Week 1 Old Regime Europe Ancien reime Old Regime the political and social order of pre 1789 Europe c Membership in an estate determined the type of work you did whom you could marry clothes you could wear and if you received education I The Society of Orders Estate Order a b The Great Chain of Being i Hierarchical order d Traditional estates i Determined by birth 1 Clergy 2 Nobility 3 Commoners e The Peasants ii Designed to promote social stability not individual freedom i Farmers that spent lives working the land ii Did not own land belonged to noble landlord iii Paid rent to landlord cash or portion of crops iv Labor services v Could pass on use of land to male children vi Some rich peasants owned land did not pay rent vii Serfs 1 Bound by law to their landlords 2 Landlord has absolute authority over them f The Nobility i 3 of European population ii Landed estates were basis of wealth iii Seigneurial rights 1 Right to be paid rent from peasants 2 Right to demand labor services iv Great emphasis on distinction of birth v Military values and honor vi Special rights 1 Exempt from taxation 2 Tried in noble courts g The Clergy i Divided by class and confessions 1 Western Europe Protestants and Catholics 2 Parish clergy vs upper clergy II Town Life a The guilds had to be member of local guild to practice a trade i Only Christian men ii Apprentice around age of 12 iii Journeyman wandered from town to town working in various shops 1 Must then make a masterpiece 2 If masterpiece was judged to be acceptable then can become a master iv Master only ones allowed to marry v Guilds proved inefficient as society grew III Forces of Transformation a Growing State Power i Louis XIV 1 Palace of Versailles 2 Claimed absolute power a Divine right of kings ii Absolutism in Prussia Austria Russia 1 Expanded military 2 Expanded bureaucracy 3 Challenge guild regulations on trade 4 Weakening of quasi parliamentary estates iii English Parliament 1 Power secured via a English Civil War 1642 1651 b Glorious Revolution 1688 Week 1 Readings Royal Power Asserted Noble Privilege Defended Louis XV o Parliament is to serve him not challenge him o His laws are just and he holds all the power o He has the right to dissolve parliaments as he sees fit o Above his subjects absolute authority given divine power Parliament of Bourdeux o They have had power since the beginning of the monarchy o Exist to serve the people by reviewing laws made by the king o King does not have power over them Frederick the Great Essays on the Form of Government Kings are men like their subjects Should not engage in lavish wasteful lifestyles Should act in the benefit of the people Servant of the state Diderot on Natural Law Natural rights General will vs private will o General will beneficial for all humanity o Private will selfishness only serves one s self o Laws should be made for everyone and not for one person Week 2 The French Revolution I The Crisis of the Old Regime a The Fiscal Political Crisis i Absolutist monarchy 1 Rule by divine right ii Society of orders estates iii The nobility 1 Seigneurial rights iv The new middle class commerce banking law medicine 1 Richest could purchase noble titles 2 The less wealthy resented the elites v The problem of revenue 1 Tax exemptions for a Nobility and church b Particular towns and provinces c Unequal tax burden i Burden fell on those least able to pay d Inefficient collections i Tax farmers went to provinces to collect kept the money e Seven Years War 1756 1763 i Put France into debt f Parlement regional courts i Obstacles to Louis XV s tax reform ii Louis XV dissolves parlements in 1770 g Louis XVI ruled 1774 1792 i Restores Paris parlement ii Military support for American Revolution 1775 1783 iii Sever fiscal crisis by the 1780s b The Socio Economic Crisis Interior of the country was worse off than exterior i ii Bad harvest sent bread prices up iii Price of grain went up due to removal of price controls 1 Bread Riot c Public Opinion i ii Pamphlets journals Vulgar Enlightenment 1 Louis XVI rumored that he could not produce an heir 2 Marie Antoinette scandalous reputation II The End of the Absolute Monarchy a The Pre Revolution of 1787 1789 i Charles de Calonne 1 Royal Finance Minister 1783 1787 2 Proposed a proportionate tax paid by all land owners ii The Assembly of Notables 1787 1 Nobility town church 2 Rejected the proposed taxes 3 Calonne forced to resign iii 1788 Parlement of Paris said they would not approve any new loans to king until Estates General convened 1 Louis XVI agrees to call Estates General August 3rd 1788 2 Estates General a Made up of representatives from 3 estates b Had not convened since 1614 b From Estates General to National Assembly 1 First Estate Clergy 2 Second Estate Nobles 3 Third Estate Commoners ii Middle Class rejected 1 vote system 1 vote estate 1 Clergy nobles could outvote commoners 2 3rd estate made up highest of population iii Jan 1789 Clergyman Abbe Sieyes What is the Third Estate 1 3rd estate embodies the nation 2 Nobility was a foreign element 3 Notion of 1st 2nd estate riding on backs of 3rd estate a Became an image of the revolution iv Meeting of Estates General May 1789 1 3rd estate refused to sit as separate group 2 Formed National Assembly 3 June 20 1789 Tennis Court Oath a Vowed not to return home until they gave France a constitution v Relationship between Louis XVI National Assembly 1 Indecisiveness of Louis XVI 2 Activism of French population c The Fall of the Bastille July 14th 1789 i 1 Marched fortress for weapons for militia 2 Troops fired into crowd killed 98 people 3 Crowd returned stormed Bastille killed General 4 Militia named itself National Guard 5 To make peace Louis XVI wore national ribbon a Shift of power from King to National Assembly III The Work of the National Assembly a Ending Feudal Privilege i Unrest in the countryside ii August 4 1789 nobility and clergy renounce iii Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen Aug 27 1789 b Nationalizing Throne and Altar i October Days ii Oct 5th women marched on Versailles demanding lower bread prices 1 Demanded royal family come with them they did iii Confiscation and sale of church lands Nov 1789 iv Civil Constitution of the Clergy July 1790 c Toward Constitutional Monarchy i Constitution of 1791 Week 2 Readings Arthur Young Travels during the Years 1787 1788 and 1789 Farmers are in poverty Farms are very small Feudal tenures Monopoly wealthy men would buy large amount of land divide