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Flashcards on the Ancien Regime in France
- Module
- The French Revolution
- Institution
- AQA
AQA history A-level flashcards on the Ancien Regime in 17th century France.
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Louis XVI gave approval for Calonne’s 3 pronged plan inAutumn 1786.
o Incr trust in the crown & encourage borrowing by
creating economies.
o Consolidate existing taxes into a single land tax
(subvention territorial) to alleviate the burden on the 3 rd
France – Causes E & incr fairness.
o End customs to allow free trade, which would incr
Controller Generals porpserity.
Success of Calonne’s reforms (1783-87) Called the Assembly of Notables (made up of hand-picked men
who were expected to agree w Calonne) – this backfired as they
a) [=4, =3] disagreed w Calonne & his 3-pronged plan was never
implemented
o Part of this was b/c many of his proposed reforms posed
a threat to the privileges many of the members of the
AoN held.
Calonne lost the support of the King – dismissed & exiled in
Apr 1787, gaining the name ‘Monsieur Deficit’.
a)
Exile of parliament to Troyes in 1787 caused an aristocratic revolt.
o The most violent opposition the gov had faced so far.
o Nobles met in unauthorised assemblies to discuss support for the parliament.
o Clergy voted a don gratuit of <1/4 of what the crown requested – broke a long
Political Crisis
tradition of loyalty & worsened financial problems.
In Sep 1788, Louis XVI was forced to allow the Paris Parliament to return, leading to Brienne &
Lamington’s resignation – constant changing of ministers made gov look unstable.
a) How did it lead to the collapse of the
After Brienne resigned, Louis XVI recalled Necker – he refused to act until the EG had met.
Showed the gov was paralysed – needed money to reform but needed to reform to make
ancien regime? [13]
money.
Repeated disobedience undermined Louis XVI’s authority & showed his power was limited.
o Most parliaments had refused to pass Brienne’s higher stamped paper duty &
b) How didn’t it lead to the collapse of o
modified land tax.
Aristocratic revolt
the ancien regime? [1] o Paris parliament produced the most extreme constitutional statement of the
century in May 1788 which invoked “fundamental rights”
o The parliaments objected to both lit de justices.
Use of lit de justices made Louis XVI seem despotic.
b)
The financial crisis had a more tangible impact on the economy, which was much more imp to
most of the ppl in France, esp the sans culottes.
a)
NA was declared as a response to lack of guidance from Louis XVI & deputies in the
1st & 2nd E refusing to produce their credentials.
Announcement of the NA & the Tennis
17 Jun 1789 – 3rd E declared itself to be the NCA
20 Jun 1789 - Tennis court oath – swore not to disperse until a new consti was
Court Oath b)
made & that the King had no right to dissolve them.
a) General Facts [3]
Weakened Louis XVI’s authority.
Louis XVI’s decision to nullify the actions of the 3rd E on the 17th increased his
b) How did it lead to the collapse of the
unpopularity.
Led to Louis XVI accepting some restrictions on his power – no taxes imposed w/o
consent from representatives of the nation, abolish lettres de cachet, abolish
ancien regime? [5] gabelle & corvée.
Reinforced the idea of a sovereign nation, not entirely beholden to the king.
c) How didn’t it lead to the collapse of Popular demonstrations in Paris in favour of the NA showed its popularity – further
undermined the King’s authority.
the ancien regime? [2] c)
The NA still wanted the monarchy – there were not yet any inclinations for a
republic.
Louis XVI was still popular & still had executive power.
, a)
The Crown’s high expenditure led to incr deficits, culminating in Brienne
suspending all payments on 16 Aug 1788.
b)
Impacted gov’s ability to function – to solve the financial problem, the gov
France needed money. The extent of the financial crisis meant the gov was paralyzed.
o 112 mill deficit (20% of gov income).
1. Causes o Suspending payments acknowledged bankruptcy – lessened trust in
the gov & made it harder to borrow on favourable terms.
Financial crisis o When Necker was recalled in Sep 1788, there was an immediate
revival of gov credit, so bankruptcy ended.
a) Context [1] Impacted the rep of the crown & gov – unlike the GB, the bank was not sep
from the crown, so finance was closely tied w the crown.
a) Importance [=7, =2] o A large part of the financial crisis was due to crown debt from lavish
lifestyles, Versailles, & wars – so the King was blamed.
Helped trigger the meeting of the EG, in which the NA was announced.
o Brienne only fixed a date for the EG when the treasury was empty.
The AoN had already made clear their wish for an EG meeting, so it was
likely going to occur in the end anyways.
a)
Jul-Aug 89
Caused by rumours that aristocrats were paying brigands to destroy
the harvest & starve peasants into submission.
French Rev Grain convoys attacked, chateaux burned, feudal docs (terriers)
destroyed.
Causes b)
Undermined traditional authority & feudalism.
Great Fear Made it seem as if law & order had collapsed – showed that Louis
XVI & the NCA weren’t in control, which has potential to weaken
a) Details [3] ppl’s faith in them.
b) Significant [3] Led to the Aug Decrees b/c the NCA didn’t want to use royal
troops in case the ppl turned against them. This signified the end of
c) Not significant [2] the Ancien Régime of feudalism – a significant change.
c)
V little bloodshed b/c ppl were only killed if they resisted.
Some areas such as Brittany & Alsace (generally those furthest
away from Paris) weren’t affected.
a)
Apr 89 – Réveillon Riots – Réveillon’s factory was set on fire b/c of
rumours that he was going to reduce wages. 50 rioters were
killed/wounded by troops.
Jul 89 – Louis XVI’s dismissal of Necker led to large-scale popular
French Rev demonstrations in Paris. Parisians were called to take arms, meaning
they needed weapons. This led to the storming of Bastille (14 Jul 89).
Causes b)
Riots showed the extent of discontent & the lack of faith in the gov
Pop protest in Paris – undermined the authority of the gov.
a) Details [2] Set a precedence for using violence – Commander de Launay was
decapitated & 98 partisans killed.
b) Significance [=4, =1] Showed the weakness of the crown – Bastille had symbolised the
power of the Ancien Regime.
Inspired other regions to revolt.
o Popular protests were almost never a direct attack on the King – a
monarchy was still wanted. There were not yet any inclinations for a
republic.
a)
France became an official ally in 1778 via the Treaty of Alliance.
b)
Catalysed the spread enlightenment ideas to all sections of society b/c
it was heavily & widely reported.
French Rev Acted as a working model - proved that enlightenment ideas could
work
Causes o The US consti was built w Montesquieu’s idea of the sep of
powers.
US War of Independence o 1776 dec of rights spoke of freeing the citizens from the bonds
of the church, aristocracy, & monarchy.
a) Details [1] Returning soldiers discussed & demanded b/c they had helped the US
gain their natural rights, which they themselves didn’t have.
b) Significance [=6, =3] Increased debt by 1.3 mill livres – helped drive France into bankruptcy.
National pride boosted as France did well.
It was the King who chose to get involved so he has ultimate
responsibility.
o Increased patriotism as France was fighting against a common enemy
– the GB.
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