See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/283319192

The French Revolution

Book · January 2015

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1329.8644

CITATIONS READS

0 67,668

1 author:

Darius Von Guettner

University of Melbourne
56 PUBLICATIONS   12 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Holy War in North Central Europe View project

Create new project "French Revolution" View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Darius Von Guettner on 30 October 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 NELSON NELSON
MODERNHISTORY MODERNHISTORY
NELSON
MODERNHISTORY

THE

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Nelson Cengage has developed this series
for Australian senior secondary students of
Modern History. The series includes titles
A Globalised World
Age of Imperialism
Australia 1918–1950s
FRENCH
REVOLUTION
that encompass the period from the 18th
century to the contemporary world and China and Revolution
they explore the social, cultural and political Civil Rights in the United States of America
developments that shape the 21st century. Decolonisation
Written by experienced educators and
Germany 1918–1945
experts in their fields, each book builds on
India
a narrative framework to incorporate recent
research and historiography, primary and Recognition and Rights of Indigenous Peoples
secondary sources, and learning activities. Russia and the Soviet Union
These key features combine to support the The Changing World Order
development of historical knowledge and
The Enlightenment
understanding and historical skills that will
enable students to interpret and reflect on The French Revolution
the experience and developments that have The Industrial Revolution
created the world in which they live. The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East
United States of America 1900–1945
Women’s Movements
The French Revolution
The Phrygian, or liberty, cap is a soft, red, conical cap worn with the top pulled
forward. It was worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central

VON GÜT TNER

Anatolia. The cap had been worn by freed slaves in ancient Greece and Rome as a
symbol of their freedom. During the French Revolution, along with other symbols
adopted from antiquity, the cap came to represent freedom and the pursuit of liberty
in sculpture, paintings and caricatures and was worn by sans-culottes and soldiers
of the revolutionary army. On 20 June 1792, when sans-culottes attacked the Tuileries
Palace, Louis XVI donned the cap to demonstrate he was one of the people. To this
day, the national emblem of France, Marianne, is shown wearing a Phrygian cap.

Louis XVI
ISBN: 978-0170243995
King of France from 1774, Louis XVI summoned
the Estates-General in 1789 to reform his
DARIUS VON GÜT TNER kingdom. The revolution that followed led to his
overthrow in 1792 and execution in 1793.
SERIES EDITOR: TONY TAYLOR
9 780170 243995
For learning solutions, visit cengage.com.au

french_sb_43995_cvr_gatefold_1pp.indd 1-4 18/08/2015 9:28 am

 Ignorance and disregard
for the rights of man
are the sole causes of
public misfortunes
and of the corruption
of governments.
Declaration of the Rights of
Man and the Citizen, 1789
9780170243995

Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
The French Revolution © 2015 Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited
1st Edition
Darius von Güttner Copyright Notice
This Work is copyright. No part of this Work may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
Publishing editor: Michael Spurr written permission of the Publisher. Except as permitted under the
Editor: Carolyn Glascodine Copyright Act 1968, for example any fair dealing for the purposes of private
Project editor: Robyn Beaver study, research, criticism or review, subject to certain limitations. These
Text designer: Astred Hicks limitations include: Restricting the copying to a maximum of one chapter or
Art direction: Danielle Maccarone 10% of this book, whichever is greater; providing an appropriate notice and
Cover designers: Olga Lavecchia, Danielle Maccarone warning with the copies of the Work disseminated; taking all reasonable
Cover image: Bridgeman Images (main image); Library of Congress (inset) steps to limit access to these copies to people authorised to receive these
Permissions researcher: Debbie Gallagher copies; ensuring you hold the appropriate Licences issued by the
Production controller: Julie McArthur Copyright Agency Limited (“CAL”), supply a remuneration notice to CAL and
Typeset by: MPS Limited pay any required fees. For details of CAL licences and remuneration notices
please contact CAL at Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000,
Any URLs contained in this publication were checked for currency during the Tel: (02) 9394 7600, Fax: (02) 9394 7601
production process. Note, however, that the publisher cannot vouch for the Email: info@copyright.com.au
ongoing currency of URLs. Website: www.copyright.com.au

For product information and technology assistance,

in Australia call 1300 790 853;
in New Zealand call 0800 449 725

For permission to use material from this text or product, please email
aust.permissions@cengage.com

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Güttner, Darius von, author.
The French revolution / Darius von Güttner ; Tony Taylor (series editor).

9780170243995 (paperback)
Nelson modern history.
Includes index.
For secondary school age.

Revolutions--France--Textbooks.
France--History--Revolution, 1789-1799--Textbooks.
France--Politics and government--18th century.

Taylor, Tony, 1943– editor.

944.04

Cengage Learning Australia

Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street
South Melbourne, Victoria Australia 3205

Cengage Learning New Zealand

Unit 4B Rosedale Office Park
331 Rosedale Road, Albany, North Shore 0632, NZ

For learning solutions, visit cengage.com.au

Printed in China by China Translation & Printing Services.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 19 18 17 16 15
9780170243995
 iii
Contents

About the series iv

Series editor acknowledgements vi
Author acknowledgements vii

001 Introduction 136 Chapter 4

The republic and beyond

012 CHAPTER 1
The origins of the revolution 176 Chapter 5
The Terror and the Thermidorian
reaction
052 CHAPTER 2
The revolution of 1789
232 Conclusion

098 Chapter 3
The reform and restructuring of
France, 1789–92

Index 244
9780170243995
 about the
series

Using The French Revolution

The French Revolution has been developed especially for senior secondary students of History and is part of the Nelson Modern
History series. Each book in the series is based on the understanding that History is an interpretive study of the past by which
you also come to better appreciate the making of the modern world.
Developing understandings of the past and present in senior History extends on the skills you learnt in earlier years.
As senior students you will use historical skills, including research, evaluation, synthesis, analysis and communication, and
the historical concepts, such as evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, significance, empathy, perspectives and
contestability, to understand and interpret societies from the past. The activities and tasks in The French Revolution have been
written to ensure that you develop the skills and attributes you need in senior History subjects.

Key figures and

1788 1790
organisations, Key
The author team of the Nelson Modern History series combines the collective experience of some of
Australia’s finest educators, teachers, historians, academics and curriculum experts. Cengage gratefully

Timeline
acknowledges the contribution of the authors and the many teachers, historians and academics who

terms and concepts,

contributed to the development of the series.
3 May 12 July

1720–1800 The Parlement of Paris proclaimed

the Fundamental Laws of the
The Civil Constitution
of the Clergy
Kingdoms, stating that new taxes 1794 SERIES EDITOR Chris Gates Dr Sarah Mirams

Professor Tony Taylor
can only by imposed by agreement
Tony is the past Director of the National Inquiry
with the Estates-General
into the Teaching and Learning of History and
8 August the National Centre for History Education.
Key documents
Chris has taught in Australia, the UK and New
Zealand and is currently Head of History at
Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School, Melbourne.
Chris has presented at many teacher conferences
Sarah has taught history in secondary and
tertiary settings, worked as an education
officer for cultural and heritage institutions,
and has contributed to numerous textbooks

The king announced the convocation
1791 5 April 1795 From 2006 to 2010 he was a senior consultant
and student lectures and was a member of the
Nelson Connect with History author team. He is a
for secondary students. She now works as an
independent historian. Sarah is the author of

feature brief biographies, profiles,

of the Estates-General for May 1789 to federal government bodies responsible for the
Danton and Desmoulins tried co-author of China and Revolution. Civil Rights in the United States of America,
development of Australian Curriculum History,

1781 25 September and executed Australia 1918-1950s and United States of

while researching and publishing extensively Sue Gordon
America 1900–1945.
The Parlement of Paris demanded 8 June in various topics in education and History. As In addition to teaching senior Australian and
20–25 June
1775– that the Estates-General meet Festival of the Supreme Being
22 August series editor, Tony played a pivotal role in the
development of the Nelson Modern History
Koori History in Victoria for many years, Sue has Elizabeth Morgan

definitions and summaries of key

Royal family’s flight to been actively involved in curriculum development Elizabeth currently teaches English and History
according to the forms of 1614 and 1795 Constitution ratified
1783 19 February vote by order Varennes and forced
return to Paris
27–28 July
Robespierre arrested, guillotined
– bicameral legislature,
executive Directory of five
series. He is author of The Industrial Revolution
and co-author of The Changing World Order.
and assessment of VCE History. Sue currently
teaches at RMIT University. She is a co-author
at Nossal High School, Berwick, Victoria. With
more than 30 years of teaching experience,
Jacques Necker, Director- 27 December of Imagining Australia, and is the author of and having taught VCE Revolutions for more
14 September without trial (9–10 Thermidor) Recognition and Rights of Indigenous Peoples. than 15 years, she is a passionate educator who
General of Finances, The king concedes to doubling 9–10 November
12 November AUTHOR TEAM regularly presents at conferences and student

documents as a ready reference for

American War presented his financial the number of deputies for the Louis XVI accepted the Bonaparte’s Brumaire Dr Darius von Güttner lectures. She has contributed to many published
Dr Michael Adcock Darius is a Research Fellow, School of
of Independence report to King Louis XVI Third Estate new Constitution Paris Jacobin Club closed coup d’etat resources, including China and Revolution.
Michael is a cultural historian and is currently Historical and Philosophical Studies, at the
Head of Humanities at Melbourne Grammar University of Melbourne. He has taught in Merredith Southee
1700 1780 1790 1795 School. He is a generous supporter of many the History and Education programs at La Merredith has taught History in Western
teachers and students of Revolutions in Victoria, Trobe University and teaches Revolutions and Australian government and private schools and

learning and revision.

Louis XVI February February 20 April 21 January 24 December having presented at countless conferences and Twentieth Century History at Goulburn Valley also developed teaching and learning resources
ascended the Fiscal reform proposal Publication of Sieyès’ What is the Declaration of war on Austria Citizen Louis Capet, formerly Constitution of the contributed to numerous junior and secondary Grammar School, Victoria. Darius is the author for the Department of Education, the Maritime
throne and Assembly of Notables Third Estate? known as Louis XVI, guillotined Year VIII – leadership of textbooks. He is author of The Enlightenment. of The French Revolution. Museum, Fremantle, and the National Trust of
10 August
Napoleon established Australia. She currently lectures in the UWA
February–May Storming of the Tuileries March Professor Ian J Bickerton Brad Kelly Graduate School of Education and is the co-
under the Consulate Ian has been a member of the School of History Brad is Director of Secondary at Cedars
Election of deputies to the Estates- Palace; Louis XVI deposed and Outbreak of rebellion against author of Australia 1918–1950s.
at the University of New South Wales for more Christian College, Illawarra. A former journalist,
1774 General at Versailles; drafting of taken into custody the revolution; war in the Vendée than 35 years and has published and researched he has taught in Australia and England, has Ken Webb
1786 cahiers de doléances
5 May
2–6 September 6 April extensively on the Arab–Israeli conflict and the
Middle East. Ian is author of The Struggle for
presented at numerous history conferences and
student lectures and indulges his passion for
With extensive experience in government and
independent schools as a teacher of Ancient,
The Estates-General meet for the
The September Massacres of
prisoners in the Paris prisons
Committee of Public Safety
established
1799 Peace in the Middle East. history by leading student tours to Europe. Brad
is the author of A Globalised World and co-author
Modern and IB History, Ken is a regular
presenter of student lectures and teaches
first time since 1614 Professor Ian Copland
22 September of The Changing World Order. professional learning workshops. He is the author
The Enlightenment 5 September Ian has written extensively on modern India and
17 June of Age of Imperialism and Russia and the Soviet
National Convention declares Start of the ‘Reign of Terror’ with Pakistan, Indian religious history and comparative K J Mason
The Third Estate declared itself to Union and a host of other senior history titles.
France a republic colonialism and lectured in History at Monash James taught in New South Wales and
the Convention’s proclamation
be the National Assembly University for more than 30 years. He is a Queensland for more than 40 years and has Ashley Wood
of revolutionary government
1720s–
foundation member of the South Asian Studies written numerous history textbooks, most notably Ashley has taught History for ten years and is
20 June until peace Association, and a fellow of the Australian Experience of Nationhood and Republic to Reich. In currently Head of Humanities at St Leonard’s
Tennis Court Oath pledged by Academy of the Humanities. Ian is the author College in Brighton, Victoria. He is also President
1780s 4 December 2006 James was awarded an OAM in the General
members of the Third Estate
14 July
1792 Law of 14 Frimaire II passed
of India. Division for services to secondary education and
in particular the teaching and writing of history.
of the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria.
He has contributed to a wide variety of journals
Versailles, France; Bridgeman Images; Alamy/The Art Archive;

Maryellen Galbally
James is the author of Germany 1918–1945. and junior history textbooks and is the author of
Alamy/Stocktrek Images; Alamy/Classic Image; Bridgeman

Storming of the Bastille Maryellen Galbally has taught History at both

Decolonisation and co-author of The Changing
Clockwise from top left: Bridgeman Images/Château de

52 secondary and tertiary levels and has worked

World Order.
53
11 August extensively as a curriculum advisor in Victoria and

1793
Images; Alamy/Prisma Archivo; Alamy/Lanmas

The National Assembly abolishes New South Wales. She has developed numerous
the last vestiges of feudalism history teaching and learning resources, including
Imagining Australia, and has presented at many
26 August teacher conferences. Maryellen is the author of
Women’s Movements.
C h a p t e r t w o
The Assembly adopted the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
9780170243995

9780170243995

1789
The revolution
of 1789
Inquiry
Illustrated timeline questions
is a bird’s-eye view of the topic In this chapter we will examine the events that followed the refusal of the privileged
orders to approve reform of France’s fiscal system and the king’s decision to summon
the Estates-General to a meeting with the expectation of enacting the proposed reforms. are listed at
and summarises the major
When the Estates-General, representing the three estates of the realm, met in Versailles,

the start of the

their delegates hoped to address more than just the king’s reform package and brought
with them their cahiers de doléances, or books of grievances, which voters had drawn up in
the assemblies that had elected the deputies. The cahiers called for a range of reforms and

developments of the period. chapter. These

the drawing up of the lists had created an expectation that the issues would be addressed
in Versailles. In addition to these hopes, the issue of how voting was to be conducted at
the meeting excited the public. An influential pamphlet entitled What Is the Third Estate?,
written by Abbé Sieyès, a priest who was a deputy of the Third Estate, offered a range of

questions provide
radical solutions. In June 1789, these solutions were adopted by the Third Estate, which
30 claimed political power by declaring itself the National Assembly. The emancipation of the
Third Estate was completed when, on 20 June, locked out of their meeting place, its deputies
swore an oath not to rest until France had a constitution – the oath passed into the annals

a focus for you

of history as the Tennis Court Oath. A combination of rumour
The inequity of taxation
Bridgeman Images/Musee de la Ville de Paris, Musee Carnavalet, Paris, France

and radical agitation in response to the king moving troops close

InquIry questIons
This contemporary engraving offers a striking illustration of the injustice of the ancien régime based on the to Paris, and fear of the dissolution of the National Assembly,

as you read each

sparked an outburst of violence against the monarchy. When, on + What factors contributed to the
inequalities in political, social and economic standing of the estates. The privileged estates (identifiable by their
14 July, a crowd of thousands of Parisians captured the old royal revolution in the short term?
form of dress) are depicted standing on top of the rock bearing the names of taxes paid almost exclusively by the prison, the Bastille, the monarchy’s authority vanished. It became
+ What were the key factors that
Third Estate. the signal for a peasant uprising in the provinces and gave the
enabled the Third Estate to declare

chapter.
National Assembly an incentive to proclaim the abolition of the
itself the National Assembly?
remnants of feudalism. The new society was heralded with the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, proclaiming the + How did ordinary French people
‘sacred’ rights of man. The king’s refusal to accept the declaration save the revolution?
inspired the Parisian crowd to take action again. There was no + What brought about the end of
9780170243995

9780170243995

turning back to absolute monarchy. the ancien régime ?

❮ The caption on this 1789 engraving translates to ‘Long Live the King, Long Live the
Nation. I knew quite well that sooner or later it would be our turn’.
The French revoluTion Chapter 2
The revolution of 1789

CHAPTER introductions
provide a context to the issues that are addressed.
Bibliothèque nationale de France

sOurCe 1.13 This contemporary image depicts the crushing inequity of the ancien régime in France – the fiscal privilege.

Questions
1 Identify the three figures in the cartoon. How are they represented?
2 Describe the background to the scene and explain its significance.
3 The words written on the rock are those of taxes: Taille, Impôts, Corvées. Explain what each of these taxes was for.
4 What message does this image convey about the burden of taxation in pre-revolutionary France?
5 Symbols, such as clothing, are frequently used in illustrations to convey meaning. Recognising and
understanding these symbols will enable you to analyse and interpret the meaning of other visual sources.
Create a table summarising the symbols used in Sources 1.09, 1.10 and 1.13. As you work through your study
of the French Revolution you will encounter many new symbols, such as the cockade and the revolutionary
bonnet. Add any new symbol and a description of its meaning to your table.
9780170243995

141

Source Studies
THE FrEncH rEvoluTion

SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUALS
of visual and text primary sources and
Jacques-Pierre Brissot (1754–1793)
Brissot was a leading member of the Girondist faction
during the French Revolution. He was a supporter of the are biographical profiles and
secondary literature appear frequently through declaration of war with Austria (1792), but argued against
the direct democracy advocated by radical Jacobins and
assessments of key historical
9780170243995

the text and are combined with questions

the sans-culottes, and called for the maintenance of the

figures and frequently include

constitutional monarchy established by the Constitution of
1791. In June 1793, Brissot and other Girondin deputies in

and activities to aid your evaluation and

the National Convention were arrested by the Convention

questions and activities.

under threat from the sans-culottes. They were charged with
Corbis

espionage and counter-revolution and sentenced to death

interpretation of evidence from the past.

by guillotine on 31 October.

The need for war – opposing views

robespierre on war, December 1791

It seems that those who desired to provoke war adopted this view only because they did not pay sufficient
attention to the nature of the war ... and to the circumstances in which we today find ourselves … [W]hat
kind of war can threaten us; will this be a war of one nation against other nations? Will it be a war of a
king against other kings? No, it will be a war of all the enemies of the French Constitution against the
 Louis V, the last king of the Carolingian dynasty. enemies of liberty
In 1328, when direct descendants of Hugh Capet 6 Those who have 2 Those who are
emigrated as a result of unable to justify their
did not produce a surviving male heir to the French 18
the revolution even though means of existence and
throne, the succession passed to their cousin, the they may have returned the performance of their
head of the younger branch of the House of Capet, to France civic duties
royal prerogative In the decades leading to the revolution, a number of institutions questioned the
the Valois dynasty. Similarly, in 1589, the Valois died Customary authority,
powers of the Crown and, in particular, the scope of the royal prerogative. During the

Wikimedia/Sodacan
v
out and the throne passed to Henry IV (1553–1610), LAW privilege and immunity
the first French monarch of the Bourbon dynasty. OF SUSPECTS, belonging to the king alone reign of Louis XV (1715–1774), the king considered it necessary to remind the judges of
17 SEPTEMBER 1793 the parlements, and France in general, of the extent of his authority. On 3 March 1766, the
When, in 1792, King Louis XVI was deposed, the
parlements Parlement of Paris, one of the sovereign courts of law, held a special session known as the lit
government of the French Republic decided that
5 Former nobles The sovereign courts of law
de justice, presided over by Louis XV, during which the king outlined his own interpretation
the former king and his family would be referred to sOurCe 1.2 The coat of arms of France
and their families or 3 Those who have been
in France
by the family name of their ancient ancestor Hugh agents of the émigrés who of law. The event became known as the ‘Session of the Scourging’ because the king lashed
refused certificates of
Capet, and thus Louis became Louis Capet. have not steadfastly shown revolutionary patriotism out at the judges who objected to his will. When the king’s grandson and successor, Louis XVI,
their devotion to the
revolution
began his reign in 1774, these words served as a powerful reminder of the monarch’s own
4 Public officials who concept of authority.
have been suspended or
dismissed from their
positions by the National The sovereign power resides
Convention thority
royal au
in my person only.
Louis XIV – the Sun King ExtEnt of ing to louis xV
The reign of France’s Sun King, Louis XIV accord
(1643–1715), is one of the longest in European sourCe 5.25 According to the Law of Suspects these individuals were considered to be threats to the revolution. The nature of the sovereign
power consists of the spirit
history. For more than 50 years, Louis had
of consultation, justice and
personally ruled France, providing the rest of
the law oF suspeCts questions reason.
Europe with an example of an absolutist style
Peter McPhee commented on the context of the operation of the Law of Suspects: 1 What is McPhee’s main

Alamy/Pictorial Press Ltd

of government. His reign marked the growth
argument?
of France as one of the great powers of the Paris … was the pulsating, tumultuous centre of the Revolution, where huge Courts derive their existence
Continent. Louis reformed the administration 2 What was in his opinion and their authority from me
numbers of civilians and soldiers on the move coexisted uneasily with long-
of justice and promoted commerce and industry, the aim of the Law of alone.
established neighbourhood communities. The chaos of a city at the heart of the
including the development of overseas colonies. Suspects?
Revolution was barely contained by vigorous policing. In such a situation the news
As king, he established royal academies for spread by 1,000 newspaper street-sellers was embellished by word of mouth, Courts exercise their
architecture, art, literature, science and music, creating a city crackling with a potent mixture of rumour, optimism, and suspicion. authority in my name only.

Alamy/liszt collection
and built the royal palaces of the Louvre, now
The Law of Suspects was designed to quell such insecurity; in its implementation,
an art gallery, and Versailles, where he based
sections, and their thousands of police, drawn from fortnightly service by all able-
the French court. Louis XIV outlived all of Independent and undivided
bodied men, played the grass-roots role. Lies, personal feuds, and denunciations
his immediate family with the exception of legislative power belongs to
sOurCe 1.3 Louis XIV, France’s Sun King found a fertile atmosphere, yet the activities of section authorities were self-
his grandson, Philip V of Spain, and a great- me alone.
consciously legal and ‘correct’.
grandson, who became Louis XV when the Sun King died in 1715. The name of The rights and interests of the Public order in its entirety
Peter McPhee, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, Oxford University Press,
Louis XIV became synonymous with greatness, power, splendour and glory. nation are necessarily united emanates from me.
9780170243995

Oxford England; New York, 2002, p. 125.

with my rights and interests

9780170243995
and rest only in my hands.

Chapter 1

INFORMATION BOXES HISTORIAN BOXES DIAGRAMS ANd

The origins of the revolution
The French revoluTion
CONtempOrarIes ON the CharaCter Of lOuIs XVI
The abbé Jean-Louis Soulavie (1781–1813), who published his account of the reign of Louis XVI in 1801, attributed

contain extended discussions of introduce key historians and schools Talking sources
the unleashing of the revolution to the rigid social structure of the ancien régime. Soulavie pointed out that Louis XVI
was unsuitable to lead his country in the time of crisis because of his indecisive personality. The king seemed unable

are used to visually summarise

to follow through his policy decisions and defend them when faced with firm resistance. Soulavie portrayed Louis XVI
key events, concepts and historical of interpretation as a way of making as a scrupulous and morally irreproachable monarch, who could not choose between asserting the royal authority and
consenting to the demands of public opinion.1

developments. Many also include historiography clearer. complex ideas and events.

9780170243995
questions and activities.
THE FrEncH rEvoluTion

95 96

Chapter summary 12 Robert Darnton, What was revolutionary about the French Revolution? Charles Edmonson historical lectures 11th, Baylor
University Press, Waco, Texas, Markham Press Fund, 1990, p. 5.
13 Michael Fitzsimmons, 2013, p. 87.
+ The bankruptcy of the Crown speeded the king’s decision to issue the convocation of the
14 François Furet, Interpreting the French Revolution, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990, pp. 45–6.
Estates-General.
+ The Parlement of Paris set the procedure for the meeting of the Estates-General. weblinks
+ Abbé Sieyès published his provocatively titled pamphlet What Is the Third Estate? Weblinks relevant to this chapter can be found at http://nmh.nelsonnet.com.au/french
+ The cahiers de doléances demanded changes but fell short of revolutionary demands.
+ The opening ceremony of the Estates-General deliberately reinforced the social disparity Further resources
between the estates. Peter Burley, ‘A Bankrupt Regime’, History Today, January 1984, pp. 36–42.
+ The stalemate over the voting procedures resulted in the declaration by the deputies of the Peter McPhee, Chapter 3, ‘The Revolution of 1789’, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, Oxford
Third Estate that they represented the whole nation. University Press, Oxford, 2002.

CHAPTER SUMMARY AND

+ The Tennis Court Oath challenged the king’s authority. The king capitulated in the face of Albert Soboul, The French Revolution, 1787–1799, From the Storming of the Bastille to Napoleon,
the strong demands of the Third Estate. Vintage, New York, 1975, pp. 42–55.
+ Jacques Necker’s dismissal caused anti-royalist agitation in Paris and resulted in the

CHAPTER REVIEW ACTIVITIES

storming of the Bastille.
+ With the news of the fall of the Bastille the social order of the ancien régime disintegrated
with the wave of peasant insurrections known as the ‘Great Fear’.
+ During the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly abolished the feudal system in France. The
Chapter review activities
conclude each chapter. They include a
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen announced the principles of the new society.
+ The king’s reluctance to endorse the August Decrees, and the Declaration of Rights incited
1 What was the role of the Estates-General?
Parisian market women to march to Versailles and forcibly bring the royal family to Paris,
2 When was the last time the Estates-General were summoned before 1789?
making them virtual prisoners of the revolution.

brief precis of the topic, suggestions for

3 How did the views of society differ between the nobles and the peasants in France in 1789?
endnotes 4 What was the key demand of the Third Estate when Louis XVI called the meeting of the
1 Young, Arthur, Travels during the years 1787, 1788, and 1789. Undertaken more particularly with a view of Estates-General in 1789?
ascertaining the Cultivation, Wealth, Resources, and National Prosperity of the Kingdom of France, Bury St. Edmunds, 5 On what grounds did the Third Estate proclaim itself the National Assembly?

further reading, and a range of learning

J Rackham, London, 1792, p. 123. 6 What were the cahiers de doléances and what did they suggest about the concerns of the
2 William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002, p. 97.
French people on the eve of the revolution?
3 Peter McPhee, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, Oxford University Press, Oxford England; New York, 2002, p. 51.
7 What was the impact of the failure of French harvests in the late 1780s on the economy and
4 Georges Lefebvre, The French Revolution, Routledge & Kegan Paul; Columbia University Press, London; New
on the lives of ordinary people?

activities that consolidate knowledge and

York, 1962, p. 118.
5 William Doyle, 2002, p. 111. 8 Who was Abbé Sieyès and what contribution did he make to the development of the
6 Peter McPhee, 2002, p. 62 revolution, both in ideological and practical terms?
7 Peter McPhee, 2002, p. 62. 9 Explain how issues of procedure and voting created divisions within the Estates-General
Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, Penguin, London, 1989, p. 859.

understanding of the chapter’s content.

8 when it met in May 1789.
9 Michael Fitzsimmons, ‘The Principles of 1789’, in Peter McPhee, A Companion to the French Revolution, Wiley-
10 Why did the National Assembly form in June 1789?
Blackwell companions to European history, Chichester, West Sussex, UK; Wiley-Blackwell, Malden, Mass.,
2013, p. 84.
11 What were the context, reasons and outcomes of the sacking of Jacques Necker on
10 François Furet and Mona Ozouf, A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution, Belknap Press of Harvard 11 July 1789?

These tasks incorporate a range of historical

University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1989, p. 112. 12 Why has the storming of the Bastille become the best-known event of the French Revolution?
11 François Furet and Mona Ozouf, 1989, p. xiii. What were the outcomes of this event, in both real and symbolic terms?
9780170243995

9780170243995

Chapter 2
The revolution of 1789
The French revoluTion
understandings and skills.

232 233

C Co on nC Cl lu us si o
i on n
The image on the facing page, painted by Jeanne-Louise (Nanine) Vallain in 1793 or 1794,
used to hang in the meeting hall of the Jacobin Club in Paris. It is easily recognisable as a
personification of Liberty or Republic, who is represented as a solemn, seated woman, wearing
clothing associated with ancient Rome and holding a pike or staff topped with a red Phrygian
cap or bonnet of liberty (an allusion to the cap worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome) in her

The French left hand; in her right hand, she holds an unrolled scroll, which reveals the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen. A bound bundle of wooden rods, the fasces, lie just behind the
Revolution scroll. These are usually bound around the pike to symbolise the administration of justice. 243
Perhaps it is significant that Liberty, or the Republic, is strong enough to hold the pike alone
aCtivities
in her hand, like her British counterpart Britannia, who holds the trident. At her bare feet lie
symbols of vanquished monarchy, broken chains, the inverted crown of a deposed monarch
and the mutilated feudal registers of seigneurial dues.
Like so much art of the period, this is an allegorical image, personalising freedom, fairness,
law and order. It certainly neatly summarises the achievements of the revolution and may well
have struck a chord in post-Robespierre France as the revolution entered the period of the
Directory, the longest period of a continuous revolutionary
Considergovernment. This chapter
your own position of history
in relation to the following questions:
was closed on 9 November 1799 when Napoleon1Bonaparte took the
What were charge as of
causes thethe
First Consul.
crisis and collapse of the ancien régime in France?
When, in 1804, Napoleon decided to abandon the 2 republican
How and whyfaçade
didand crowned himself
the revolution progress through its various stages?
Emperor, the revolution, arguably, was truly over. 3 How did the revolution consolidate its achievements?
4 Was the use of violence necessary to establish the new society?
The outcomes of the revolution
5 What were the short-term and long-term effects of the revolution?

THE Conclusion
For each of the five questions above, with reference to the sources in this book, present a response
With the enactment of the Constitution of 1795, the leaders
in the formof of:the Republic were hoping that
their country would enter a period of stabilisation + and prosperity.
a mind Louis XVI’
map including keys events
brotherandwashistorians
proclaimed Louis XVIII, but because he was in exile+therea three-was noorreal prospectshort
four-point of thewritten
restoration
response

summarises the topic and includes

of the Bourbon dynasty to the French throne. France + wasan toessay.
remain a republic for the foreseeable
future. It was obvious that the revolution had caused deep and permanent changes in French
society. With the benefit of hindsight, it can be safelyChronology
said that many activity
of the changes made during
the revolution were never reversed. 6 Use the chronology of events in each of the chapters to create two timelines: the ancien

a series of activities to consolidate

The French Revolution began in 1789 with the assertion régime and therights
of political New by Society.
the Third Estate
and hopes for a constitutional settlement to benefit the wholeUse your
nation.own judgement
Through 1789 toto 1795
selectthethe events you consider to be milestones in the
development
revolutionary ideals were challenged, refined, altered and rejected. of the revolutionary
The Constitution situation. For each of the milestones, write a short, three-
of 1795 resembled
lineofdescription focusing
it wasonimpossible
the significance of the event.

your knowledge of it. More importantly,

more its predecessor enacted in 1791 than the Constitution 1793. In 1795, to
predict that power would be seized in 1799 by one ofHistorians
the republican generals, Napoleon Bonaparte.
activity
The freedoms heralded in 1789 formed the foundation
7 of the
Use the enduring
quotes from concept
historiansof in
rights:
this book to create a table in which you paraphrase,
French citizens have the right to do ‘all that is not forbidden by own
using your the law’. With
words, the this
ideasconcept
historians were expressing in their analysis of the French

these final tasks will help you build an

taking hold in the consciousness of the nation, there wasRevolution.
no going back to a society based on the
corporate privilege of the ancien régime . Similarly, the idea that all people are equal prevented a
return to the inequities of privilege based on hereditary social status. The protection of property
Historian Quote Paraphrase
rights also broke away from the ancien régime and benefited sections of the bourgeoisie and the

understanding and interpretation of

Getty Images/DeAgostini

9780170243995

9780170243995

❮ La Liberté by Nanine Vallain, 1793–94

this period in history.

Visual source analysis Conclusion
8 Select a visual source from each chapter of this book. For each image, identify key symbols
and summarise their meanings and write a half-page response in which you evaluate to
what extent the image accurately depicts the event(s) it illustrates. In your response, refer
to specific parts of the image and to historians’ views of the revolution.
9780170243995

Conclusion

Beyond this book

9780170243995

The Nelson Modern History series includes numerous titles on a range of topics covered in senior History courses
around Australia. For further information about the series visit: www.nelsonsecondary.com.au.
vi

Series editor acknowledgements

Studying modern world history is a fascinating and exciting activity for several reasons. The
first of these is our closeness to the modern past. All of us who live today are in direct contact
with recent and contemporary history. For example, teachers who use this book might have had
grandparents who experienced, in different ways, the events of the Second World War. Students
who read this book will probably have grandparents who lived through the Swinging Sixties
in Australia. Other students who come from more recently arrived migrant families will have
stories to tell about significant historical events from their former homeland.
And when it comes to topicality, the study of modern history is also the study of events that
directly affect the way we live today. For instance, the work of 18th-century Scottish philosopher
Adam Smith is still being used by 21st-century politicians to underpin their economic policies.
Further, the activities of feminist and civil rights activists in the 1960s have altered the way the
international community and contemporary societies deal with their citizens. And the shadow of
two world wars still impinges upon the collective memories of dozens of nations, often leading
to confusion between commemoration of the past, celebration of long-ago endeavours and what
this book is about, the pursuit of investigative history.
The study of the modern past is exciting too because when it comes to investigating the late
19th, the 20th and the 21st centuries we can use graphic visual and auditory evidence that brings
us close to a fuller realisation of how life was lived then and how the people we are researching
looked and sounded. While these new sources of evidence can and do bring a freshness to our
understanding of the past, they also demand new techniques of historical investigation.
Finally, the study of modern history, which is, to use historian Pieter Geyl’s term, ‘an argument
without end’, is often more intense than other forms of history because of our closeness to the
events. This means that, even though conclusions may be passionately expressed, a carefully
tempered and dispassionate approach to studying controversial events needs to be employed in
the formulation of an historical explanation.
Having said all of that, enjoy your study of modern history.

Tony Taylor
Series editor
9780170243995
 vii

Author acknowledgements
The book is the result of years of working with my colleagues and my students. I would especially
like to acknowledge my students – their questions, curiosity and observations have shaped my
teaching and provided the focus for the activities in the text.
This book stands on the shoulders of giants: I should like to express my gratitude to my
teachers and colleagues Peter McPhee, Adrian Jones and David Garrioch, whose scholarship has
contributed to my interpretation of the causes, progress and outcomes of the French Revolution.
To Adam Zamoyski, I also owe thanks.
I am grateful for the guidance and assistance of my publishing editor, Michael Spurr at
Cengage, in the preparation of this textbook. He ensured that it met the requirements of the
series and supported me throughout the writing. I thank him for his forbearance and great sense
of humour. I also thank Robyn Beaver at Cengage, project editor, and Carolyn Glascodine, copy
editor. I also acknowledge the permissions, production and design teams and their work behind
the scenes, and the series editor, Tony Taylor.
As with my other publications, Alexander, Michael and Nicholas were my constant
companions. They provided a level of distraction, which proved encouraging, if not inspiring.
Finally, I would like to thank the person who proved to be the key in completing this project –
I’m grateful as ever.

Darius von Güttner

9780170243995
 Alamy/Heritage Image Partnership Ltd

9780170243995
 The French
Revolution

The revolution that destroyed the ancien régime in France is considered by many as the
first of the modern revolutions. It is one of the great turning points of the modern era
because never before had the society of a powerful country been transformed to give
political representation to its entire population on the basis of the principle of popular
sovereignty.
France was one of the most powerful states in 18th-century Europe and influenced
European economic, political and cultural development. French was not only spoken at
the court of Versailles, but across the courts of Europe. French culture, including arts and
literature, was emulated by the European elites. The ruler of France, Louis XVI, was not a
despotic tyrant, but a monarch pursuing an active reform agenda.
In the 1780s, the financial situation of the French monarchy was the key reason for the
monarchy seeking a new national consensus with the summoning of the Estates-General.
The meeting of this representative institution, the first in more than 150 years, set in
motion a chain of events that challenged the very foundations of absolute monarchy. Many
underlying tensions in France’s institutions made a revolution, if not inevitable, at least
conceivable. Louis XVI’s reform agenda was overtaken by revolution, as ideas became
action. The year 1789 marked the transition of France from a kingdom ruled by a divinely
ordained ruler to a constitutional monarchy, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen heralded the birth of the new order.
The establishment of the new society was marked by division and idealism, which
turned into extremism. Religion, position of the king and the definition of who could be
considered a citizen each proved to be contentious. A series of political and economic
crises forced the revolution onto the path of emergency measures and war. In 1793,
terror became the ‘order of the day’ as France’s new republican government became more
authoritarian.
The revolution cannot be summed up in simplistic terms as the confrontation between
feudalism and capitalism, or a bourgeois clash with nobles and the monarchy. It progressed
in a complex and unpredictable way, often contradicting the revolutionary ideas of
universal rights of man. The process of change exacted a high human cost. The violence
of the Terror and the imperial ambitions of Napoleon were examples of the compromise
of the revolutionary ideals that first proclaimed ‘men are born and remain free and equal
in rights’. One of the most significant outcomes of the revolution is the endurance of the
principles of popular sovereignty and civil equality – the foundations of modern liberal
democratic societies.
The French monarchy at the height of its glory. Gabriel François Doyen, Louis XVI reçoit à Reims les hommages des
chevaliers du Saint-Espirit, 13 juin 1775 (Louis XVI accepts the tributes of the knights of Saint-Spirit in Reims,
13 June 1775) (c. 1775). Commissioned for the chapel of Grands Augustins in Paris, Musée de Versailles.
9780170243995

1
 Key figures and
organisations
Charles, Count
OF Artois, (1757–1836)
Artois was the youngest brother of
Louis XVI. In 1788, he was one of
the signatories of the Memoir of the
Princes of the Blood. He left France
shortly after the fall of the Bastille. In
1824, he became king as Charles X,
but was deposed in 1830 and died
in exile.
Jean-Sylvain Bailly
(1736–1793)
Bailly was the scientist who first
tracked the orbit of Halley’s Comet.
Elected as President of the National
Assembly in June 1789, he presided
over the Tennis Court Oath. After
the fall of the Bastille he was elected
Mayor of Paris. His popularity
declined following the Champ de
Mars Massacre; he was guillotined
in 1793.
Antoine-Pierre Barnave
(1761–1793)
Barnave was a lawyer and a deputy for
the Third Estate to the Estates-General.
He was a member of the Feuillants
who favoured constitutional monarchy.
He was arrested in August 1792 and
executed in November 1793.
2
Napoleon Bonaparte Jacques-Pierre Brissot
(1756–1821) (1754–1793)
Brissot was a lawyer and a leading
member of the Girondin faction,
also known as the ‘Brissotins’. He
was elected as a deputy to both the
Legislative Assembly and the National
Convention. In October 1793, he was
Bonaparte was a revolutionary general, executed with other leading Girondins.
consul and, from 1804, emperor of
the French. He gained prominence in
1793 after retaking Toulon from the Charles-Alexandre de
Calonne (1734–1802)
British. In 1795, he was responsible for
suppressing the royalist insurrection.
He was a gifted strategist who won
several spectacular victories. In 1799, he
overthrew the Directory and established
the Consulate. In 1812, he was defeated
after a disastrous campaign in Russia. He
was forced into exile, initially to Elba and
Calonne was a career administrator.
later St Helena.
From 1783, he was Director-General
of Finances. He was the author of the
Étienne-Charles unsuccessful reform plan that was
Loménie de Brienne rejected by the Assembly of Notables
(1727–1794) in 1787; he was replaced by Loménie
de Brienne.
Brienne was the Archbishop of Toulouse.
In May 1787, he was appointed the
Chief Minister. He attempted to push
tax reform through the Assembly of
Notables and the Parlement of Paris,
but was unsuccessful and resigned in
August 1789. During the revolution, he
took the Clerical Oath and continued as
a constitutional bishop. He was arrested
during the Terror and died in prison.
9780170243995
This page, left to right: Alamy/Masterpics; Alamy/Stocktrek Images, Inc.;
Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, 1784 (oil on canvas), Vigee-Lebrun,
Elisabeth Louise (1755-1842)/Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II, 2015
 Marquis de Condorcet
(1743–1794)
Condorcet was a philosophe who was
a deputy to the Convention and a
member of the Girondin faction. He
was an advocate of the abolition of the
death penalty and promoted the rights
of women; he died in prison.
Georges Danton
(1759–1794)
Danton was a lawyer and a founder
of the Cordeliers Club. He was
actively involved in overthrowing
the monarchy on 10 August 1792.
Later he became Minister for Justice
and a member of the Committee of
Public Safety. He was a supporter of
the Terror in 1793; later he called
for moderation and was arrested for
conspiracy and executed.
Jacques-Louis David
(1748–1825)
David was a painter, best known for
his great painting La Mort de Marat
(The Death of Marat) and the quick
sketch of Marie Antoinette on her way
to execution. He was a member of
the Jacobin Club; as a deputy of the
Convention he voted for the execution
of Louis XVI.
9780170243995
Camille Desmoulins
(1760–1794)
Desmoulins was a lawyer and a
journalist. He agitated for crowds
to arm themselves at the Palais
Royal on 12 July 1789. He was a
founding member of the Cordeliers
Club and was elected to the National
Convention. Desmoulins was a
moderate Jacobin, a supporter
of Danton and later a critic of
Robespierre. He was arrested together
with Danton and guillotined.
Charles-François
Dumouriez (1739–1823)
Dumouriez was a soldier and a
diplomat. He became a general after
his victory at Valmy on 20 September
1792. He was a sympathiser of the
Girondins and defected to Austria
after his attempted coup against the
Convention.
Joseph Fouché (1759–1820)
Fouché was a priest and later a
deputy in the National Convention.
He voted for Louis XVI’s death. As
a representative on mission, he was
responsible for the brutal pacification
of Lyons. Fouché was a factional
enemy of Robespierre and the chief
organiser of the coup of Thermidor.
He survived the revolution and
became chief of police for Napoleon.
Olympe de Gouges
(1748–1793)
Gouges was a playwright and
journalist, and an advocate for
women, demanding their equal rights
and treatment. In 1791, Gouges
published the Declaration of the Rights
of Woman and the Female Citizen,
declaring that ‘Woman is born free
and remains equal in rights’. She was
guillotined in 1793.
Henri (Abbé) Grégoire
(1750–1831)
Grégoire was a clergyman and an
advocate for the abolition of slavery.
He was deputy for the clergy to the
Estates-General and later joined
the constitutional Church. Grégoire
refused to renounce Christianity
during the de-Christianisation.
Jacques Hébert (1757–1794)
Hébert was a journalist and publisher
of the radical newspaper Le Père
Duchesne 1790–94. He was a member
of the Cordeliers Club and the
Commune of Paris. He pursued
policies favouring the Paris poor, for
example the Law of the Maximum and
the Law of Suspects. Later he was the
organiser of the de-Christianisation
campaign. His pursuit of direct
democracy threatened the government
and he was arrested together with his
followers. He was guillotined in
May 1794.
This page, clockwise from top left: Getty Images/DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/
De Agostini; Alamy/The Art Archive; Corbis/The Gallery Collection;
Alamy/The Art Archive
Introduction 3
 The Marquis de
Lafayette (1757–1834)
Lafayette was a volunteer in the
American War of Independence. A
liberal noble, Lafayette was influential
during the early stages of the
revolution; he was a deputy to the
Estates-General for the nobility and
was appointed the first commander of
the National Guard in July 1789. He
lost popularity after his troops opened
fire on the demonstrators at Champ
de Mars in July 1791. He defected to
Austria on 19 August 1792 where he
was detained until 1797.
Louis XVI (1754–1793)
Louis XVI was King of France from
1774. In 1770, he married Marie
Antoinette, the youngest daughter of
Maria Theresa of Austria. In 1788,
he summoned the Estates-General,
which is considered to be the starting
point of the revolution. From October
1789, he was a virtual prisoner of the
revolution. He attempted to escape
from Paris on 20 June 1791 but was
recognised and captured at Varennes,
and then forcibly returned to the
capital. He was overthrown in the
insurrection of 10 August 1792 and
faced trial before the Convention in
December 1792. He was condemned
to death and guillotined on
21 January 1793.
4
Jean-Paul Marat
(1743–1793)
Marat was a physician, radical
journalist and publisher of L’Ami
du peuple, and a member of the
Cordeliers Club. His demagogy and
denunciations incited violence, which
some have seen as leading to the
September Massacres of 1792. He was
assassinated in a bath by Charlotte
Corday, a Girondin supporter, on
13 July 1793.
Marie Antoinette
(1755–1793)
Marie Antoinette married the future
Louis XVI to seal an alliance between
France and Austria. She was deeply
unpopular and often accused of
betraying France; she was used as a
scapegoat for the kingdom’s financial
problems. She was a devoted mother
who shared the same fate as the king,
following him to the guillotine on
16 October 1793.
Count Mirabeau
(1749–1791)
Mirabeau was a liberal noble elected
as a deputy for the Third Estate to the
Estates-General. He was influential in
the early stages of the revolution and
supported constitutional monarchy
following the British model. In 1790,
he became a secret adviser to Louis
XVI. His revolutionary legacy was
discredited when his secret letters
were found in the king’s iron chest. He
was, nevertheless, the first to be buried
as a national hero in the Panthéon.
Montesquieu (1689–1775)
Montesquieu was a nobleman and
lawyer who held the position of
president of the Parlement of Bordeaux.
In his writings, he commented on
various political subjects. In 1748, he
published The Spirit of Laws in which he
outlined the idea of the separation of the
powers, enabling a system of checks and
balances of the branches of government.
9780170243995
This page, clockwise from top left: Getty Images/Imagno; Alamy/The
Art Archive; Mary Evans Picture Library/CAGP/Iberfoto; Getty Images/
Fine Art Images; Alamy/The Art Archive
 Jacques Necker (1732–1806)
Necker was a Swiss banker and
Controller-General of Finances from
1776. In January 1781, he published
his misleading Compte rendu in an
attempt to restore confidence in the
Crown’s finances. Necker claimed that
the accounts showed the finances to
be 10 million livres in surplus; the
cost of royal borrowing was hidden in
the notes to the accounts.
Louis, Duke OF Orléans,
later known as Philippe
Égalité (1747–1793)
Orléans was a prince of the blood
and head of the House of d’Orléans,
the younger branch of the Royal
House of France. He was a deputy
to the National Assembly and later
to the Convention, and a member of
the Montagnards. He voted for the
execution of his relative Louis XVI. He
was guillotined in 1793.
Louis, Count OF
Provence (1755–1824)
Provence was the younger brother
of Louis XVI. He left France at the
time of the royal family’s failed flight
to Varennes in June 1791. After the
execution of Louis XVI he declared
himself regent for his nephew, Louis
XVII. He lived in exile until the defeat
of Napoleon in 1814 and 1815. He
was King of France from 1814 until
his death 10 years later.
9780170243995
Maximilien Robespierre Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1758–1794) (1712–1778)
Rousseau was a political writer,
philosophe and a contributor to the
Encyclopédie. He suggested the ideas
of the ‘general will’ in his works Émile
(1762) and The Social Contract (1762).
His works became influential after 1789.
Robespierre was a lawyer who was
elected deputy for the Third Estate to
the Estates-General. In 1792, he was Jacques Roux (1752–1794)
elected to the National Convention
Roux was a priest and later a member
and from July 1793 he was a leading
of the constitutional Church. He was
member of the Committee of Public
a member of the Paris Commune from
Safety. Robespierre was a key figure
August 1792 and was leader of the
of the Terror. He was arrested and
radical group known as enragés. Roux
guillotined after a conspiracy against
was arrested in September 1793 and
him and his followers.
committed suicide in January 1794.
Jean-Marie Roland
Louis de Saint-Just
(1734–1793)
(1767–1794)
Roland, who was married to Manon,
Saint-Just was a lawyer and became a
was an industrialist, politician and
member of the National Guard in 1789.
government minister, and one of the
He was elected deputy to the National
leaders of the Girondin faction. After
Convention. He was a close associate
their fall he went into hiding.
of Robespierre on the Committee of
He committed suicide after receiving
Public Safety. Saint-Just was arrested
news of his wife’s death.
and guillotined with Robespierre.
Manon Philipon Roland
Emmanuel (Abbé) Sieyès
(1754–1793)
(1748–1836)
Roland was famous for her salon
in Paris, which attracted all the
important revolutionary leaders,
including Robespierre and Brissot. She
was imprisoned after the fall of the
Girondin faction and executed on
8 November 1793.
Sieyès was a priest and a radical writer,
author of the influential pamphlet What
Is the Third Estate?. He was a deputy for
the Third Estate to the Estates-General
and later in the National Convention.
He was also instrumental in bringing
Napoleon to power.
This page, clockwise from top left: Bibliothèque nationale de France;
Alamy/Masterpics; Alamy/Classic Image
Introduction 5
 Arthur Young (1741–1820)
An English traveller and a keen
observer. He became a writer on
agriculture and related topics and
founded the Annals of Agriculture in
1784. He visited France in 1787–89
and wrote an account of his travels.
Assembly of Notables
A gathering of eminent individuals
(notables) summoned to advise
the monarch. It was convened
in February 1787, and again in
November 1788.
Bourbon, The dynasty
The ruling house of France, a branch of
the Capetian dynasty. The first Bourbon
King of France and the direct ancestor of
Louis XVI was Henry IV who ruled from
1589 to 1610. Spain and Luxembourg
currently have Bourbon monarchs.
Bourgeois
The original meaning of bourgeois
was ‘citizen of a town’. By 1789, the
term was used to describe the middle
classes. During the revolution, it
referred to the urban upper middle
class of the Third Estate: professionals
such as lawyers, doctors, bankers,
brokers, manufacturers and office
holders in the bureaucracy.
cockade
A ribbon or knot of ribbon or rosette
worn in the hat as a badge. After the
fall of the Bastille, the newly formed
National Guard used a cockade of
white, edged with red and blue, the
colours of the king and the city of Paris.
The wearing of this tricolour cockade
became symbolic of one’s support for
the revolution and a patriotic duty.
6
Committee of General
Security
The Committee of General Security
was one of the two leading government
committees established in 1793. It was
a body charged by the Convention
with policing state security throughout
the country, issuing passports and
prosecuting foreign agents. It oversaw
revolutionary justice.
Committee of Public Safety
The more prominent of the two leading
government committees established
in 1793 and responsible for both
internal and external affairs. Consisting
of 12 members, it functioned as the
executive branch of government from
April 1793 to October 1795. It was
disbanded in 1795.
Cordeliers
The radical revolutionary club of the
Cordeliers was founded in April–May
1790 under the leadership of Danton,
Marat and Hébert. It attracted many
members because of the low fees and
its radical rhetoric. It also welcomed
women to its meetings, which were
each attended by about 400 people.
Hébert’s newspaper, Le Père Duchesne,
became its mouthpiece. It lost power
and influence after the Terror and was
discredited and closed in March 1794.
Directory
A committee of five directors chosen
by the Council of Five Hundred
and approved by the Council of
Ancients as the executive branch of
government. It was in power from 26
October 1795 to 10 November 1799.
Estates
Also known as orders, the three groups
that divided French society until
the revolution: the First Estate, the
clergy; the Second Estate, the nobility;
the Third Estate, the commoners.
Membership of an estate determined
social status, opportunity and privilege.
Estates-General
The consultative assembly comprising
representatives of the three estates
of the realm: clergy, nobility and
commoners. The Estates-General were
summoned by Louis XVI for May
1789 to consider the reform of the
taxation system. The emancipation
of the deputies of the Third Estate led
to the Estates-General transforming
into the first revolutionary legislature,
the National Assembly in June 1789.
Fédérés
Citizen soldiers who came to Paris
from the provinces for the Festival
of the Federation in July 1790, and
again on 14 July 1792. Many were
from Marseilles and participated in
the uprising of 10 August 1792. Some
returned home; others went on to join
the regular army at the front.
Feuillants
Constitutional monarchist deputies
who split from the Jacobins over a
petition to depose Louis XVI after the
flight to Varennes in June 1791. They
formed their own club, named after
the monastery of the Feuillant monks
in which they met.
9780170243995
 Girondins
Girondins were a group of deputies
in the Legislative Assembly, with
some from the Gironde region, in
south-west France. They were one
of the two major factions in the
National Convention (the other being
the Montagnards). They opposed
the Jacobins in 1793. Many of the
Girondins were supporters of the
1793 ‘federalist revolt’ against the
Convention. They were expelled from
the Convention during the Reign of
Terror; their leaders were arrested, tried
and guillotined in October 1793.The
term was rarely used prior to 1793;
their opponents often called them
Brissotins, after their most prominent
spokesman, Jacques-Pierre Brissot.
Hébertists
Followers of Hébert, a journalist and
prominent member of the Cordeliers
Club. They were were anti-Christian
and, during the de-Christianisation
campaign, they turned several
thousand churches, including Notre
Dame, into temples of reason.
Indulgents
Informally led by Danton, who
together with his supporters was
accused of winding back the Terror
and being ‘indulgent’ towards counter-
revolutionaries.
9780170243995
Jacobins
A revolutionary club that met in
a former Jacobin monastery, the
debating centre of increasingly
radical revolutionary ideas. Its
branches spread all across France
and Europe. The Jacobins rose to
political dominance in Paris and in
many provincial cities. Because of its
association with the policies of the
Terror, the Convention ordered the
Paris Club to close in November 1794.
Legislative Assembly
A single-chamber parliament elected
under the constitutional monarchy
of 1791–92, and ended with the
elections to the National Convention.
Montagnards
The name of the Montagnard faction
derived from the location (high at the
back) of the seats in the National Con-
vention its members occupied. They
were the main faction opposed to the
Girondins. Estimates of the number of
Montagnards vary considerably, from
140 to 300, and a significant propor-
tion of its membership belonged to
the Jacobin Club. They were support-
ed by the Paris Commune and by the
sans-culottes; of the 24 deputies elected
from Paris, 21 were Montagnards. The
Montagnards came to dominate the
Convention in 1793, but lost influence
with the demise of Robespierre.
Muscadins
Also known as the ‘Gilded Youth’,
these were anti-Jacobin youth
from wealthy families. They wore
flamboyant clothes and, after the fall
of Robespierre, violently attacked his
sympathisers, supporters of the Terror
and the sans-culottes.
National Assembly
The National Assembly, after July
1789, the National Constituent
Assembly, and often simply called the
Assembly, was a direct successor of
the Estates-General. It emerged as the
national representative body after
17 June 1789 when the deputies of
the Third Estate and some deputies
of the other estates proclaimed
themselves the National Assembly.
After initial opposition, Louis XVI
recognised the National Assembly
on 27 June 1789 when he requested
all three estates to unite as one body.
The National Assembly served as the
legislature from 1789 to 1791.
National Convention
This single-chamber assembly was
elected in September 1792 and
proclaimed the republic. The 745
deputies were divided between
Girondins and the more radical
Montagnards, with a large number of
crossbench members (the Plain) in
between. It remained in session until
October 1795.
National Guard
A citizens’ militia formed in July 1789
in the Paris districts and other cities
to maintain order, protect property
against mob violence, and to guard
against counter-revolutionary plots.
Nobility of the Robe
Nobles, such as magistrates, court
officials and bureaucrats, who
acquired their noble status from
holding office, often a venal office.
Introduction 7
 Nobility of the Sword
Old and established noble families,
who could trace their lineage back
to the Middle Ages. They often owed
their status to their service to the
Crown in battle.
Paris Commune
The revolutionary municipal
government of Paris formed in July
1789 by an insurrectional committee
composed of 144 delegates – three
from each of the 48 sections of the
city. It was opposed by the Girondins,
who tried to curb its growing
influence on the Assembly and later
on the Convention. In 1793, the
Paris Commune and the Jacobins
ousted Girondin members from the
Convention.
Parlements
The function of the 13 parlements was
to administer justice and to register,
remonstrate and publish royal edicts.
Peasant
The word ‘peasant’ derived from the
Old French word paisent, meaning
‘someone who lives in the country’.
Peasants made up approximately
80 per cent of the population.
Philosophes
Intellectuals and writers of the 18th
century, such as Voltaire, Montesquieu,
Rousseau and Diderot, who advocated
the use of reason instead of custom,
tradition, faith or superstition as the
basis for the organisation of society.
They were the key contributors to the
Enlightenment.
8
Plain
The centre or non-aligned faction
in the Convention, which sat in the
flat middle area of the chamber and
generally remained uncommitted
to the opposing Montagnards and
Girondins.
Red Cap of Liberty
(Phrygian bonnet)
The red Phrygian bonnet had been
worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome
as a symbol of their newly acquired
freedom. It symbolised personal liberty
in revolutionary France.
Refractory or non-
juring clergy
Clergy who refused to take an oath of
allegiance to the Civil Constitution of
the Clergy.
Representatives on
mission
Deputies sent from Paris by the
National Convention who were
entrusted with considerable powers
of repression in the provinces,
especially during the Terror. They
also recruited men for the army. After
June 1793, they were appointed by
the Committee of Public Safety. One of
their tasks became the suppression of
the Federalist revolt.
Sans-culottes
Revolutionaries who made a virtue of
their plain dress, in contrast to that of
the nobility and the bourgeoisie. They
were mostly workers, shopkeepers,
petty traders, craftsmen and the poor,
and wore trousers instead of the
breeches and stockings of the higher
classes.
Sections
The 48 areas into which Paris was
divided for administrative purposes
were called sections; they replaced
the former 60 districts. Each was
run by a revolutionary surveillance
committee and was able to organise
armed men, mostly sans-culottes.
Other cities also had their sections.
Section assemblies played a major role
in shaping uprisings and influencing
the government.
Surveillance
committees
Surveillance or watch committees
were formed in each commune in
March 1793 to maintain public
security and order. They often took
the place of local government in
the districts and were controlled by
extreme Jacobins.
9780170243995

Absolutism, absolute monarchy
Refers to a monarchical form of
government in which the monarch
exercises political power unrestricted
by a constitution.
Ancien régime
French term for an old or former
regime; used to describe the system of
government and life before the turmoil
of 1789.
Armée Révolutionnaire
An armed force of Jacobins and
sans-culottes raised in late summer
1793 to spread the revolution in the
countryside and to force farmers to
release their stocks of grain for Paris
and other towns. Disbanded after the
executions of the Hébertists in 1794.
Aristocratic revolt
A period immediately following the
Assembly of Notables, which met in
February 1787 and refused to endorse
the reforms proposed by Louis XVI
aimed at reducing the Crown’s budget
deficit by introducing a uniform
tax. The revolt was characterised
by resistance of the privileged
estates through the parlements and a
widespread, popular unrest in Paris
and the provinces in support of the
parlements, whose powers were limited
by the king’s edict of May 1788.
The revolt came to an end with the
reappointment of Necker as finance
minister, and the king’s decision to
summon the Estates-General for
May 1789.
9780170243995
Assignats
Interest-bearing bonds based on the
value of confiscated church property
that became paper money after
April 1790. They rapidly lost value,
and by 1795 were almost worthless.
Corvée
In-kind tax of unpaid work on land
or roads or aid given to troops by
peasants for a specified number of
days each year.
Divine right
A political doctrine of royal legitimacy
which maintains that a monarch
is subject to no earthly authority,
deriving the right to rule directly from
the will of God. It is often expressed in
the phrase ‘by the grace of God’.
Federalism, federalists
The federalist movement was
particularly influential in Caen,
Bordeaux, Lyons and Marseilles. In
contrast to the Vendée insurgents, the
federalists proclaimed their loyalty
to the revolution and the republic,
but objected to the disproportionate
influence of the sans-culottes and the
dominance of Paris over the provinces.
Feudalism
A societal structure based on the
relationship between sections of the
population (lords, vassals and serfs)
and based on the holding of land in
exchange for service or labour.
Gabelle
Salt tax.
Key terms
and concepts
Généralités
The 36 major administrative divisions
of pre-revolutionary France.
Lit de justice
A royal session of the Parlement of
Paris presided over by the king to
ensure registration of the king’s edicts.
Radical
An individual or group focused on
altering existing structures of society
in fundamental ways, often through
violent means.
Taille
A direct land tax imposed on each
household and based on how much
land it held.
Sovereignty
The supreme power. Referring to
the ultimate umpire or authority in
the decision-making process of the
state. In pre-revolutionary France,
sovereignty was vested in the king.
Successive French constitutions
placed the sovereignty in the people
of France, to be exercised by their
elected representatives in the national
parliament.
Vingtième
Direct tax on income levied during
the American War of Independence
(1778–83) until 1786.
Introduction 9
 Key documents
August Decrees
The result of the deliberations
of the Assembly between 4–11
August 1789, on the reform and
dismantling of the feudal system.
The Assembly abolished feudal dues
on 4 August, but in the following
week made a distinction between
‘personal servitude’, which was
abolished outright, and property
rights, for which peasants had to pay
compensation. Its immediate effect
was the renunciation of noble and
clerical privilege.
Brunswick Manifesto
Published on 25 July 1792 by the
commander of the Austro-Prussian
forces invading France, it threatened
summary justice for the inhabitants
of Paris if any harm was to come
to the royal family. The manifesto
galvanised the sans-culottes into a
popular insurrection that overthrew
the monarchy on 10 August 1792.
Cahiers de doléances
Lists or books of grievances, drawn
up in early 1789 by representatives of
each of the three estates. They exposed
problems inherent in the political and
social system and contained proposals
to be acted on by the deputies to the
Estates-General.
Civil Constitution of the Clergy,
12 July 1790
A law that aimed at reform of the
administrative structures of the Roman
Catholic Church in France, but which
in effect subordinated the Church to
the government, making it a national
Church.
10
Constitution of 1791
The Constitution accepted by Louis
XVI in September 1791. It provided
for France as a constitutional
monarchy; the separation of powers,
with the National Assembly as the
legislative body, the king at the head
of the executive branch and the
judiciary independent of the other two
branches. It ceased to be operational
on 10 August 1792.
Constitution of 1793
Also known as the Jacobin Constitution.
It included provision of welfare and
public education, the right to rebel
when the government violates the rights
of the people and vote by universal
male suffrage. Its implementation was
postponed ‘until peace’.
Constitution of 1795
Also known as the Constitution of the
Year III, it was ratified on 22 August
1795 and remained in effect until the
coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November
1799). It established a liberal republic
with a bicameral legislature and a five-
member executive government known
as the Directory.
Declaration of the Rights of Man
and the Citizen, 26 August 1789
Passed by the National Assembly,
it proclaimed the fundamental
principles on which French society
is based, famously starting with the
pronouncement that ‘Men are born
and remain free and equal in rights’.
Encyclical Charitas,
13 April 1791
Pope Pius VI’s response to the reform
of the Church in France addressed
to the French bishops in which the
head of the Roman Catholic Church
condemned the Civil Constitution of
the Clergy as heretical and schismatic.
Law of 14 Frimaire II
Enacted on 4 December 1793 and
known as the Constitution of the
Terror, it consolidated all previous
Terror legislation and streamlined
the administration of the Republic by
clarifying the relationship between
government bodies and delineating
their roles.
The Law of the Maximum,
29 September 1793
The law that provided for maximum
prices of foodstuffs and gave the
government the right to requisition
goods from suppliers. Its main purpose
was to set price limits, thus preventing
rising food prices.
Levée en masse decree
Enacted on 23 August 1793, it was
the first instance of conscription in
modern history and expressed the
state’s right to require all citizens to
meet a national emergency.
Tennis Court Oath, 20 June 1789
An oath sworn by the deputies of the
Third Estate ‘not to separate, and to
reassemble wherever circumstances
require, until the constitution of the
kingdom is established’.
What Is the Third Estate?, 1789
A political pamphlet written by Abbé
Sieyès. It called for the Estates-General
to be genuinely representative by
providing the Third Estate with double
representation and called for the
voting procedure to be by head and
9780170243995
not by order.
 1 Palace and Gardens of Tuileries
2 Jacobin Club
3 Palais Royal
4 Feuillants Club
5 Cordeliers Club
6 Les Halles
Montmartre 7 Hôtel de Ville
St Martin 8 Bastille
St Honoré 9 Champ de Mars
St Denis 10 Hôtel des Invalides
11 National Assembly
4
2 12 Conciergerie
11 Du Temple 13 Panthéon
16 15 14 La Force Prison
1 3
Seine 15 Temple Prison
6 16 Place de la Révolution

Built-up area
Garden
9 10 12
7 14
Cropland
St Germain 8
5

13 Réveillon factory (1 km)

St Antoine

St Victor Se
)
ine
m
(16 k St Michel
sailles
Ver

St Jacques St Marcel
0 500 1000
N Metres

Paris during the French Revolution

9780170243995

Introduction 11
 Alamy/The Artchivest 12

THE French Revolution

9780170243995
 13

C h a p t e r O N E

The origins of
the revolution

In the second half of the 18th century, the very roots of the long-established social, political
and economic foundations of French society, based on privilege, hierarchy and tradition,
were being challenged. The French king, Louis XVI, faced with pressure from elite groups
in his kingdom, recognised the need for reform, which in his assessment was limited to
the issue of taxation. In 1781, the Compte rendu, the first ever statement of the Crown’s
finances, reflected and encouraged the growing interest by the French public in economic
affairs. These challenges, together with the Crown’s financial difficulties as a result of
France’s involvement in costly foreign wars, convinced Louis XVI and his successive
finance ministers to implement a range of radical reforms to increase the income of the
Crown. Although there is no consensus among historians on the causes of the revolution,
there is a broad acknowledgement of the complex nature of the tensions and problems
that became apparent when an unfolding political crisis brought them to the surface.
In the early 18th century, France was an absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbon dynasty,
which claimed the throne by divine right. As the century progressed, France’s system
of government, and indeed the whole structure of society, came under increasing pressure
for change. It made the crisis possible, but not unavoidable; it was not evident that France
was on the brink of a revolution. The fluctuating economic activity in the 1770s and 1780s
had not made most peasants poorer and had not prevented
the bourgeoisie from increasing its wealth. The need for change
was caused mainly by the financial difficulties King Louis Inquiry questions
XVI’s government faced as a result of France’s involvement in ++ What was the structure of French
foreign wars. When the Crown could no longer afford to finance society before 1789?
the operation of the government, the king attempted to force
++ What ideas contributed to the
through a reform of the fiscal system. At this critical point the
revolutionary movement in France?
financial crisis turned into a political crisis, with various sections
of French society demanding a constitution to regulate the ++ What were the long- and short-
relationship between those governing and those being governed. term factors that contributed to the
French Revolution?
9780170243995

When the monarchy and the nobility resisted such a change in

1789, the revolution began.
❮ This painting of King Louis XIV at Versailles, titled Réception du Grand Condé par Louis XIV (Versailles,
1674), (The Reception for Prince Conde at Versailles) was created by Jean-Léon Gérôme in 1878. Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
14

The making of a revolution

For centuries, France held a dominant position in European politics. Maintaining that status
caused a permanent deficit in the royal finances, in particular because of an increasingly
costly rivalry with Britain. While Britain’s fast-growing economy allowed it to concentrate on
building its colonial empire, France’s overseas expansion always came second to competition
with other European states on the Continent, such as Austria and Britain’s ally, Prussia. France
was badly affected by the 18th century’s most extensive conflict, the Seven Years’ War (1756–
63), perhaps indicating that the French monarchs were unable to cope with the challenges
posed by the growth of Prussia and the British capture of French colonial possessions in India,
Quebec and the Caribbean. Another sign of France’s decreasing international influence was
its inability, just prior to Louis XVI’s accession in 1774, to prevent annexation of territories
belonging to Poland, one of its traditional allies, by Prussia, Austria and Russia.

0 500 1000
N Kilometres NORWAY St Petersburg

SWEDEN
North Sea RUSSIA
DENMARK
GREAT BRITAIN
PRUSSIA
London Berlin POLAND
Warsaw
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Paris
FRANCE Vienna
AUSTRIA

Black Sea
OT
PORTUGAL SPAIN TO
MA
Madrid N Constantinople
Lisbon Rome
EMP
IRE
Capital city
Medite
Holy Roman Empire rra
ne
an
Habsburg possessions
Hohenzollern possessions
Se
German states a
Italian states

Source 1.1 Europe in 1763

9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 15

The Bourbon dynasty

The Bourbon dynasty, which ruled France at the
time of the revolution, is one of the most ancient
European royal houses. It is a branch of the dynasty
founded in 987 by Hugh Capet (c. 941–996), who
was elected ‘King of the Franks’ after the death
Louis V, the last king of the Carolingian dynasty.
In 1328, when direct descendants of Hugh Capet
did not produce a surviving male heir to the French
throne, the succession passed to their cousin, the
head of the younger branch of the House of Capet,
the Valois dynasty. Similarly, in 1589, the Valois died

Wikimedia/Sodacan
out and the throne passed to Henry IV (1553–1610),
the first French monarch of the Bourbon dynasty.
When, in 1792, King Louis XVI was deposed, the
government of the French Republic decided that
the former king and his family would be referred to Source 1.2 The coat of arms of France
by the family name of their ancient ancestor Hugh
Capet, and thus Louis became Louis Capet.

Louis XIV – the Sun King

The reign of France’s Sun King, Louis XIV
(1643–1715), is one of the longest in European
history. For more than 50 years, Louis had
personally ruled France, providing the rest of
Europe with an example of an absolutist style
of government. His reign marked the growth
of France as one of the great powers of the
Continent. Louis reformed the administration
of justice and promoted commerce and industry,
including the development of overseas colonies.
As king, he established royal academies for
architecture, art, literature, science and music,
Alamy/liszt collection

and built the royal palaces of the Louvre, now

an art gallery, and Versailles, where he based
the French court. Louis XIV outlived all of
his immediate family with the exception of
Source 1.3 Louis XIV, France’s Sun King
his grandson, Philip V of Spain, and a great-
grandson, who became Louis XV when the Sun King died in 1715. The name of
Louis XIV became synonymous with greatness, power, splendour and glory.
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
16

Seven Years’ War (1756–63)

The conflict that Winston Churchill called ‘the first world war’ began when the European powers sought
to extend their influence both in Europe and overseas. It was a continuation of the War of Austrian
Succession (1740–48), which was fought over the right of Maria Theresa of Austria, the daughter of Holy
Roman Emperor Charles VI (1685–1740), to succeed her father as ruler of all realms of the Habsburg
dynasty.
The Seven Years’ War also became known as the ‘French and Indian War’, as fighting between Britain
and France took place on the American and Canadian frontiers and India. In the Treaty of Paris, which
ended the war in 1763, France acknowledged the loss of all of its territory on the North American mainland
and the Indian subcontinent, and Britain emerged as the dominant European colonial power.

British, 1755 Main areas of fighting

British, 1763 Allies: Habsburgs, France, Russia,
French, 1763 Sweden and Spain
Spanish, 1763 Allies: Great Britain, Hohenzollerns St Petersburg
SWEDEN
and Portugal
RUSSIA
Quebec Non-combatant nation
Montreal Baltic
North Sea Sea
New York
GREAT BRITAIN
Berlin
ATLANTIC POLAND
PRUSSIA
OCEAN ATLANTIC Paris
OCEAN
Havana FRANCE Vienna
AUSTRIA
WEST
INDIES Black Sea
0 2000
PORTUGAL
N Kilometres SPAIN
0 1000
Kilometres Medite
rra
ne
a
Calcutta
n

INDIA
Bay of Sea
Bengal
Madras 0 500 1000
N N Kilometres

Source 1.4 The Seven Years’ War was fought in Europe, North America and India.

At the beginning of Louis XVI’s reign, France attempted to recover its pride from these foreign
policy defeats by supporting Britain’s American colonies in their war for independence. A small
French contingent significantly aided the Americans, and France hosted the peace conference at
which Britain conceded the colonies’ independence in 1783. Britain lost its Thirteen Colonies,
but while France won a propaganda victory over Britain, its financial losses were huge. This
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 17

diplomatic success brought no tangible rewards for France and its costs added to the fiscal
Relating to government
growing pressure for reform of France’s fiscal system, which by 1789 had developed into a
taxation policy
political crisis.

The American Declaration of Independence

On 2 July 1776, a convention of delegates from the Thirteen British Colonies in North America met in
Philadelphia and adopted a resolution declaring the colonies’ independence from Britain. Two days later,
the delegates approved the Declaration of Independence in which they outlined the reasons for their
renunciation of British sovereignty, providing the moral rationale for their decision and a list of grievances
against King George III. The authors of the Declaration were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment,
and in particular the theories of English thinker John Locke and French philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
In a clear break from the past, the colonists declared ‘that all men are created equal’ and were ‘endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights’. They declared these rights to be ‘Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness’. In defiance of the divine right of kings, the American colonists argued that
governments derive their powers from ‘the consent of the governed’, who have the right to abolish them
when ‘any form of government becomes destructive’. The ideals proclaimed in the Declaration and the
subsequent development of the Constitution of the United States of America (ratified in 1788) had a
profound impact on the ancien régimes of Europe.
The American War of Independence, which began in April 1775, ended in June 1783 with the Treaty of
Paris when Britain recognised the establishment of the United States.

Ancien régime
The French system of government before the revolution is best described as an absolute ancien régime
French term for an old or
monarchy and is often referred to as the ancien régime. This term was coined in 1789
previous regime; used to
by the revolutionaries who wished to distance themselves from the system they sought to describe the system
reform. The kingdom of France was ruled by the king, the head of the Bourbon dynasty. of government and life
before 1789
King Louis XVI, whose reign started in 1774, was an absolute monarch who ruled by
divine right; his authority and the right to rule were subject to the will of God alone.

The role of the king

In theory, there were no legal limits to the monarch’s power over his realm. In practice, however,
the king was bound by the laws and customs of the land, and exercising his authority depended
on the agreement of France’s elite: the nobility and the clergy. The king could not, for example,
alter the rules of hereditary succession, under which the throne passed to a king’s closest living
male relative. The king resided in Versailles and from there he appointed his ministers to
advise him on the government of the kingdom. The ministers did not form a collective group
or a cabinet in the modern sense, but were responsible to Louis XVI individually for the tasks
assigned to them and their departments. The king was thus at the centre of the government,
directing, if not formulating, government policy. The lack of a cabinet meant, however, that
9780170243995

ministers and their supporters competed against each other for Louis favour.

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
18

royal prerogative In the decades leading to the revolution, a number of institutions questioned the
Customary authority,
powers of the Crown and, in particular, the scope of the royal prerogative. During the
privilege and immunity
belonging to the king alone reign of Louis XV (1715–1774), the king considered it necessary to remind the judges of
the parlements, and France in general, of the extent of his authority. On 3 March 1766, the
parlements Parlement of Paris, one of the sovereign courts of law, held a special session known as the lit
The sovereign courts of law
in France
de justice, presided over by Louis XV, during which the king outlined his own interpretation
of law. The event became known as the ‘Session of the Scourging’ because the king lashed
out at the judges who objected to his will. When the king’s grandson and successor, Louis XVI,
began his reign in 1774, these words served as a powerful reminder of the monarch’s own
concept of authority.

The sovereign power resides

rit y
f r o ya l au t h o in my person only.
Extent o ing to Louis XV
accord
Louis XV in Coronation Robes (oil on canvas), Loo, Louis Michel van (1707-71)

The nature of the sovereign

(studio of)/© Wallace Collection, London, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library

power consists of the spirit

of consultation, justice and
reason.

Courts derive their existence

and their authority from me
alone.

Courts exercise their

authority in my name only.

Independent and undivided

legislative power belongs to
me alone.

The rights and interests of the Public order in its entirety

nation are necessarily united emanates from me.
with my rights and interests
and rest only in my hands.

Contemporaries on the character of Louis XVI

The abbé Jean-Louis Soulavie (1781–1813), who published his account of the reign of Louis XVI in 1801, attributed
the unleashing of the revolution to the rigid social structure of the ancien régime. Soulavie pointed out that Louis XVI
was unsuitable to lead his country in the time of crisis because of his indecisive personality. The king seemed unable
to follow through his policy decisions and defend them when faced with firm resistance. Soulavie portrayed Louis XVI
as a scrupulous and morally irreproachable monarch, who could not choose between asserting the royal authority and
consenting to the demands of public opinion.1
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 19

King Louis XVI (1755–1793)

Before he became king, Louis XVI was known
as Louis-Auguste. As the eldest male heir to
the throne, he was known as the dauphin.
He was well educated, with a particular
interest in mathematics, physics and history.
Although Louis was interested in technological
innovations, his education and upbringing
reinforced his own perception of the monarch’s
traditional position as an absolute ruler.
From the beginning of his reign, Louis
pursued a number of reformist policies, wishing
to rebuild confidence in the monarchy. He often
took the advice of his ministers, but was not
persistent when faced with firm opposition to

Alamy/The Art Archive

his ideas. This inconsistency made him look
indecisive and weak. Louis XVI agreed to support
the American colonists financially in their
rebellion against Britain and, while their success
gave the perception of the restoration of France’s position in Europe, there were no tangible
benefits to France; the loans that financed the war added to the Crown’s crippling debt. Louis
understood that a radical reform of the tax system was needed to introduce fiscal uniformity
across France by eliminating tax exemptions. Yet, he was unable to force the reforms through.
The opposition by the kingdom’s nobility was the first step in the political revolution that
swept France in 1789. The king might have been sympathetic to the demands of the Third
Estate, but, pressured by his advisers, he delayed his reform plans until after the formation
of the National Assembly in June 1789. Again, he consented to work with the Third Estate,
but provoked the revolt in Paris by dismissing Necker, his finance minister associated in the
public’s mind with reforms.
After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July and the October Days, Louis and his family
were virtual prisoners in the Tuileries Palace. He appeared to be willing to reach some sort
of accommodation with the revolution by playing the part of a constitutional monarch, but
could not accept the religious reforms of the National Assembly. The failed flight of the royal
family and their capture at Varennes in June 1791 sealed his fate. Public opinion gradually
turned against Louis, perhaps recognising that he pursued a policy of passive resistance. The
radicalisation of the popular movement resulted in the storming of the Tuileries Palace on
10 August 1792 and the king’s final deposition. Before the end of September 1792, France was
declared a republic. The king who never used violence against his subjects was put on trial
and executed on 21 January 1793 for conspiring against ‘public freedom’.
dauphin
The title of the heir to the throne of France derived from the province of
the Dauphiné. The word dauphin is French for ‘dolphin’, a reference to the
depiction of the dolphin in the coat of arms of the province
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
20

Queen Marie Antoinette (1755–1793)

Marie Antoinette, born Maria Antonia, was
the youngest daughter of 16 children of Maria
Theresa of Austria (1717–1780) and Francis I
(ruled 1745–65), Holy Roman Emperor. Her parents
were an unconventional couple who married for
love, shared the same bed and raised their children
in an informal family setting. Marie Antoinette
was educated by a French tutor who instructed
her in history, the classics and the arts.
Her marriage to Louis-Auguste, dauphin of
France, sealed a new Franco–Austrian alliance.

Getty Images/Fine Art Images

When Louis-Auguste became king of France as
Louis XVI in 1774, she became his queen. The
marriage was haunted by enmity towards Marie
Antoinette from all sections of the French public.
Until she gave birth to a daughter and later provided
a dauphin, rumours of her infidelity and infertility circulated widely, despite the king’s open
affection towards her in public. In the 1780s, Marie Antoinette became the subject of vilifying,
pamphlet subversive pamphlets. These pamphlets portrayed her as immoral and self-indulgent, falsely
A publication,
insinuating that she had lesbian affairs, which eroded the prestige of the monarchy in the
ranging from
a single page eyes of the public. The disastrous ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ (1785–86) exposed Marie
to as long Antoinette to further public condemnation even though she was innocent of any involvement.
as a book,
The perception of her extravagance was so legendary that even when rumours were refuted,
which was a
popular way of the public continued to believe the scandals. She was branded ‘Madame Déficit’ and became
communicating the favourite political scapegoat for France’s financial problems. After 1789, the escalating
political ideas.
revolutionary situation led to her imprisonment and trial. She followed Louis XVI to the
guillotine on 16 October 1793. Her last image, made by painter Jacques-Louis David (1748–
tumbrel
(or tumbril) 1825), showed her brave and dignified in the tumbrel on the way to her execution.
An open cart
The marriage of Louis and Marie Antoinette, 1770
used to deliver
condemned In 1770, Louis-Auguste, aged 15, married Marie Antoinette of Austria, aged 14. The marriage
prisoners to was intended to show the strong alliance between France and Austria. The alliance
the guillotine
was established after the conclusion of the War of Austrian Succession in 1756 and was
orchestrated by the dominant faction at Louis XV’s court, led by the duc de Choiseul. The
marriage was contracted on 19 April 1770 at a ceremony held in Vienna and the young Marie
Antoinette arrived in Versailles on 16 May. On that day, the official wedding was held in the
royal chapel. The celebrations included the reception of the ambassadors, a fireworks display
and a lavish party in the royal opera house. The day concluded with the bedding ceremony
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 21

ritual: the young couple was led

into the bedchamber of Marie
Antoinette, the bed was blessed by
the Archbishop of Reims and the
newly married couple went to bed

Bridgeman Images/Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France

in the presence of all the Court. The
marriage was not consummated
until 1776, which fuelled gossip
about the sexuality of both Louis
and Marie Antoinette. Historians
and commentators had suggested
that the delay in normal sexual
relations between the couple
was caused variously by a genital
anomaly, a strict religious education Source 1.5 The wedding of Dauphin Louis-Auguste and Marie
Antoinette at Versailles on 16 May 1770
and the immaturity of both parties.
Recently, British historian Derek Beales has argued that the key to the issue was the sexual
ignorance of both parties2. In fact, the couple benefited from advice from the queen’s brother,
Emperor Joseph II. The couple’s first child was born on 19 December 1778.

The disastrous ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’

(1785–86)
The affair of the diamond necklace contributed to
discrediting the queen in the eyes of the French
people, although there was no evidence that
she had done anything wrong. At the centre of
the scandal was the Cardinal de Rohan and the
necklace ordered by Louis XV for his mistress,
Madame du Barry. This jewellery, with an
Bridgeman Images/Archives Charmet
Placeholder photo acknowledgement

estimated cost of 2 million livres, never reached livre

its intended recipient because the king died of The basic unit of
currency of France
smallpox before it could be delivered.
until 1795. Other units
In 1785, the Cardinal de Rohan hoped to gain included the Louis
the favour of the queen, but was duped by Jeanne (gold coin) = 24 livres,
écu (silver coin) =
de la Motte. She pretended to act as a friend of
6 livres = 120 sols,
the queen and convinced the cardinal that the 1 livre = 20 sols,
Source 1.6 A reproduction of the
queen wanted him to negotiate the purchase of the necklace at the centre of the affair is now 1 sol = 12 deniers
housed in a French museum.
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
22

necklace and pay for it in instalments. In the end, Jeanne de la Motte’s husband sold
the necklace’s diamonds separately in London. When the payment was not received,
the jeweller approached the queen directly; she rejected the suggestion that she had
ordered and received the necklace. The Cardinal de Rohan was taken to the Bastille
in August 1785, but he was acquitted after a trial in May 1786. Jeanne de la Motte was
branded on each shoulder with a V mark, reserved for thieves, and imprisoned. The
public image of the queen was, however, damaged beyond repair – Marie Antoinette
could do nothing right!
The ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ has become the subject of many novels and
films. One of the most recent is the 2001 American historical drama The Affair of the
Necklace directed by Charles Shyer. The lavish film sets and costumes bring to life the
last years of the Bourbon court before the revolution.

organisation of France
When Louis XVI ascended the throne, the territory under his control (excluding overseas
territories) covered 717 944 square kilometres and had a population of more than 28
million inhabitants, which was growing
0 150 300
rapidly. The kingdom extended from
N Kilometres
the lowlands of Flanders in the north to
Douai
the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea
English Channel
in the south, from the Atlantic Ocean in
Rouen Metz the west to the Rhine River and the Alps
Paris Nancy in the east. France also controlled overseas
Rennes
Dijon colonies in Canada, the Caribbean and the
Besançon
Indian subcontinent. Louis realm had been
built by conquest and dynastic marriages
Bay of Biscay
since the Middle Ages. As recently as 1766,
duchy Bordeaux Grenoble Louis grandfather, Louis XV, inherited
Territory ruled by a
the Duchy of Lorraine and 20 years later
duke or duchess
Toulouse Aix incorporated the island of Corsica into his
Pau
SPAIN Mediterranean Sea
realm. The kingdom was an amalgamation
of provinces that were progressively added,
National border
Boundary between Généralités
and the kings of France tended to adapt the
Central customs area existing institutions of these new territories
Boundary between regions of common law rather than develop and impose new
and mainly Roman law
Parlement
institutions. As a result, each province had
Pays d’état different legal and administrative systems,
and taxes levied at varied rates. This made
Louis XVI’s France a diverse and complex
Source 1.7 This map illustrates the complexities of the
political, legal and economic system of France on the eve realm to govern.
9780170243995

of the revolution.

THE French Revolution

 23

For administrative purposes, the kingdom was divided into 36 généralités, each généralités
The administrative
governed by an intendant who reported to the Controller-General of Finances. These divisions of France under
administrative units were not uniform in size and their boundaries seldom coincided the ancien régime, which
with the geographical boundaries of the provinces. In the exercise of the royal authority served as a framework for
royal administration
the intendants competed with the parlements, the 13 sovereign courts of law. The premier
position among these courts was held by the Parlement of Paris whose jurisdiction covered intendant
a third of the kingdom. Among the prerogatives of the parlements was the registration of Holder of administrative
the king’s edicts before they were promulgated as binding laws. To add to this complex office

administrative framework, the Roman Catholic Church maintained 18 archiepiscopal

edicts
provinces and 136 dioceses across the kingdom. These complex connections and Laws or royal decrees
interdependencies, according to historian William Doyle, were repeated in many different enacted by the king on his

ways at the town and village level. own authority

In some regions,
The tax burden fell There was no local customary laws
more heavily uniform system of governed marriage,
The gabelle, on the northern weights and rules of inheritance
a tax on salt, was levied provinces. measures. and ownership of
property. In northern
at six different rates
provinces, common
according to area, but
law served as the
six regions, including
basis of justice.
Brittany, were
almost exempt.

The Kingdom of France

was not governed by a uniform
set of laws and tax rules, and
its provinces with their major
TAXES LAWS
towns were treated differently
for tax purposes, with some of
them exempted from direct
taxation.

The taille,
In southern
a direct land tax
provinces, justice was
payable by non-nobles,
administered according
was levied differently in
The whole to the code law dating
the central and outer
country was also Seigneurial laws, back to ancient
provinces. Seigneurial
divided by customs, existing since the Rome.
dues ranged from
barriers at the gates Middle Ages,
3 per cent to
of towns, on bridges enforced some
25 per cent.
and between feudal rights.
provinces.

Source 1.8 Laws and taxes in pre-revolutionary France

Lamoignon on the principles of the French monarchy, 19 November 1787

This extract is from a speech delivered by Chrêtien-François de Lamoignon (1735–1789) at a sitting of the
Parlement of Paris on 19 November 1787. Lamoignon was the king’s Lord Chancellor who customarily managed
the system of justice.
These principles, universally acknowledged by the entire kingdom, are that the King alone must possess the
sovereign power in his kingdom; that He is answerable only to God in the exercise of his power; that the tie
which binds the King to the Nation is by nature indissoluble; that the interests and reciprocal obligations
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
24

between the King and his subjects serve only to reassure that union; that the Nation’s interest is that the
powers of its head not be altered; that the King is the chief sovereign of the Nation and everything he
does is with her interests in mind; and that finally the legislative power resides in the person of the King
independent of and unshared with all other powers. These, sirs, are the invariable powers of the French
Monarchy … As a consequence of these principles and of our History, it is clear that the King only has the
right to convoke an Estates-General; that he alone must judge if this convocation is necessary; and that
he needs no other power for the administration of his kingdom.
From a speech by Chrêtien-François de Lamoignon, 19 November 1787

Questions
1 What, according to Lamoignon, are the powers of the monarch?
 2 To whom is the king accountable?
 3 What is the basis of the monarch’s powers?

Estates of the realm

Louis XVI’s subjects were all members of social groups that, with the exception of the peasants,
claimed certain special rights that set them apart from others. As such, the social structure
of the ancien régime was rigid and built on notions of privilege and precedence. Originating in
the Middle Ages, this structure divided French society into three estates or orders, known as the
First, Second and Third Estates. The First Estate was made up of the clergy of the Roman Catholic
Church. The Second Estate drew its membership from those who were born to a noble father or
who had acquired nobility by the grace of the king. The Third Estate contained everyone else,
those of common birth. Almost every group in 18th-century France could claim some sort of
special privilege, but the most visibly privileged groups were the two so-called privileged orders,
the clergy and the nobility.

The First Estate – the clergy

The clergy of the Roman Catholic Church made up 0.6 per cent of the population. The
169 500 members of the clergy comprised monks and nuns in religious orders, and priests
and curates who ministered to the spiritual needs of lay society.3 The Church was a highly
hierarchical organisation, with archbishops and bishops predominantly from the nobility in
tithe
the high offices, and the priests and curates predominantly commoners. The influence
Historically, a tithe was a enjoyed by the Church had its roots in the monopoly of public worship (97 per cent of
compulsory tax paid to the
French people were nominally Catholic) and its wealth was largely derived from extensive
Roman Catholic Church,
at the rate of one-tenth of landholding, perhaps 10 per cent of the land in France, and the income from a tithe of
produce at the time of harvest, 10 per cent imposed on farm produce at harvest. The most evident sign of the privileged
and paid in kind, for example
status of the First Estate was its total exemption from paying taxes. The Church’s General
in agricultural products
Assembly made a voluntary annual grant to the king.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 25

Bridgeman Images/Château de Versailles, France/De Agostini Picture Library/G. Dagli Orti

Source 1.9 The observance of the strict social hierarchy could be seen in the clothes worn by the members of each
of the estates for the deliberations of the Estates-General. This illustration shows the clothing of the clergy (left), nobility
(centre) and commoners (right).

The Second Estate – the nobility

The nobles derived their status as members of the Second Estate by birth (the noblesse venal office
A public office or position
d’épée, nobility of the sword) or by creation or ennoblement (the noblesse de robe, those sold by the Crown to raise
raised to nobility by the king either through merit or by the virtue of the office). In terms money. The key offices

of social mobility, the creation of more than 4000 venal offices out of 70 000 opened the conferred on their holder
personal noble status that
way for wealthy commoners to acquire noble status.4 Historian William Doyle likened the became hereditary, generally
French nobility to a club that the wealthy among the commoners felt obliged to join.5 He after three generations. This
practice was an important
also noted that while not all nobles were wealthy, most wealthy people, eventually, ended
avenue of social mobility for
up becoming nobles. The membership of the nobility offered standing in society that was the bourgeoisie and a source
beyond the reach of wealth alone and assisted its holders in securing prestige, positions of income for the Crown

and privileges. Precisely how many nobles there were in 1789 is debatable. Historian
taille
Peter McPhee estimates that there may have been no more than 25 000 noble families A direct land tax imposed on
or 125 000 individual nobles, perhaps 0.4 per cent of the population.6 Historian Peter each household and based
on how much land it held
Jones agrees with McPhee that 25 000 is an accurate number, and William Doyle uses the
estimate of between 120 000 and 350 000 individuals.7 corvée
The nobles owned between a quarter and a third of all the land in France. Their greatest A service of unpaid labour
imposed for the upkeep of
privilege was exemption from paying the taille and the corvée. The nobles as estate holders
9780170243995

public roads
benefited from a number of sources of wealth and power. Notwithstanding great internal

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
26

diversity of the nobility, they enjoyed the privilege of rank demonstrated by various insignia of
distinction, the fiscal and seigneurial privileges, and exclusive employment in a range of official
positions, including the army. As members of the Second Estate, the nobles were seen as
enlightened nobles
Often referred to as liberal
having a ‘vested interest in a highly complex system of status and hierarchy from which came
nobles, members of the material privilege and preferment’.8 In their opposition to the reforms sought by King Louis
nobility influenced by the
XVI, many nobles recognised that any significant changes in France’s political institutions
ideals of the Enlightenment
would most likely result in a decrease in their privileges. While some enlightened nobles
accepted the need for these reforms because they thought of themselves as the natural leaders
of society, most nobles believed that reform was a threat to their position.

The Third Estate – the commoners

The Third Estate included every person who was not a member of the clergy or nobility. Accounting
for about 99 per cent of the French population, the Third Estate was a broadly defined group
that included wealthy merchants, urban workers, peasants and beggars. The wealthiest group
bourgeoisie within the Third Estate was the bourgeoisie, mostly living in the towns. They accumulated
Originally meaning ‘the
their wealth through trade rather than farming. Among them were merchants, bankers,
citizens of a town’; by
1789 the term was used to industrialists, business people, financiers, landowners, medical professionals, lawyers and
describe the middle classes civil servants. As a social group, they were growing in wealth and aspired to advance their
social status in order to become nobility.
Historian George Rudé suggested that there was a growing frustration within the upper
bourgeoisie, particularly those engaged in manufacturing. Rudé illustrates this point by arguing
that the causes of the dissatisfaction were deeply rooted in the structures of the ancien régime.
The expansion of overseas trade and the increase in the consumption of luxury goods were
restricted by the rights and privileges of corporations, feudal landowners and government. In
short, the privilege of a few affected the job market, freedom of trade and thus commerce in
general.9
The most populous section of the Third Estate was the peasants, who constituted more
than 80 per cent of the population.10 Across the country they owned about 30 per cent of
the land outright, although this varied between the provinces. They were smallholders,
seigneur tenant farmers or sharecroppers; if they did not own or lease their land, they farmed at
Lord who held seigneurial
privileges, which were
subsistence level.11 Their low income depended on yields for grain crops and was subsidised
rights over persons and by working on other people’s land or in the towns. Scarcity of food was a common feature of
property attached to peasant life. Among their obligations were feudal seigneurial dues to the lord of the manor
ownership of land granted
by the Crown
(seigneur), including work on the lord’s land; labour service on the roads (corvée); various
taxes, including the land tax (taille), the salt tax (gabelle), the head tax (capitation) and the
vingtième or twentieth tax; and a tithe to the Church.
Among those of the Third Estate who lived in the towns were urban workers who made their
living working as servants, labourers or industrial workers. Most of them were low skilled and
survived on low wages. The burden of taxes that members of the other estates did not pay fell
heavily on the Third Estate. The quality of life in the lower strata of the Third Estate depended
very much on the price of food; when food prices went up, their lives got harder.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 27

Inequity of the
social, economic and
political system
In the 18th century, there was significant
diversity among the regions of France.
Many local traditions, practices and
loyalties, for example, continued
to influence the lives of individuals
throughout France. The growth in
population and expansion of the
economy was not matched by reform of
the increasingly outdated feudal structures
in society. By the late 18th century, the
perception of the need for change became
a source of political tension. The nobility,
although fully aware of its privilege, rank
and status, was removed from active

Getty Images/Photo12/UIG
participation in the government of France
by lack of any representative institution
able to influence the king. The laws and
privileges of the provinces prevented the
creation of a uniform national market, Source 1.10 This is a typical satirical representation of the
which frustrated the growing bourgeoisie, burden of the privileged orders carried by the Third Estate. Here, a
woman of the Third Estate carries representatives of the privileged
who sought a more rational system of orders on her back. Note the dress of the three women in this
law, custom duties and taxes as well as a image. Social distinctions between the three estates were often
maintained by the Second Estate in the ostentatious display of
voice in the governing of the kingdom. clothing, which was a guarded privilege.
The Third Estate was heavily taxed and
increasingly resentful of the burden of feudal dues and the tithe. The growing disproportion of
wealth and means was not lost on contemporary commentators. French writer Louis-Sébastien
Mercier (1740–1814), for example, observed the increasing disparity in the standard of living
between the rich and the poor and noted that the ostentatious luxury enjoyed by some benefices
prompted bitter resentment among the underprivileged. Church offices that
The social hierarchy based on the hereditary principle and privilege constrained the social provided ministers with a
revenue
mobility of the enterprising middle class. The predominance of nobility among the leading
Church appointments and the practice of a few clerics accumulating multiple financially
ennoblement
rewarding church benefices became a frequent and bitter grievance for lower clergy denied The act of conferring
advancement and prosperity. Expenditure was high among the nobility, who had to compete nobility and the induction
of an individual into the
for the king’s favour to maintain their position at court, and poorer nobles in particular resented
nobility
ennoblement of rich merchants. The rich bourgeoisie was equally insulted to be ranked at the
bottom of the social order as part of the Third Estate along with the peasants and labourers.
The inequity of the system was particularly striking in the fiscal arrangements: nobles paid
little or no tax as the traditional defenders of the kingdom, but despite their rank they had
little opportunity to influence the policies of the government. Peasants, urban workers and the
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
28
bourgeoisie, who carried the fiscal burden of supporting the kingdom, had no control over how
taxes were spent. It was increasingly apparent that in the absence of regular meetings of the
Estates-General neither the privileged order nor the commoners had a representative body to
give them a political voice.
right of
remonstrance
The power of the
parlements to object to
legislation proposed
by the king and to
seek its review
THE French Revolution
Estates-General
The Estates-General originated in 1302 when
the three estates were summoned to meet
by King Philip IV the Fair. When in session,
the Estates-General formed a consultative
assembly of the Kingdom of France and
comprised the three estates of the realm:
Bridgeman Images/Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France
the clergy, the nobility and the commoners.
During a meeting of the Estates-General, the
three estates deliberated in three separate
chambers independently of each other.
The Estates-General never became an
institution and never assumed a role similar
to the English Parliament. Kings of France
summoned the Estates-General only in times
of crisis, and some did not call them at all.
Deputies representing each of the three
estates were elected by the members of the Source 1.11 An engraving depicting the
meeting of the Estates-General in 1614
Estate to which they belonged. Their election
was accompanied by drawing up lists of grievances (cahiers de doléances) at meetings
of adult males who elected the deputies. Traditionally, the monarchy would ask the
Estates-General to approve increases in taxes and, in return, pledged to deal with the
issues presented in the lists of grievances. The Estates-General of 1614 ended in fiasco
and demonstrated how difficult it was to reach consensus between estates when each of
them staunchly defended their rights and showed no inclination for compromise. After
this experience, the Estates-General were not summoned until the fateful decision of
Louis XVI to call their meeting for May 1789 to advise him on the solutions to France’s
financial problems and endorse fiscal reform.
In the absence of regular sessions of the Estates-General, their advisory role was
carried out by France’s sovereign law courts, the parlements. In the decades before
the revolution, the parlements had obstructed many reforms because the right of
remonstrance allowed them to hold royal authority in check. In the final years of the
fiscal crisis, the parlements refused to agree to the king’s reforms of the taxation system,
arguing that only the Estates-General could consent to it on behalf of the whole nation.
When Louis XVI announced that he would summon the Estates-General, no one,
including the king, knew how exactly the Estates-General were to be assembled. On
23 September 1788, the Parlement of Paris declared that the Estates-General needed to
be organised as they were for the last meeting in 1614. In particular, the deputies of the
9780170243995
 29

three estates were to sit and vote in separate chambers. Nonetheless, Jacques Necker,
the reform-minded minister of Louis XVI, persuaded the king to allow the number of
deputies of the Third Estate to equal the number of the nobility and clergy combined,
to permit the Third Estate to elect deputies from the privileged orders to represent the
commoners, and set the number of the deputies at 1000 at least. In an unprecedented
break with tradition, the king also promised not to impose any tax without the consent
of the Estates-General. These innovations ensured that the outcome of the 1789
elections would be very different from those of 1614.12

Rural society
Eighteenth-century France was a rural society. Most of the peasants survived by subsistence
farming, their standard of living dependent on harvest yields and weather: crop failure and
bad weather meant hunger. It is not an overstatement that the majority of peasants earned just
enough to sustain their own existence. Poor harvests were a major reason for rural poverty as they
reduced food supply and inflated prices. The testimony of Arthur Young, an English traveller
through France in 1789, is often used to highlight abject poverty of the rural population. Young
described parts of France as backward and poverty-stricken, with farming practices not much
further advanced than that of the Indigenous tribes of North America. At the same time, other
visitors to France reported its progress and development.

Corbis/The Gallery Collection

9780170243995

Source 1.12 A painting by Louis Le Nain, Famille de paysans dans un intérieur (Peasant family in their home), 1643

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
30

The inequity of taxation

This contemporary engraving offers a striking illustration of the injustice of the ancien régime based on the
inequalities in political, social and economic standing of the estates. The privileged estates (identifiable by their
form of dress) are depicted standing on top of the rock bearing the names of taxes paid almost exclusively by the
Third Estate.
Bibliothèque nationale de France

Source 1.13 This contemporary image depicts the crushing inequity of the ancien régime in France – the fiscal privilege.

Questions
1 Identify the three figures in the cartoon. How are they represented?
 2 Describe the background to the scene and explain its significance.
 3 The words written on the rock are those of taxes: Taille, Impôts, Corvées. Explain what each of these taxes was for.
 4 What message does this image convey about the burden of taxation in pre-revolutionary France?
 5 Symbols, such as clothing, are frequently used in illustrations to convey meaning. Recognising and
understanding these symbols will enable you to analyse and interpret the meaning of other visual sources.
Create a table summarising the symbols used in Sources 1.09, 1.10 and 1.13. As you work through your study
of the French Revolution you will encounter many new symbols, such as the cockade and the revolutionary
bonnet. Add any new symbol and a description of its meaning to your table.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 31

Population of France in 1789, estimated at 28 million

2.5 million (9%) bourgeoisie

2.5 million (9%) artisan workers
5.5 million (20%) landowning
farmers and tenant farmers
Second Estate (Nobility)
300000 (1%) Third Estate (Commoners)
27.5 million (98%)
11 million (39%) sharecropping
First Estate (Clergy) farmers
200000 (less than 1%)

5 million (18%) day labourers

1 million (3%) serfs

Source 1.14 This diagram shows the estimated size of different social and economic groups of the three estates of French society in 1789.
Adapted from JM Thompson, The French Revolution, 1964, p. 83 and P McPhee, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, 2002, p. 13

Questions
1 Why were the clergy and the nobility referred to as the privileged orders?
 2 Does the information in Sources 1.13 and 1.14 provide an accurate representation of the social structure of
France before 1789?
 3 With reference to the sources above, explain in three or four points the position of the Third Estate, or
commoners, in the ancien régime.

New ideas – the Enlightenment

As the 18th century progressed, a range of new ideas emerged that challenged traditional
ideas about how society should be organised. These ideas were often linked to a series of
interrelated economic, social and cultural changes that were undermining the institutional
foundations of the European ancien régimes based on corporate privilege and the authority
of the Church. These new ideas, which coincided with extended, gradual economic and corporate privilege
political change, are referred to by historians as the ‘Enlightenment’. The origins of the Benefits derived by certain
groups of society from
Enlightenment can be traced to scientific discoveries such as the publication of Sir Isaac a range of laws granting
Newton’s Principia (1687), which outlined the law of universal gravitation and is regarded them different conditions
and treatment from the
as one of the most important works in the history of science. This intellectual movement
rest of society
challenged established forms of society, politics and religion by insisting that the world
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
32

should be understood using reason and logic rather than religion, tradition and superstition.
It spread across Europe and had a particularly strong influence in France. Order, religious
tolerance, rational thought, criticism and human progress became the key enlightened ideas
propagated by these thinkers. These writers became known as philosophes. By the 1770s, Paris
became the centre of the Enlightenment, but the clever, witty and often satirical and daring
writings of the philosophes spread far and wide across Europe. The spread of their ideas was
partly due to the growth of the reading public and increased affordability of printed text.
The Enlightenment as an intellectual movement was diverse and varied: the philosophes
argued and disagreed on many questions they debated; they changed their opinions; their
intellectual debate was also carried by others, as many novelists, journalists, social thinkers,
scientists and even pornographers thrived on the ideas of freedom, pushing the boundaries of
what was permissible and acceptable.

Enlightenment
The term ‘Enlightenment’ became popular and
influential among educated elites, although each
European nation had its own particular term to
describe the phenomenon. In Germany it was
called the Aufklärung; in France des Lumières; and
in Italy it was known as the Illuminismo. All these

Alamy/Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library

names mean much the same as the English word,
enlightenment. These terms were used by people
at the time to describe the times in which they
lived, perhaps in recognition that they were living
in a time of great intellectual turmoil.

Source 1.15 Immanuel Kant (1724–

1804), a German philosopher of the
Enlightenment, dared people to think.

French philosophes
The French word philosophe means ‘philosopher’, but in the context of the Enlightenment it
is used to denote intellectuals, writers and thinkers who critically scrutinised the institutions,
laws and society in general, often challenging established conventions in religion and forms of
behaviour. The philosophes’ approach was empirical – that is, based on evidence and experience –
and sceptical because they questioned established knowledge and examined facts, opinions
and beliefs. It promoted access to human knowledge based on reason, not superstition. For
this reason, the writings of philosophes covered many topics including agricultural techniques,
printing, draining swamps, metalworking and the organisation of society.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 33

Among the most influential French philosophes were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. The writings of these key thinkers, although they disagreed on many points, created a
new language to discuss and define new understandings about how society should be ruled and
organised. They also shaped the values and beliefs of revolutionaries who lead the transformation
of France after 1789.

Montesquieu (1689–1755)
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu is usually known
simply as Montesquieu. In his masterwork, The Spirit of Laws
(1748), Montesquieu contrasted the British system of government

Mary Evans Picture Library/CAGP/Iberfoto

with the absolutist system of France. By highlighting Britain’s
constitutional monarchy, where the power was shared between the
king and the parliament, Montesquieu criticised the French system,
which was kept from becoming despotic only by the activity of
such ‘intermediate bodies’ as the parlements. Montesquieu’s ideas absolutist system
A system of
were subsequently reworked and simplified to promote the notion government in which
that France needed independent institutions capable of limiting the the monarch is the

power of the king and his ministers. Montesquieu also advocated Source 1.16 Montesquieu ultimate authority
of state
religious tolerance and criticised the use of torture.

The Spirit of Laws, 1748

In The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu proposed a system of government based on the ‘separation of powers’, in which
a system of checks and balances is established to prevent any form of arbitrary power to dominate others.
In every government there are three sorts of power: the legislative; the executive in respect to things
dependent on the law of nations; and the judicial in regard to matters that depend on the civil law.
By virtue of the first power, the prince or magistrate enacts temporary or perpetual
laws, and amends or abrogates those that have been already enacted. By the second, abrogate
To repeal or revoke or
he makes peace or war, sends or receives embassies, establishes the public security,
overturn, usually a law,
and provides against invasions. By the third, he punishes criminals, or determines the right or formal agreement

disputes that arise between individuals ...

The political liberty of the subject is a tranquillity of mind arising from the opinion
each person has of his safety. In order to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so constituted
as one man need not be afraid of another.
When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, ... there can be no liberty;
because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute
them in a tyrannical manner.
Again, there is no liberty, if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive.
Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control;
for the judge would be then the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave
with violence and oppression.
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, Book 11, Chapter 6, 1748.
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
34

Questions
1 What is Montesquieu’s idea of the separation of powers?
 2 What types of power does Montesquieu identify and how do they differ?
 3 What are the basic moral and political justifications of this system of government?
 4 What might different groups in French society have thought of these ideas?

Voltaire (1694–1778)
Voltaire was a poet, playwright and pamphleteer.
In the period when French works were read by
educated people throughout Europe, Voltaire was
widely regarded as the foremost literary figure
in France. Like Montesquieu, he thought that
the British parliamentary system had much to
recommend it. He aimed his sharpest criticism at
religious superstition, intolerance and fanaticism.
Voltaire denounced injustice and intolerance;
however, he questioned the ability of uneducated
ordinary people to make sound political decisions
and favoured an enlightened absolutist monarchy.
Mary Evans Picture Library

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)

Rousseau was Swiss by birth but lived much
of his life in France. He wrote on a variety of
topics, including music, political philosophy and
Source 1.17 Voltaire
literature. His ideas had great influence in France,
especially during the revolution. In The Social
The Bridgeman Art Library/Musee Antoine Lecuyer, Saint-Quentin, France/Giraudon

Contract (1762), Rousseau advanced the idea of

‘general will’, suggesting that all people have a right
to have their opinion heard. Yet it is unlikely that
Rousseau’s book was widely read before 1789, and
questions have been raised about whether Rousseau
was indeed so influential. Certainly, Rousseau
did explore his ideas in his bestselling novels,
and his books were banned and even publicly
burned. Among the future revolutionaries who
acknowledged that they were heavily influenced
by Rousseau’s ideas was the revolutionary leader
Maximilien Robespierre.

Source 1.18 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 35

The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s idea of social contract was influenced by a
number of writers such as the Englishmen John Locke and Thomas
Hobbes. Rousseau’s The Social Contract was, however, relatively unknown
until the outbreak of revolution in 1789. Only after 1789 was it suddenly
treated as a founding text of the revolution.
The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect
with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and
in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, Source 1.19 The title page of Jean-
and remain as free as before … Jacques Rousseau’s Considérations sur
le gouvernement de Pologne (Thoughts
This, however, is not the case with the relation of the subjects to the on the government of Poland). In this
Sovereign. They, despite the common interest, would have no security that book Rousseau applied the ideas of
the social contract to constitutional
[the Sovereign] would fulfil his undertakings, unless their subjects found reform. Rousseau himself feared social
upheaval, but his ideas took on a new
means to assure themselves of their fidelity. meaning in 1789 when the French
In fact, each individual, as a man, may have a particular will contrary or people found themselves facing the
challenge of establishing a new political
dissimilar to the general will which he has as a citizen. His particular interest system. The readership of Rousseau’s
may speak to him quite differently from the common interest. His absolute works increased after the revolution
began and he became an icon for the
and naturally independent existence may make him look upon what he owes revolutionary leaders, who claimed his
authority for their doctrines.
to the common cause as a gratuitous contribution, the loss of which will do
less harm to others than the payment of it is burdensome to himself ... He
may wish to enjoy the rights of citizenship without being ready to fulfil the duties of a subject ...
In order then that the social contract may not be an empty formula, it tacitly includes the undertaking,
which alone can give force to the rest, that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled
to do so by the whole body. This means nothing less than that he will be forced to be free; for this is the
condition which, by giving each citizen to his country, secures him against all personal dependence. In this
lies the key to the working of the political machine; this alone legitimises civil undertakings, which, without
it, would be absurd, tyrannical, and liable to the most frightful abuses.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book 1, Chapter 6 and Book 1, Chapter 7.

Questions
1 Explain your understanding of Rousseau’s concept of the social contract.
 2 In your opinion, what implications did it have for political systems and the structure of society?

Encyclopédie
The ideas of Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau were to a large degree reflected in the Encyclopédie,
a work of 17 volumes edited by Jean d’Alembert and Denis Diderot and published between 1751
and 1765. The contributors to the Encyclopédie presented a full range of human knowledge by
applying the critical and rational approach of the Enlightenment to many aspects of society.
Over the course of the second half of the 18th century, the philosophes enjoyed growing influence
9780170243995

and acceptance. This trend was, as historian David Garrioch writes, a result of the secularisation of

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
36

both politics and French society. Their ideas were spreading among the literate public who prided
themselves on being ‘enlightened’. As some of these ideas were no longer seen as radical, it meant
they were entering the mainstream. The success of the philosophes in presenting themselves as staunch
opponents of despotism persuaded many of the French revolutionaries to claim them as precursors.

Historians, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution

Among historians there is much debate both about how far the philosophes and their ideas undermined the ancien régime
and influenced the development of the revolution. The issue is not so straightforward even though the revolutionaries often
referred to the philosophes as their precursors in the opposition to absolutism and despotism. The idea that the Enlightenment
was the direct cause of the French Revolution was rejected by historian William Doyle. On the other hand, historian Sarah
Maza argued that it is undeniable that Voltaire’s extremely witty comments on the Church, Montesquieu’s cautions about
the dangers of despotism and the publication of a voluminous Encyclopédie containing many sacrilegious ideas, contributed to
lowering respect for the institutions of the ancien régime among readers. Historian Robert Darnton added to this debate by
revealing in his writings that the French mostly bought satirical and pornographic pamphlets targeting the royal family, which in
the years preceding the revolution further destroyed the aura of divine right. All these arguments are perhaps best summarised
by Peter McPhee, who asserted that the acceptance of the ideals of the Enlightenment was a symptom of a crisis of authority.
For David Garrioch, the key influence of the Enlightenment was its impact on the 18th-century reading public.
The writers and thinkers disseminated their ideas in plays, novels and pamphlets, through the Encyclopédie, reviews
and articles reaching a wide audience even if their more theoretical works were little read. Above all, states Garrioch,
the key factor in the impact of the philosophes was the networks they established through correspondence, which
facilitated the exchange of ideas between intellectuals and educated elites.
The philosophes influenced not only the elites of France, but also the rest of the world, which was dominated at the
time by Europe and North America. Economic, political, legal and social reforms were seen as necessary and often
enacted by ministers and bureaucrats. The enlightened bishops acted against ‘superstition’ by promoting education
and empowerment of individuals. Over time, these changes created a climate within which the new ideas became
acceptable and they encouraged others to consider issues that had not previously been publicly debated.

the
r ia n s d ebate: Did c e?
Histo ve a n audien
e s h a
philosoph

One-third of the French were literate. The ideas of the philosophes were not only The Enlightenment undermined the
(William Doyle) widely disseminated but captivated an eager ideological foundations of the established
There was a great demand for newspapers, reading public. (George Rudé) order and strengthened the bourgeoisie’s
magazines, dictionaries and encyclopaedias. The achievement of the philosophes was to consciousness of itself as a class.
(Robert Palmer) challenge received wisdom and to provide a (Albert Soboul)
Cultural crisis allowed the break with new language with which to discuss matters Soboul’s claim is incorrect – the Parisian
tradition, enabling the growth of recognition that were previously either not considered bourgeoisie in the eighteenth century did not
of civic behaviour perceived as virtuous. or were debated only in religious terms or in have a sense of belonging to a class defined by
(Daniel Roche) court circles. (David Garrioch) similar interest and viewpoint. (David Garrioch)

The ‘citizen-nobles’ who fought in the
American War of Independence were
influenced by its ideals, making them the
The common political vocabulary expands
to include such terms as ‘citizen’, ‘general
will’, ‘nation’, ‘social contract’, and ‘the
rights of man’. (George Rudé)
Some readers bought Rousseau’s novels but the
majority preferred works of exposing scandal
and political pornography. (Robert Darnton)
9780170243995

‘first revolutionaries’. (Simon Schama)

THE French Revolution

 37

‘Spirit of America’ – European volunteers and the

American War of Independence (1775–1783)
Parisians were greatly interested in the revolt of the American colonies against Britain.
In particular, after the American agent Silas Deane arrived in France in 1776 to lobby
the French for aid. Deane was involved in recruiting officers and engineers and sourcing
supplies to support the rebellion. The first foreign volunteers, writes historian Adam
Zamoyski, were French. Officially, France maintained its neutrality, but some of the
French officers who desired glory on the battlefield, or had little chance of advancement
in the French Army, enlisted to help the Americans. Perhaps the best example is
Lafayette, who had no hope of gaining meaningful military experience as a soldier in
peacetime. For historian Simon Schama, Lafayette’s American experiences not only
exposed him to the ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality and the pursuit of Happiness’, but also
positively instilled the ‘spirit of America’ in his psyche. Lafayette and other returning
European volunteers who had served in the American War of Independence spread the
ideas of liberty and popular sovereignty.
Adam Zamoyski maintains that the American revolt was seen by Europeans as a
‘dramatic condemnation of the evils of Europe’ and echoes earlier assessment of French
historian Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote in 1835 that ‘the Americans appeared to be
doing no more than carrying out what our writers had conceived’. Indeed, Tocqueville
suggests a direct link between the ideas of the philosophes and the revolutionary action.
The American rebellion demonstrated to the world that there was an alternative to the
ancien régime and, even more significantly, it was within reach.

Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834)

Lafayette was a volunteer who served on the side of the
rebels during the American War of Independence (1775–
1783). He was influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment
and was one of the liberal nobles who recognised the
need for reform. During the Assembly of Notables in 1787,
Lafayette supported summoning the Estates-General.
He was elected as a Second Estate deputy and in July
1789, due to his popularity with the Parisian crowds, was to defect
acclaimed the commander of the newly formed National To leave
one's country
Guard. His actions perhaps saved Marie Antoinette during
Getty Images/Imagno

and take up
the dramatic October Days of 1789. He supported the residence in

constitutional monarchy and lost all public support after another; or

to abandon
the royal family’s flight to Varennes in 1791 when he a position or
ordered the shooting of unarmed demonstrators at the Champ de Mars. He commanded an association,
often to join
army in the war against Austria, but in 1792 he defected to Austria and was imprisoned until
a rival group
9780170243995

1797. On Lafayette’s release, Napoleon allowed him to return to live on his estates in France.

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
38

Reform, bankruptcy and the

aristocratic revolt
Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the king’s government recognised that in order
to maintain its international standing and meet its domestic obligations the king needed more
revenue. The issue of changing the level of taxes, broadening their base and the manner of their
collection illustrated the institutional problems facing the monarchy. In theory, the king as an
absolute monarch had no need to negotiate with any representative body before he collected
traditional taxes and maintained the right to do so without going through any consultative
process; he was the sole legislator because the law emanated from him as the sovereign. The
process was facilitated by the limited role of the Estates-General, which successive French rulers
did not convene after 1614. This prerogative of an absolute ruler had a significant weakness:
there was no regular mechanism for negotiating an increase in taxes as the kingdom’s needs grew.
Added to this problem was the issue of an awkward and inefficient system of tax collection. Tax
farmers, usually wealthy entrepreneurs, paid the treasury a set fee for the right to collect taxes
in a given region, which resulted in several different tax-collection regimes that could not be
coordinated or managed to deal with the royal income fluctuations.

F rom fi nanci al CRISIS to po litic al c risis

1740–48 War of the Austrian Succession: France gave back its European conquests and recovered some lost
overseas possessions
1756–63 Seven Years’ War: France was deprived of many of its colonies and burdened with a heavy war debt
1776 Jacques Necker joined the government as Director-General of Finances to try to solve the financial
problems of the Crown
1778 France offered support to rebels in the American War of Independence (1775–1783), increasing its
financial obligations
1781 Necker resigned from the government after presenting his financial report to the king
1783 American War of Independence ended with the Treaty of Versailles
Calonne succeeded Necker and was charged with solving the growing financial problems
1786 Calonne presented the king with a proposal to reform France’s fiscal system
1787    February Louis XVI convened the Assembly of Notables to discuss and agree to the new taxation proposal.
April The Assembly was dismissed after refusing to agree to the king’s demands
   Calonne was dismissed and replaced by Brienne, who failed to negotiate the passage of the reforms
though the parlements
1788    3 May The Parlement of Paris proclaimed that new taxes can only be imposed by agreement with the
Estates-General
Resistance of the nobles in the Assembly of Notables and the parlements to the reforms proposed by
Louis XVI was supported by urban crowds who revolted against the king’s authority
    
August Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General to meet in May 1789 and ordered elections of its
9780170243995

deputies together with compilation of the cahiers de doléances of each of the estates

THE French Revolution

 39

Attempts at reform
During the second half of the 18th century there were repeated efforts to increase taxes and make
the French economy more productive, but royal ministers had come to realise that partial reform
was inadequate and they had begun to propose sweeping reforms of the fiscal system. For example,
in 1776, Jacques Turgot tried to open up France’s economy by pursuing a number of free-market
policies, but popular protests and opposition from the parlements defeated him. He realised the true
state of the royal finances and warned that ‘the first gunshot will drive the state to bankruptcy’,
arguing against France’s participation in another war.
Turgot’s successor, Jacques Necker, a Swiss banker, tried to save money by abolishing some 506
venal offices, with a saving of about 2.5 million livres a year, and improving tax collection.13 In the
spirit of the Enlightenment, Necker also introduced representative assemblies to give provincial
public opinion some voice in administration and at the same time to offset the power of the
parlements. In February 1781, Necker caused a sensation by publishing his Compte rendu, a summary
of the government’s income and expenses. This gave the public more information than it had ever
had before and publicised the seemingly prosperous state of France’s finances. Necker claimed that
existing taxes were more than sufficient to cover normal expenditures, but he did not disclose the
size of the loans that had financed the French support for the American War of Independence; by
May 1781, he raised 520 million livres in loans. Simon Schama describes Necker’s claims as:
… exactly the kind of spurious good cheer that led the French monarchy down the
primrose path to perdition.
Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, Penguin, London, 1989, p. 89.

Schama acknowledged, however, that Necker was not only a prudent, but a determined
reformer who, like Turgot before him, recognised that France’s prosperity depended on its
economy developing without restraints. Necker concentrated on achieving direct savings by
rationalising the administration and streamlining the revenue. Yet, the Compte rendu became
Necker’s downfall. He trusted that the public support would enable him to be promoted to the
king’s council from which his Protestant faith excluded him. When Louis XVI refused, Necker
resigned. The effects of the Compte rendu were to be felt in the years to come. Whenever the
king’s ministers highlighted the Crown’s financial difficulties, concluded William Doyle, the
public would distrust any proposed countermeasures, remembering that finances had been
under control in Necker’s time. In fact, the state of the Crown’s finances became so identified
with him that his resignation caused a substantial loss of public confidence.

Necker on finances of the state

Necker, Compte rendu au Roi, February 1781
Having devoted all my time and my strength in the service of Your Majesty since you appointed me to this
position, it is important for me to give you some public explanations concerning ... the actual state of the
Finances. I would have renounced to the satisfaction of … explaining my behaviour, if I had not thought that
by doing so, all this [information] could have been very useful to Your Majesty’s affairs. Such an institution
[the publication of the annual budget], if it became permanent, would be the source of the most important
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
40

advantages because the obligation to publicly show his administration would influence a Finance Minister
from the first steps in his career. Darkness and obscurity favour nonchalance … This report would also allow
each of the people – who are part of Your Majesty’s Councils – to study and follow the situation of the
Finances … Such an institution [the publication of the annual budget] could have the greatest influence
on public confidence. In fact, if one fixes his attention on the huge credit England enjoys … where each
year this state [of the finances] is presented to the Parliament, and then it is printed. And all the lenders
who regularly know the proportion that is maintained between incomes and expenses are not troubled
by suspicions and fanciful fears, which are always part of darkness. In France, the state of Finances has
always been a mystery. If sometimes somebody talked about it, it was only in the preambles of edicts
and always only when money had to be borrowed. But these words, too often the same to be true, have
necessarily lost their authority, and men of experience only believe in it because of the moral nature of
the Finance Minister. It is important to found confidence on more solid bases …
The sovereign of a kingdom such as France
can always, when he wants, maintain the balance
between ordinary expenses and incomes. The
reduction of expenses – which is always the
wish of the public – belongs to the King. When
circumstances require, only he has the power to
increase taxes. But the most dangerous, as well
as the fairest of resources, is to blindly look for
some temporary aid, and to borrow either through
increases of income or through savings. Such an
Administration, which seduces because there
seems to have no more immediate problems, only
increases difficulties and leads to the precipice. On
the other hand, a more simple and frank behaviour
would multiply the means of the Sovereign and
would save him forever from any kind of injustice.
It is then a great view of Administration from Your
Majesty to have been allowed to give a public
Bibliothèque nationale de France

report on the state of your Finances. And I wish,

for the happiness and the strength of the Kingdom,
that this happy institution is not temporary. What
is there to fear from such a report if [you] … make
expenses proportional to incomes, and guarantee
lenders, every time the needs of the State require Source 1.20 Jacques Necker portrayed in a contemporary
engraving as acting on the king’s authority. Necker holds the
their confidence! cornucopia, a symbol of prosperity.
Jacques Necker, Compte rendu au Roi, 1781.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 41

Questions
1 What are the reasons, according to Necker, why a publication of the state of the royal finances would
improve the standing of the monarchy?
 2 What specific measure is Necker suggesting to assist the financial management of the kingdom?
 3 Is there a danger of relying on borrowing alone?
 4 What message does Source 1.20 convey about Jacques Necker and the state of the French economic
system?
 5 There are a number of symbols, such as the cornucopia, used in Source 1.20 to convey different ideas.
What other symbols can you identify? What do they mean?

The fact that so many reforms were undertaken exposed the fundamental problems
undermining the French monarchy and pointed to the erosion of many long-established customs
and institutions. With each of these attempts at reform threatening the privileges of various
interest groups, those who stood to lose defended themselves by challenging the king’s right to
change laws and customs protected by tradition. Historians with different perspectives, such as
Peter McPhee, François Furet and William Doyle, conclude that the conflicts that preceded the
revolution were not simply a by-product of an outdated and inefficient structure of government.
They were deeply rooted in France’s complex, hierarchical social structure. When the steadily
worsening financial position forced Louis XVI to allow his subjects to express their views, the
king learnt that neither the nobles nor the commoners were prepared to accept changes from
above without questioning them.

It did not contain plans for fiscal reform.

r’s
f Necke
Impact o rendu
Compte
It constituted the beginning of a national
financial crisis.
Compte rendu au Roi de Necker, Paris 1781

It misleadingly suggested that the Crown’s

budget was in credit.

It prevented attempts at fundamental

reform of France’s taxation system because
it created the impression that the Crown’s
finances were in good order.

Through its inaccuracy, it helped to entrench

9780170243995

a subsequent attitude of suspicion towards

the monarch’s conduct of financial affairs.

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
42

Assembly of Notables – beginning of the

Aristocratic Revolt
The man who persuaded Louis XVI of the necessity for extraordinary measures to head off
bankruptcy was Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, controller-general since 1783. By 1786, the
king’s government faced the immediate problem of repaying the money borrowed to pay the cost
of France’s support of the American rebels against Britain. The financial crisis was thus directly
linked to the effort to maintain France’s role as a world power.

Charles-Alexandre de Calonne (1734–1802)

Calonne was an administrator with a long career in the Crown’s service, serving as the
intendant of Metz (1768) and of Lille (1774). His skill in the management of finances and the
support of an influential court faction brought him to the attention of Louis XVI, who appointed
Calonne as the controller-general of finance in November 1783. Calonne’s management of the
Crown’s financial position focused on maintaining public confidence through building projects
and spending, which was mainly designed to maintain the Crown’s capacity to borrow funds.
His major reform proposal crystallised in 1786 and involved increasing taxation of the first
and second estates through a proportional tax on land. The implementation of such a reform
needed not only the king’s approval but, in the absence of the regularly summoned Estates-
General, a form of consultation with the various sections of the king’s subjects. Calonne
recognised that the parlements were likely to reject his proposals if he submitted them as the
king’s edict for registration and opted instead for an endorsement by a specially convened
Assembly of Notables, which began deliberating on 22 February 1787. The Assembly proved to
be his downfall and Calonne was dismissed; within months he had left France for Britain, where
he actively criticised the course of revolutionary change. Calonne returned to France in 1802.

Any further increases in tax

f the
n n e ’s r eview o burden are not viable.
C a lo finance
s
Crown's
Bridgeman Images/Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2015

The Crown can no longer rely

on borrowing because of the
high cost of servicing debt.

Cost-cutting in the Crown’s

administration and the
court cannot provide enough
savings.

The only effective way to put

the finances truly in order is
review of the fiscal system and
reform of all that is defective
9780170243995

in its makeup.

THE French Revolution

 43

In the decision that would prove to be the first step

towards the revolution, Calonne asked the king to
convoke an Assembly of Notables, an advisory body

Bridgeman Images/Château de Versailles, France

to the king, which in 1787 comprised 144 notables,
only ten of whom were non-noble. The purpose of
this assembly was to endorse radical yet fundamental
changes in the fiscal privileges of the nobles – the king’s
decision to summon the notables was nonetheless a
sign of weakness in the monarch. It exposed Calonne’s
fear that the Crown lacked the authority to enforce
the reforms without some appearance of consultation
Source 1.21 Depiction of a session of the Assembly of Notables
with the taxpayers. In February 1787, at the Assembly presided over by Louis XVI
of Notables, Calonne proposed the introduction of a
universal land tax, the reduction of the taille and gabelle, and the abolition of internal customs
barriers, while giving the nobles an increased role in administration through the establishment
of assemblies in all provinces.

The Assembly of Notables, 1787

Calonne presented Louis XVI with a broad program of administrative and financial reform, aiming to increase
royal revenue by ending the tax privileges of the clergy and nobility. Calonne argued that the annual deficit of
nearly 100 million livres was largely caused by servicing the debt and that a new, fairer and more efficient tax
levied on wealth was needed. He presented the plan to the Assembly of Notables, seeking its endorsement.
Calonne, Address to the Assembly of Notables, 1787
His Majesty brought all his personal attention to bear on establishing the principle of uniformity ... in the
distribution of the land tax ... by the application of the rules of a strictly distributive justice, of restoring the
original intentions behind the tax, of raising it to its true value without increasing anyone’s contribution
(indeed granting some relief to the people), and of making every kind of privilege incompatible with its
mode of collection. [Therefore it is proposed] to replace the vingtièmes with a general land tax which,
covering the whole area of the kingdom, would consist of a proportion of all produce, payable in kind
where feasible, otherwise in money, and admitting of no exception, even as regards his crown lands, nor
of any other distinctions other than those resulting from the varying fertility of the soil and the varying
harvests. The church lands would necessarily be included in this general assessment which, to be fair,
must include all land as does the protection for which it is the price. But in order that these lands should
not be overburdened by continuing to pay the tithes which are collected to fund the debt of the clergy,
the king, sovereign protector of the churches of his kingdom, has decided to provide for the repayment
of this debt by granting the clergy the necessary authorisation to make the repayment [by selling off
feudal rights, etc.] …
Complete freedom of the grain trade … with the one exception of deferring to the wishes of the
provinces when any of them think it necessary temporarily to suspend export abroad … The abolition of
the corvée as performed in person and the conversion of this excessively harsh exaction to a monetary
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
44

contribution distributed more justly and spent in such a way that it can never be diverted to other purposes.
Internal free trade, with customs houses removed to the frontiers, the establishment of a uniform tariff
taking the needs of commerce into consideration, the suppression of several taxes which are harmful to
industry or lead too easily to harassment and the alleviation of the burden of the gabelle (which I have never
mentioned to His Majesty without his being deeply grieved that he cannot rid his subjects of it altogether).
These, gentlemen, are so many salutary measures which enter into the plan upon which His Majesty will
enlarge and which all conform to the principles of order and uniformity which are its basis.
Calonne, speech of the French king to the Assembly of Notables, Versailles, 22 February 1787.
Bridgeman Images/Musee de la Ville de Paris, Musee Carnavalet, Paris, France

Source 1.22 This caricature of the Assembly of Notables demonstrates contemporary understanding of the
role of the notables as the rubber stamp of Calonne’s reform proposal. It depicts Calonne as a monkey asking the
assembled notables, the birds, what sauce they would like to be eaten with. The French caption reads: ‘Buffet of
the Court. The Cook Calonne’. ‘My dear governed ones, I have called you to know with what sauce you would like
to be eaten with.’ They reply: ‘But we don’t want to be eaten at all’.

Questions
1 Referring to the caricature of Calonne and the notables, explain the artist’s perception of the meeting. Is it
likely that such a perception was shared by the public?
 2 List the proposed reforms, as outlined by Calonne. Provide an explanation for each of them.
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 45

 3 What is the key to France’s problems, according to Calonne?

 4 Using your own knowledge, explain the tax burdens payable by each of the estates.

Calonne’s proposals were rejected by the notables representing the interests of the Second
Estate, who insisted that only a gathering of representatives of the three orders in the Estates-
General could agree to such extensive changes in the fiscal arrangements of the kingdom. One
of the notables, Marquis de Lafayette, wrote to his friend George Washington, questioning the
rights of the Assembly of Notables to represent the whole of France and remarked that he felt
he could not endorse the taxation proposals unless he knew of the planned savings in the
Crown’s expenditure. In the months following the meeting, observers such as Arthur Young
also commented that the state of the Crown’s finances were such that any attempt to solve the
situation was impossible without the king summoning the Estates-General; and its meeting
would necessarily cause great changes in the way France was governed.

The Aristocratic Revolt

The Aristocratic Revolt started with the Assembly of Notables in 1787 and
lasted well into 1788. During this period, the authority of the king’s government
rapidly eroded. The term ‘Aristocratic Revolt’ was originally used by French
historian Georges Lefebvre to describe the period before 1789 when the

Bridgeman Images/Château de Versailles, France

most vocal opposition to the king’s reform initiatives came from members of
France’s noble elite rather than from the bourgeoisie and other members of
the Third Estate. Lefebvre interpreted the opposition of the reactionary landed
nobles as a response to the growth of an increasingly prosperous bourgeoisie.
More recently, historians, including William Doyle and Simon Schama, have
questioned such an interpretation and argued that liberal nobles accepted
the need for change and their rejection of royal arbitrary power made them
the ‘first revolutionaries’. Yet, the very fact that the Assembly was dismissed
without resolving the issue, argues historian Michael Fitzsimmons, created a Source 1.23 Étienne-Charles de
Loménie de Brienne (1727–1794) was
perception that the notables were unwilling to give up their fiscal privileges to the archbishop of Toulouse and became
the minister of finance in 1787 at the
restore the financial crisis affecting the whole country.
height of the Aristocratic Revolt.
Peter McPhee sees the refusal of the nobility to endorse the king’s ambitious
reform of the fiscal system as the result of the lack of their participation in the government of the kingdom and
the social and economic challenges posed by the Third Estate, and in particular from the wealthier bourgeoisie
and an openly disaffected peasantry. The claims of the nobility of ‘ministerial despotism’ resonated strongly with
the public, who by now lacked confidence in the government. William Doyle argues that Calonne’s whole strategy
misfired because he naively assumed that the notables would accept there was a crisis, and Calonne’s plan was
the best approach to solving it. Following Calonne’s dismissal in April 1787, his successor, Loménie de Brienne,
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
46

archbishop of Toulouse, failed to convince the notables to accept the king’s reform plan and the Assembly was
dismissed at the end of May. Brienne’s proposed reforms brought ever wider circles of the population into vocal
opposition. The Assembly of Notables was a turning point, marking the beginning of a political crisis, which William
Doyle convincingly stated, was only to be resolved by revolution.

Brienne attempts to abolish the parlements

Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne, who replaced Calonne as minister of finance,
ratify
sought to get the parlements to approve amended versions of Calonne’s proposals. He
To give formal consent to resorted to exiling the judges of the Parlement of Paris to weaken their resistance and
an agreement, making it worked out a compromise by promising to call the Estates-General in 1792. In exchange,
officially valid
he asked the parlements to approve an extension of tax surcharges introduced to finance
the American War of Independence. This plan did
Martin Drölling, 'Joseph Merceron, lawyer to the Paris Parliament (Joseph Merceron, avocat

not succeed because when the Parlement of Paris

au Parlement de Paris)' 1791, oil on canvas, 210 x 144.4 cm, National Gallery of Australia,

met on 19 November 1787 to ratify this plan, Louis

XVI ordered the judges to register his edict instead
of allowing a semblance of judicial independence
and permitting the judges to discuss it freely. The
judges refused to obey the command. With the
compromise not possible, the king’s government
abolished the parlements altogether and replaced
them with a single high court for the whole country.
The response of the public was to demand a limit to
Canberra, Purchased 2001

royal authority.

The crisis deepens

Brienne’s attempt to abolish the parlements opened
a public debate that went beyond the issues of
Source 1.24 Joseph Merceron, lawyer at the
Parlement of Paris. The parlement led the opposition
fiscal reform. This debate raised questions about
to the king’s fiscal reforms and continued the the power of the king, the king’s relationship with
political crisis, which resulted in the convocation of
the Estates-General in 1789.
the nation, and who ultimately had the power to
make laws for the kingdom. The examples of Britain
and the United States served as powerful inspiration to those who demanded a political voice in
the government of France. The dismissed Assembly of Notables had already suggested a solution
– calling together the Estates-General, the representatives chosen from the three estates who had
the power to present grievances to the king and to consent to new fiscal arrangement.
Such thinking was expressed in the statement of the Parlement of Paris, made on 3 May 1788,
which declared that France was a monarchy governed according to a number of fundamental
laws. These laws defined the rights of the monarch, those of his subjects including the right
of the Estates-General to give its consent to changes in taxes levied by the king as well as the
independence of judges, and the traditional laws of provinces.
By early August 1788, the treasury was virtually empty and Brienne resigned in favour of Jacques
9780170243995

Necker. Necker’s return, together with the recall of the parlements, produced a temporary calming
effect. It was during this period that the election of deputies to the Estates-General occurred.

THE French Revolution

 47

France’s fundamental laws

ws
ental l a
bind the monarch with the
u n d a m
F he nation.
ing to t
accord a ris
a r l e m e nt of P
P The right of the nation to freely
consent to taxes at regular
meetings of the Estates-General.

The right of the judges to

tenure.
Corbis/Bettmann

The right of the parlements to

register new laws as legislated
by the king.

The freedom of all Frenchmen

from arbitrary arrest.

The right of all Frenchmen to

trial without delay and only
by their natural judges.

How did the financial crisis become

a political crisis?
Historians take two general approaches to the issues of the developing revolutionary situation in France before
1789. On one side, there are those who see the revolution as the outcome of the push by the bourgeoisie, urban
workers and peasants for political power; on the other, those for whom the revolution was an avoidable crisis that
occurred when a reform-minded monarch attempted to execute his plans. In particular, the Assembly of Notables
as the key event, which led directly to the development of the revolutionary situation, was variously interpreted.
For Albert Goodwin (1946), the notables were selfish defenders of fiscal privilege, countering the king’s proposal
of reform. A different interpretation was offered by Vivian Gruder (2007), who argued that the notables were
seeking compromise and were willing to give up their fiscal privileges, but demanded a measure of control over royal
finances. John Hardman (2010) disagreed with Gruder, arguing that the notables were defending their fiscal interests
and attributed the failure of the Assembly to the refusal of Louis XVI to share his absolute power and Calonne’s
miscalculation in taxing declining agriculture.
Albert Soboul and George Rudé have seen the causes of the revolution in the slow rise of the bourgeois class
and the decline of the nobility, which arguably represented the culture less well adapted to capitalism. Albert Soboul
explained that:
… the Assembly of Notables, by definition a group of aristocrats … after criticizing the planned tax, demanded a
statement of the Treasury’s accounts. The paralysis of the monarchy that resulted from the quarrel between the King
and the nobility led to revolution: The bourgeoisie, the leading element in the Third Estate, now took over. Its aim
was revolutionary: to destroy aristocratic privilege and to establish legal and civic equality in a society that would no
9780170243995

longer be composed of orders and constituted bodies. But the bourgeoisie intended to stay within the law. Before

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
48

long, however, it was carried forward by the pressure of the masses, the real Questions
motive force behind the revolution. Historians have their own way
Albert Soboul, A Short History of the French Revolution, 1789–1799, University of of arguing how events, ideas
California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1977, pp. 37–8.
and individuals contributed to
Similar conclusions were reached by George Rudé and Peter McPhee. Rudé
the outbreak of revolution.
wrote that ‘The Notables refused to endorse ministerial reforms because their
Focus on how historians differ in
own cherished fiscal immunities were threatened’.14 McPhee pointed to ‘the
their assessment of the roles of
entrenched hostility of most nobles towards fiscal and social reform’.15 He also
events, ideas and individuals.
suggested that, ‘Further attempts at reform foundered on the nobility’s insistence
1 Summarise the key points
that only a gathering of representatives of the three orders as an Estates-General
argued by each of the
could agree to such innovation. Tension between Crown and the nobility came to
historians.
a head in August 1788, with the parlements insisting that the measures that the
King’s ministry sought to impose amounted to “royal despotism”.’ 16 2 Which point do you find
Simon Schama’s profoundly different interpretation of the sources resulted in the most persuasive?
his claim that the privileged orders were far ahead of Calonne and were willing to 3 Why do their
sacrifice their own rights because ‘their shared sense of the historical moment that interpretations differ?
prompted their display of patriotic altruism. Allotted the role of a dumb chorus, 4 Evaluate historical
they suddenly found that, individually and collectively, they had a powerful voice – interpretations about the
and that France was paying attention. This abrupt self-discovery of politics was multiplicity of causation
intoxicating and there are signs that though they are usually dismissed as the tail (the conditional factors
end of the old regime, with respect to political self-consciousness the Notables and the role of events,
were the first revolutionaries’.17 In a masterly use of allegory, Schama provided an ideas, individuals and
illustrative parallel: ‘It was rather as if he [Calonne] had set out to drive an obstinate popular movements) and
mule with a very heavy wagon, only to find that the mule was a racehorse and had how this contributed to
galloped into the distance, leaving the rider in the ditch’.18 the outbreak of revolution.
Like Schama, David Andress pointed to the progressive ideas: ‘much in the
deliberations of the Notables suggested they, too, were finding new ways of
thinking’.19 William Doyle commented on the growth of public opinion, as for
the first time the Crown’s financial issues were openly discussed: ‘All these
proceedings had formally taken place in secret. The public was agog to have news
of the Assembly, rumours abounded, and a good deal of more or less accurate
information leaked out. It fuelled a flurry of pamphleteering, most of it hostile to
the ministers. In addition to despotism, profligacy, and incompetence, it was now
alleged … that Calonne was also guilty of shady stock-exchange dealings’.20

Conclusion
The tensions within the rigid social order based on privilege and tradition and the outdated
institutions of the state prevented the French monarchy from responding to financial pressures caused
by the French imperial ambitions. The absolute monarchy faced demands for constitutional
reform in exchange for consent to reform the fiscal system. When the attempted reforms stalled,
radical solutions were sought to resolve the stalemate with the convocation of the only body
9780170243995

representing the estates of France, the Estates-General.

THE French Revolution

 49

Chapter summary
++ In the 18th century, France was one of the great European powers with worldwide
aspirations.
++ France was a kingdom whose monarch ruled by divine right.
++ In its effort to maintain its international position, France accumulated a substantial debt,
which could not be serviced through its existing taxation system.
++ In the absolute monarchy there was no mechanism for the king’s subjects to express their
consent or otherwise to the new taxes. The king’s ministers recognised the need for reform,
but were unable to force the changes due to the lack of an institution representing the nation.
++ The intellectual movement, which had begun in the 1720s, articulated new thinking and
a new vision of society.
++ The financial crisis caused by French support of the American War of Independence and
the inability of the king’s government to reform France’s fiscal system turned into a political
crisis, with demands for representation from all sections of French society.
++ The emergence of public debate caused the shift in thinking about the organisation of
society and the political roles of the king and the nation.

Endnotes
1 Jean-Louis Soulavie, ‘Mémoires historiques et politiques du règne de Louis XVI, depuis son mariage jusqu’à sa
mort’, Ouvrages composé sur des pièces authentiques fournies à l’auteur avant la révolution, par plusieurs ministres et
hommes d’état et sur les pièces justificatives recueillies après le 10 août dans les cabinets de Louis XVI à Versailles et au
château des Tuileries, 6 vols (Paris, 1801), I, xcii.
2 Derek Beales, Joseph II: Volume 1, In the Shadow of Maria Theresa, 1741–1780, Cambridge University Press, 2008,
pp. 372–375.
3 Peter McPhee, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002, p. 13.
4 William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002, pp. 25–6.
5 William Doyle, 2002, pp. 27–8.
6 Peter McPhee, 2002, p. 16.
7 William Doyle, 2002, p. 28.
8 Peter McPhee, 2002, p. 16.
9 George Rudé, The Crowd in the French Revolution, Oxford University Press, London, 1967, pp. 33–4.
10 William Doyle, 2002, p. 16.
11 Peter McPhee, Living the French Revolution, 1789–1799, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2006, p. 6.
12 Melvin Edelstein, The French Revolution and the Birth of Electoral Democracy, Ashgate, Farnham, 2014, pp. 11–12.
13 Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, Penguin, London, 1989, p. 89.
14 George Rudé, The French Revolution, Grove Press, New York, 1988, p. 8.
15 Peter McPhee, 2002, p. 35.
16 Peter McPhee, 2006, p. 12.
17 Simon Schama, 1989, pp. 144–5.
18 Simon Schama, 1989, p. 144.
19 David Andress, French Society in Revolution, 1789–1799, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1999, p. 37.
9780170243995

20 William Doyle, 2002, p. 72.

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution
50

Weblinks
Weblinks relevant to this chapter can be found at http://nmh.nelsonnet.com.au/french

Further resources
Michael Adcock, The Enlightenment, Cengage Learning, Melbourne, 2014.
Peter Burke, ‘The Fabrication of Louis XIV’, History Today, February 1992, pp. 24–30.
William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
2002.
Nicholas Henshall, ‘The Myth of Absolutism’, History Today, June 1992, pp. 40–7.
Peter McPhee, Chapter 1, ‘France in the 1780s’, The French Revolution, 1789–1799, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 2002.
Albert Soboul, A short history of the French Revolution, 1789–1799, University of California Press,
Berkeley, 1977.

Chapter review activities

To bring together everything you have learnt in this chapter, make study notes while the
information is fresh in your mind. Using dot points and colour coding on either concept cards or
in a computer file or tablet device, note the following main points and add your own examples,
including symbols that appear in images.
1 What was the Enlightenment?
2 Who were the critical thinkers of the Enlightenment?
3 What was the position of France in the 18th-century European context?
4 How did ordinary French people view the monarchy and the Church in the last decades of
the 18th century?
5 Identify and discuss tensions between the three estates of France and their likely contribution
to the revolutionary situation in 18th-century France.
6 To what extent was the social structure of the ancien régime a cause of the French Revolution?
7 Explain why the taxation system in 18th-century France failed to meet the fiscal requirements
of the nation.
8 What were the restrictions placed on trade and commerce by the traditional administrative
divisions of France?
9 What was the relationship between the Bourbon monarchy and the French people in the
century before 1789?
10 In what ways did the Roman Catholic Church support the monarchy?
11 What was the relationship between the French king and the Second Estate?
9780170243995

THE French Revolution

 51

12 How were the ideological foundations of the French monarchy challenged and possibly
undermined by the Enlightenment philosophers and writers?
13 Identify and discuss two individuals who attempted to achieve fiscal and political reform in
France during the 1780s. To what extent were they successful?
14 Explain what impact France’s involvement in the American War of Independence had on
the development of the revolutionary situation.
15 What were the actions of the parlements that challenged royal authority?
16 What were the events of 1788 that led Louis XVI to announce the convocation of the
Estates-General?
17 What factors and forces led to the failure of reformist policies in the 1780s?

Focus activity
18 What were the causes of the French Revolution? Create a chart presenting the structure of
society in pre-1789 France. Can the origins of the revolution be found in the composition
of society at the time?

Enquiry activity
19 Create a mind map charting the following:
++ issues of most concern to the Third Estate
++ issues that, if unresolved, were most likely to lead to disorder and violence
++ issues that were most likely to lead to change in the way France was governed.
20 Using the ideas gathered in the mind map, create an agenda for reform, ranking the issues
in order of their priority for the king’s government.
21 Identify issues that Louis XVI could not have influenced at the time of the French Revolution.
9780170243995

Chapter 1
The origins of the revolution

View publication stats