a right to
be heard in a high court and be beheaded rather than hung; they were exempt from the
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,corvee (forced labour on the roads) and the taille (direct tax) and gabelle (salt tax) and had a
lower rate of assessment in other direct taxes.
Third Estate
• A mixed group of those who were neither clerics nor nobility.
• The largest proportion, comprising 80-90% of the population, was peasantry.
Peasants worked the land of others but there were some peasants with small
holdings of their own.
• At the top there were the richer, land-owning peasantry and the tenant farmers of
large estates and the bourgeoisie, who relied on their skill as professionals (doctors,
lawyers, teachers etc).
• At the very top of the bourgeoisie, they identified more with the second estate and
many tried to join through the purchase of office. The lower bourgeoisie had fewer
opportunities for advancement.
Privileges: Few, they were required to pay direct taxes, such as the taille and the
vingtieme, and capitation and indirect taxes, such as the gabelle, the aides on drink and
tobacco as well as their tithe to the church. The third estate was also required to do unpaid
labour service to maintain the roads, although wealthier citizens could buy their way out.
The Ancien Regime
• The organisation of government and society in France before the revolution.
• The system had evolved over many years and was based on the medieval idea of a
hierarchical society with the king at the top and his subjects in their place according
to their duties and birth.
Taxes and Feudal Dues
Direct taxes-
Taille: a tax on either land or income
• All citizens were meant to pay (except men on army service).
• Nobles and the clergy were exempt.
Capitation: a poll tax- fixed sum paid each year to the government.
• All citizens were meant to pay
• Nobody was exempt, but, in practise, many nobles and clergy evaded it or paid little.
Vingtieme: an income tax of one twentieth of a year’s earnings
• All citizens were meant to pay
• In practise many clergy evaded it or paid little
Corvee: a labour tax requiring unpaid work mending roads
• All able-bodied men were meant to pay
• Nobles, clergy, townspeople, post masters, country school teachers and shepherds
were exempt.
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,Indirect taxes-
Gabelle: a tax on salt
• Anyone buying salt had to pay
• There were 4 exempt provinces
Octroi: a tax, paid at the own gates, on goods being taken to market
• The merchant transporting goods had to pay
• Nobody was exempt
Aides: a tax on drinks, especially wine
• Some provinces were exempt
Traites: a tax on goods being transported form one province to another
• The merchant transporting the goods had to pay
• Nobody was exempt
Feudal Rights-
The right of the oven: peasants had to bake their bread in an oven owned by the landlord,
paying a fee for its use.
The rights of the mill: peasants had to grind heir corn in the landlord’s windmill or watermill,
paying a fee to use it.
The right of the press: peasants had to press their grapes in the landlord’s press, paying a fee
for its use.
The right of the hunt: the landlord could ride over his tenants’ fields whilst hunting, even if
they are planted.
The right of the warren: the landlord could keep rabbits in a warren; tenants could not kill
them, even when they damaged crops.
The right of the dovecote: the landlord could keep pigeons in a dovecote; tenants could not
kill them, even when they damaged crops.
Dues-
The corvee: peasants had to do several days’ unpaid work for the landlord each year (e.g.
harvest)
The cens: peasants had to pay a tax to the landlord each year
The champart: peasants had to give the landlord a portion of their crops each year.
Land Ownership-
• Nobles (3-400,000): 20%
• Clergy ( 170,000): 15%
• Bourgeoisie (2.5 million): 30%
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, • Peasantry (24 million): 35%
The standard of living of the poor declines by 25% because food prices rose by 65% and
wages rose by 22% only.
Taxation of Earnings (%)
Percentage surrendered by peasants in the form of taxes, tithes and feudal dues- 45% in
total:
• Taxes to the king: 27%
• Feudal dues: 10%
• Tithes: 8%
The Enlightenment
What was the enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was a “movement of criticism” which emphasised the importance of
human reason guiding society.
What did it advocate? What did its writers believe?
• That men could control their own destiny
• That change was necessary to destroy the inequalities of the ancient regime
• Questioned the power of the church
• Believed that more could be done to improve the daily lives of ordinary people
• Challenged the King’s role as God’s representative
• Believed that rulers should use their power more effectively to benefit their subjects
• Promoted the importance of using reason and common sense to promote human
progress, wealth and happiness on earth
• Developed the idea that government was based on a ‘contract’ between the king
and his subjects, with obligations on both sides
• Believed that anything that wasn’t shown to be useful to humanity or promote
human happiness wasn’t justifiable
• Believed in the improvement of social conditions for fellow men
How did Enlightenment ideas spread?
• French architecture, furniture and fashion dominated continental taste and all
educated Europe adopted the French language as its primary tongue. It was the
language spoken in courts Europe wide with the exception of England and Spain.
New developments in France were, therefore, rapidly discussed and absorbed
elsewhere.
• The proliferation of journals, newspapers and books generated a circulation Europe
wide. In 1787, 70,000 copies of newspapers were being regularly sold with a
subscription of over half a million. Over 1/3 of Louis’ subjects were literate (high
rate) although not all could afford newspapers. However, this was eased by the
development of subscription libraries, reading rooms and literary societies which
encouraged reading of Enlightenment ideas and discussions.
• Due to the dissolution of the Jesuits, who had dominated the higher education of
the Catholic elite since the late 16th Century, rational thought, in the form of the
natural sciences in a course called ‘Philosophy’ was being taught.
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