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Unit 1: The Ancien Regime:Government of the Ancien Regime:
The First Estate:
The First Estate was the clergy - the Church was powerful but was facing increasing criticism due
to its privileged position in society. It made up about 0.5% of the French population.
Powers Owned about 10% of France, and were given the ‘tithe’ - a payment amounting to
one tenth of an income. They also didn’t have to pay taxes, and instead got to
choose how much they gave the King in assemblies, as a lump sum called ‘don
gratuit’
Plurality and Plurality was having more than one position in the Church, and those people were
absenteeis more likely to be absentee, despite parishes still paying taxes/needing help. This
m was more likely to be a problem for the richer members
Splits Parishioners suffered from an absent clergy in their area, which richer members
who were already more likely to have multiple positions, are more likely to do
Wealth They didn’t have to pay taxes, instead meeting and deciding how much to give the
king (don gratuit), they had the tithe paid to them, and many came from nobility
Tithes A payment on top of taxes that had to be paid to the Church (a tenth of an income)
- originally paid in produce. Not always paid in full, but still a heavy burden on
peasants
Taxes Exempt from taxes. One of the richest groups in French society, at a time when
France was in a lot of debt and would’ve benefited from taxing the rich
The Second Estate:
The Second Estate was the aristocracy. Due to their status they had special privileges. It made up
about 1.5% of the French population.
Groups Noblesse d’epee: Nobles of the Sword - part of the army, directly related
to the royal family
Noblesse de robe: Nobles of the Robe - working, government officials
Provincial nobility: Don’t live at Versailles, might not be too wealthy,
relatively unknown. They were often little richer than the Third Estate,
clinging on to their name and privileges
Privileges Coat of arms; given prominence in public ceremonies; did not pay taille or other
direct taxation; and didn’t have to take part in the corve (a system where
everybody was expected to work fixing roads, building bridges, etc.)
Membership Birth; marriage of daughters; and some titles (venal) could be bought (jobs came
with a title)
Third Estate:
The Third Estate was everybody else - as this made up about 98% of the country there were
obviously differences between this group.
Bourgeoise The middle class - merchants; lawyers; state officials; relied on skills and wages.
They had a mixed view on the Estate system. Some resented it, but many were
ambitious to join the aristocracy. Some felt their power and wealth should be
, respected more
Peasantry Those who lived and worked in the countryside. They struggled as they had to
work for their Lord and had dues to pay (wine, bread, etc.). They had to deal with
lots of issues: a bad harvest would ruin them and was a constant danger; they
were taxed by the state, Church, and paying dues to the Lord of the Manor
Urban Semi-skilled workers (sans-culottes); usually in towns (carpenters, butchers,
workers bakers, etc.) and their situation was getting worse and worse, with a growing
population putting more pressure on food, and wages weren’t keeping up with
prices
Central Government:
The King was supposed to listen to advise from various ‘royal councils’; the three main councils
were:
The Conseil d’Etat: Dealt with major issues of state and foreign affairs
The Conseil des Dépêches: Received dispatches from the King’s officials and dealt with
Church affairs
The Conseil Royal des Finances: Managed state finances and household costs. In 1787 it
also handled economic policy
Ancien Régime: There were smaller councils which didn’t meet in the King’s
A term coined by Mirabeau in presence, but ultimately power tended to fall into the hands of a
1790 to suggest an out-of- small group of influential individuals close to the king who
date system. Refers to the usually met in weekly discussions to conduct private business
political and social system of with the King. Most important in these discussions were the
France before the French
King’s chief ministers, including the Secretaries of State for War,
Revolution of 1789; under the
Ancien Régime, Frenchmen Foreign Affairs, the Navy, and the Royal Household, as well as
were the ‘subjects’ of the the Controller-General.
King (rather than ‘citizens of
France’) and members of an The quality of a government under this system depended on the
‘estate’ denoting their social individual, if the men in charge were clever and good, it worked,
status. if not then it didn’t. Louis would mostly go with what court
factions and powerful people (including Marie-Antoinette)
wanted and was mostly well-intentioned. Ministers didn’t know how long they’d have their job, so
focused on protecting their reputation first and foremost.
A key part of the central government were the intendants. Intendants worked in the provinces for
the King to maintain his rule and report information back (one per généralité - thirty three) -
specific jobs included:
Ensuring taxes were paid
Ensuring the King’s edicts were carried out
Presiding over social courts
Co-ordinating activities of the prévôts (police force); could even request a lettre de cachet
against a private person
Raising troops
Intendants were overworked and had too few staff. They also couldn’t make decisions alone,
decisions had to either come from or be backed by the King and his council. They were victims of
,France’s administrative setup, under which their role often overlapped with others or was
challenged by long-established institutions
Local Government:
Several individuals and institutions limited the power of the intendants in local areas:
Provincial Governors: Drawn from the nobility, they were in charge of the provinces
(intendants’ généralités had been imposed on these provinces) and their job was to
maintain order and could sometimes call a provincial parliament. They were supposed to
be the King’s representatives, but had become entrenched with families, creating a
provincial dynasty (part of the reason intendants had been introduced)
Pays d’états: Six areas of France which were allowed to negotiate with the crown on taxes.
Done through powerful assemblies intendants had to share power with
Venality: In some cities, positions could be bought under the system of venality - they were
very protective of their rights
Seigneurs: In some areas, seigneurs (land-owning nobles) had a lot of influence, even
running their own courts - those in a high rank saw themselves as superior to intendants.
Law and the Parlements:
Hierarchy of royal courts from the prévôts at French Law:
the lowest level, through 430 bailliage Though laws would be made by the King’s
(sometimes known as the seneschal) courts, to council, they didn’t always go unchallenged by
13 parlements. The parlements were the the parlements, and judgements on older laws
sovereign courts and of these the Paris would vary geographically. The southern third
of France was governed by written law adapted
Parlement was most important - responsible from the Roman legal system with very clear
for about two fifths of France. They dealt with and rigid rules; the rest of France operated a
cases, both civil and criminal, that the local system of common law, based on customary
courts couldn’t solve. They also controlled practice. Though customs had generally been
guilds, corporations, and markets, as well as written down since the fifteenth century, they
varied significantly region to region.
local government finances and law and order.
Could come into conflict with the intendants.
One of the parlements’ most important rights was to check the King’s edicts to ensure its
conformity to previous legislation and provincial codes. This came with the right to remonstrate:
they could question and criticise decrees and make the King think them through again by sending
a remonstrance. This gave them a lot of power, particularly the Paris Parlement which always took
the lead and acted first.
Lit de justice: King can The King could overrule them and force an edict’s acceptance
override the through a process known as the ‘lit de justice’ but that didn’t make
parlements him look good, so he didn’t want to do it too often.
Lettres de cachet: King
can exile and arrest The absolute monarchy was therefore not so absolute in practice as
individuals in theory. Administrative, legal, judicial, and ecclesiastical divisions
and rights frequently overlapped (e.g. French bishoprics and dioceses
rarely coincided with administrative divisions). Venal office-holding magistrates conflicted with
ministers, the intendants clashed with the bureaucracy of officers and often lacked guidance from
, the centre, whilst parlements had almost come to see their job as to block edicts and question
royal authority.
Other Law Courts:
Other supreme courts include: the Chambre des Comptes, the Cour des Aides, the Cour des Monnaies, and
the Châtelet. Law was dispensed at the lowest level by seigneurial courts, which were in the hands of the
feudal landlords and were beyond the scope of royal justice.
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