France, from Louis XIV to the Third Republic A. The Old Regime Characterized by extreme autocracy in government (ideas of Absolutism, Divine Right of Kings) and by great social inequalities in social, political, and economic life. These inequalities were remnants of the Old feudal order. The Age of Louis XIV 1643-1715 1. Cardinal Richelieu(Louis XIII’s able minister) and Cardinal Mazarin greatly increased the power of the monarch and put down all opposition. At the Palace of Versailles, Louis drew hereditary nobles away from the estates and destroyed their ability to act as a check on his power. Louis failed to summon the Estates-General (the government) and so between 1614-1789, there was no one to advise or restrain the king. There was no uniformity in the law. An example of this was that anyone could purchase a lettre de cachet from the king, which would imprison someone for an indefinite period of time without a trial. Judges were given positions of authority at the king’s pleasure. The king censored any opposition to him or his policies. 2. Colbert (the chief minister 1661-1683) built up the French economy by improving agriculture, encouraging industry, establishing trading companies and colonies, and constructing roads and canals. Louis built up a very large army to protect his interests. But the complete centralization of all authority in the King at Versailles gave rise to much waste and corruption. In 1685 Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes which ended Huguenot religious toleration. 200,000 skilled artisans and merchants left France for areas that would allow them to practice their Protestant beliefs freely. Many came to the New World. 3. From 1667-1713, Louis and his army were in four wars and left France with debts and heavy taxes. Louis XV and Louis XVI Louis XV (1715-74) increased the debt and taxes. He lost some of the colonies to the English. Louis XVI (1774-1792) was an incompetent leader who was under controls of his Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette. Three Estates 1. First Estate- Clergy. 130,000 ½ of 1% of the population held 1/5 of the land with the income and capital equalling ½ that of the king. They also collected the tithe (10%) of your earnings. 2. Second Estate- Nobles. There were four times as many men than the clergy. They held 1/5 of the land. They paid little or no taxes. 3. Third Estate- Common people. 24 Million. It included the middle class bourgeoisie, artisans, and peasants. The peasants bore the burden of most of the taxes. They paid the tithe to the church, land tax (taille) to the king, performed the corvee (labour on the roads), a poll tax and an income tax. Farmers couldn’t hunt game animals, but the noble hunters and animals were allowed to damage their crops. The Revolt of the Intellectuals/ Philosophers 1. Montesquieu (1689-1775) Spirit of the Laws- advocated separation of the executive, legislative and judicial functions of the government. 2. Voltaire (1694-1778)- attacked intolerance and injustice of his day. 3. Diderot (1713-1784) ed. Encyclopaedia- brought together in one volume the advanced scientific and historical knowledge. 4. Rousseau (1712-1778) The Social Contract- was the political theory opposite of the Divine Right of Kings. He believed in “Government by consent of the governed”. He believe that kings and leaders had a moral responsibility to be responsive to the populations, and if they broke that trust, they should be removed. Three financial ministers attempted financial Reforms: 1. Turgot proposed 5 reforms: - Abolish paying the pensions of pensions to useless nobles. - Levy general land tax on all landowners. - Abolish corvee - Abolish guilds - Abolish customs tolls on grain 2. Necher succeeded publishing source and amount of national revenue as well as determining how it was spent. 3. Calonne borrowed money and brought the French king to the verge of bankruptcy resulting in having to call the Estates-General (the government) together for the first time in 175 years. Why Revolution broke out in France? 1. Bourgeoisie in France was more numerous, wealthy, educated, and influential than in any other European country except Britain. 2. There was much criticism of government from some of the clergy and nobles as well as the Third Estate. 3. The influence of the writer, thinkers, philosophes and intellectuals. 4. Influence of other revolutions including the glorious revolution, the execution of Charles I of Britain, and the American Revolution. 5. The extravagance of the ruling class and its inefficiency. The Bourgeois Revolution (1789-1791) Meeting of the Estates General All men over 21 whose names appeared on tax roles might vote. The third estate had 600 representatives while the other two estates had 300 each. When the Estates-General met at Versailles, there was a problem of the method of voting. Nobles and clergy wanted to vote by estate, but the third estate said there should be one vote per deputy. The problem came when the two upper estates voted together, it would always be 2 to 1, and therefore no change that was favouring the third estate would ever occur. The Tennis Court Oath In frustration of being locked out of the government, the third estate met on the tennis court and decided that they were now a national assembly, and they swore that they would not disband until France had a new constitution. Members of the first estate and second estate finally joined them. The Period of Bourgeois Control 1. July 14, 1789 a mob stormed the Bastille, which was a state prison in Paris. They thought they were freeing a lot of political prisoners, but in reality the prison only held 7 prisoners. However the fall of the Bastille was the symbol of the autocratic king and it became the start of the French Revolution. 2. Peasants throughout France attacked country houses and manors of nobles and burned the tax records. 3. Aug. 4-5, 1789- feudal privileges were swept away in the National Assembly. The government adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789. The constitution stated that a. Men were born free and equal in rights. b. Every citizen was free to write, speak, or print opinions. c. Citizens were free to believe what they wanted to believe. d. No one was arrested or imprisoned without due process of law. e. Citizens have the right to take part in law making. All officials were servants of the people, who had ultimate authority. f. People have the right to depose rulers who abuse their trust. Government of the National Assembly Reforms: 1. 83 uniform departments replaced the old provincial systems, which had their own different customs, laws, tolls, and areas. 2. Reorganized the Church, abolished monasteries, and assumed the right of appointing the clergy and fixing their salaries. 3. Church lands were sold to the peasants, and 4,000,000 francs in paper currency (called assignats) were issued on security of former church lands. (LATER ON THEY PRINTED TOO MUCH MONEY AND IT MADE THE ASSIGNATS WORTHLESS). The Legislative Assembly 1. The Constitution of 1791 provided for a Legislative Assembly of one chamber (rather than 3). 2. The right to vote went to citizens who paid a heavy tax. Thus this meant that much of the power was in the hands of the bourgeois. 3. However radicals, such as The Jacobin Club led by Marat, Danton, and Robespierre, wanted to abolish the monarchy completely, abolish property qualifications for voting, and overthrow the control of the bourgeoisie. 4. Also emigres (nobles who had fled France after the revolution started) conspired to overthrow the National Assembly. 5. The Clergy were angered by the reforms made on the church. 6. Louis the XVI fled to try and raise an army but he was caught and brought back to Paris. The Proletarian Revolution (1792-1799) 1. There was the threat of invasion by Prussia and Austria. 2. War was declared on Austria (April 20,1792) 3. The National Convention (the new government) faced these challenges: a. French armies suffered defeat. b. Hysteria caused a mob to attack the Tuileries and forced the Legislative assembly to suspend the king from office. c. The new more radical assembly called the National Convention was instituted, and they drew up another constitution. d. Under Danton (Jacobin leader), a Parisian mob killed over 1,000 suspected royalist supporters. 4. Acts of the National Convention: a. They declared France a Republic. (a constitution and no king). b. All titles were abolished. (Citizen was adopted) c. They sent Louis XVI to the guillotine on January 21,1793. 5. A struggle for power in the National Convention led to the more radical groups gaining control over the government. They set up a small committee of twelve known as the Committee of Public Safety. These twelve, all members of the Jacobin Club, adopted a policy of terrorism. The Reign of Terror 1. The Committee instituted a levy of the entire male population and put 14 armies in the battlefield. (levee en Masse) 2. Many nobles and officials were guillotined including Marie Antoinette, and some those had supported the revolution earlier but were not as radical as the Jacobins. 3. They set up a new calendar “Cult of Reason”. 4. By early 1794, the leadership of the Committee of Public Safety passed into the hands of Maximillian Robespierre. He even sent the former leader of the Jacobins, Danton to the guillotine. 5. Ironically eventually even Robespierre and some of his supporters were guillotined as well. 6. Thus the Reign of Terror ended with Robespierre’s death in July 1794.