Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-2012 Agriculture, Influence, and Instability Under the Ancien Régime: 1708-1768 Adam J. Polk Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the European History Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, and the Nature and Society Relations Commons Recommended Citation Polk, Adam J., "Agriculture, Influence, and Instability Under the Ancien Régime: 1708-1768" (2012). Master's Theses. 82. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/82 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. AGRICULTURE, INFLUENCE, AND INSTABILITY UNDER THE ANCIEN REGIME: 1708-1789 by Adam J. Polk A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography Advisor: Gregory Veeck, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan December 2012 AGRICULTURE, INFLUENCE, AND INSTABILITY UNDER THE ANCIEN REGIME: 1708-1768 Adam J. Polk, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2012 The French Revolution has been studied from myriad perspectives. The majority of scholarship focuses on the political and urban chaos of the times. Agricultural conditions and the influence of onerous taxation and stagnant agricultural options are given only a cursory examination in most research. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between agronomic and environmental conditions and the eruption of violence in urban centers during the French Revolution and the years leading up to it (1708-1768).