List of exam questions:
The most important reason for the weakening of the French Crown (by May 1789)
1. Social divisions/the way society was set out
The nobility and clergy were largely exempt from taxation, especially that on land, despite being
the major landowners. This, therefore, represented a huge untapped source of wealth
Furthermore, one of the privileges of the clergy was to set their own level of taxation which
meant that it was not necessarily easy to plan expenditure as there was no certainty as to how
much they might pay
As a result, it was mainly the Third Estate left paying taxes and although they represented the
vast majority of the population of France, and even though some of the bourgeoisies were
wealthy, the reality is that most of them were not, and therefore the taxes collected from them
were insufficient to cover government expenditure
The use of the estate system created unfair divisions between people which not only
undermined the monarchy because it created the impression that the King did not care about
those of the third estate, but it also created the impression that
2. The economy
War that France was involved in, such as the Seven Years War and the War of Austrian
Succession, had cost France nearly 3 billion livres, which King Louis could not pay off.
Furthermore, the financial crisis is clear where it can be seen that, prior to 1789, a Parisian
would have spent 50% of their wages on bread, but by 1789, 90% of their wage was going
towards bread, which in the 1780s was a necessity. This increase in the price of bread meant
that people in France, who were already struggling with bad harvests, especially the harvest in
1788, were struggling even to eat, let alone to pay rent and tax.
3. The actions of Louis (and Marie Antoinette)
King Louis XVI and his failure to accept reform could also be considered a crisis because it meant
that social and financial reform never occurred and by May 1789 the last and only option was to
call the Estates General. An example of the King’s lack of reform can be seen through the issues
with the voting system – previously there had been voting by estate, which had meant that
change had never occurred, as the third estate would lose to the first and second estates. The
third estate was also the biggest so this representation would seem unfair and they argue
voting by head would be the best solution. The King tried to announce in December 1788, that
here would be double representation, rather than giving reform that people wanted.
Highlighted through this issue of voting, we can see that the King’s unwillingness to accept
reform was a major issue, as the Estates General was eventually called to discuss the problem
of voting and this clearly undermined his position as King as it seemed to people that the King
could not give them what they wanted in already desperate times. Possibly, if the King had just
accepted voting by head as the method of voting, there would have been far less anger towards
the system that people wanted to reform and the 5th May would not have happened. However,
the failure of reform by King Louis cannot be thought of as the main crisis resulting in the
meeting of the Estates General because France being in so much debt and finance was such a
problem and I believe much more of a pressing issue for the people, that I think the 5th May
still would have happened. Even more than this, King Louis would never have needed to accept
such reform to voting at this point, with such urgency, if finances were not a problem, and
subsequently, he would not be considered the reason for the 5th May, as it would not have
happened.
4. The actions of the Parlement (undermining Louis)
5. The actions of individuals such as Necker and Turgot
As well as this, those appointed by King Louis for role of Controller General to reform and
improve royal finances never made any proper attempts at long-term reform. Two examples of
this are, Necker, who used loans to deal with the situation, and Calonne who managed finances
, by selling venal offices and lavish spending. However, it is clear that neither of these are at all
going to reform the system enough to get rid of the billions of livres of debt that they were in. It
also shows that ministers of finance were never successful overall in creating a system, which
would fully solve the financial situation and led to there being no other choice but the calling of
the Estates General in 1789.
6. The Enlightenment
Writers such as Voltaire defended the ideas of free speech: “I may not agree with what you say
but I will defend your right to say it”. Diderot is best known for his work, Encyclopédie in which
he hoped to show how man had mastered the natural world through science and technology
and how he rejected religion and saw the church as a bar to progress and Rousseau was best
known for his line “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”
The ideas of philosophes achieved a fairly wide circulation through coffeehouses, “academies”,
“salons” and other social gatherings in Paris and major provincial towns. Freemasonry lodges
were another form for debate and by 1744 there were around 20 lodges in Paris and 20 in the
provinces
The most important reason for the calling of the Estates General
1. Economy
Finance was the fundamental crisis that led to the 5th May 1789 because if had France not been
in so much debt and rise in prices had not been such a significant problems, people would not
have wanted reform of the tax system in France so desperately and the Estates General would
not have been brought forward.
War that France was involved in, such as the Seven Years War and the War of Austrian
Succession, had cost France nearly 3 billion livres, which King Louis could not pay off. This led to
5th May due to the need for an introduction of reform to the tax financial system so the King
could pay the debt, which it was argued by Necker and the Parlements only the Estates General
could bring.
Furthermore, the financial crisis is clear where it can be seen that, prior to 1789, a Parisian
would have spent 50% of their wages on bread, but by 1789, 90% of their wage was going
towards bread, which in the 1780s was a necessity. This increase in the price of bread meant
that people in France, who were already struggling with bad harvests, especially the harvest in
1788, were struggling even to eat, let alone to pay rent and tax. Increase in prices led to a lot of
anger by the people in France and an increasing recognition that significant reform needed to
happen in order to deal with the crippling financial situation. This increase in prices for
necessities and need for reform therefore led to the bringing forward and meeting of the
Estates General, which was hoped to bring in new taxes to deal with finances and therefore
solve many of these significant issues in France.
As well as this, those appointed by King Louis for role of Controller General to reform and
improve royal finances never made any proper attempts at long-term reform. Two examples of
this are, Necker, who used loans to deal with the situation, and Calonne who managed finances
by selling venal offices and lavish spending. However, it is clear that neither of these are at all
going to reform the system enough to get rid of the billions of livres of debt that they were in. It
also shows that ministers of finance were never successful overall in creating a system, which
would fully solve the financial situation and led to there being no other choice but the calling of
the Estates General in 1789.
Finance can clearly be seen here as a crisis that caused the meeting of the Estates General,
because, if people had not been so desperate as to need such reform to the tax system or if the
ministers had made effective change needed at this point, the Estates General would not have
had to have been called.
2. Enlightenment
The most important reason for the weakening of the French Crown (by May 1789)
1. Social divisions/the way society was set out
The nobility and clergy were largely exempt from taxation, especially that on land, despite being
the major landowners. This, therefore, represented a huge untapped source of wealth
Furthermore, one of the privileges of the clergy was to set their own level of taxation which
meant that it was not necessarily easy to plan expenditure as there was no certainty as to how
much they might pay
As a result, it was mainly the Third Estate left paying taxes and although they represented the
vast majority of the population of France, and even though some of the bourgeoisies were
wealthy, the reality is that most of them were not, and therefore the taxes collected from them
were insufficient to cover government expenditure
The use of the estate system created unfair divisions between people which not only
undermined the monarchy because it created the impression that the King did not care about
those of the third estate, but it also created the impression that
2. The economy
War that France was involved in, such as the Seven Years War and the War of Austrian
Succession, had cost France nearly 3 billion livres, which King Louis could not pay off.
Furthermore, the financial crisis is clear where it can be seen that, prior to 1789, a Parisian
would have spent 50% of their wages on bread, but by 1789, 90% of their wage was going
towards bread, which in the 1780s was a necessity. This increase in the price of bread meant
that people in France, who were already struggling with bad harvests, especially the harvest in
1788, were struggling even to eat, let alone to pay rent and tax.
3. The actions of Louis (and Marie Antoinette)
King Louis XVI and his failure to accept reform could also be considered a crisis because it meant
that social and financial reform never occurred and by May 1789 the last and only option was to
call the Estates General. An example of the King’s lack of reform can be seen through the issues
with the voting system – previously there had been voting by estate, which had meant that
change had never occurred, as the third estate would lose to the first and second estates. The
third estate was also the biggest so this representation would seem unfair and they argue
voting by head would be the best solution. The King tried to announce in December 1788, that
here would be double representation, rather than giving reform that people wanted.
Highlighted through this issue of voting, we can see that the King’s unwillingness to accept
reform was a major issue, as the Estates General was eventually called to discuss the problem
of voting and this clearly undermined his position as King as it seemed to people that the King
could not give them what they wanted in already desperate times. Possibly, if the King had just
accepted voting by head as the method of voting, there would have been far less anger towards
the system that people wanted to reform and the 5th May would not have happened. However,
the failure of reform by King Louis cannot be thought of as the main crisis resulting in the
meeting of the Estates General because France being in so much debt and finance was such a
problem and I believe much more of a pressing issue for the people, that I think the 5th May
still would have happened. Even more than this, King Louis would never have needed to accept
such reform to voting at this point, with such urgency, if finances were not a problem, and
subsequently, he would not be considered the reason for the 5th May, as it would not have
happened.
4. The actions of the Parlement (undermining Louis)
5. The actions of individuals such as Necker and Turgot
As well as this, those appointed by King Louis for role of Controller General to reform and
improve royal finances never made any proper attempts at long-term reform. Two examples of
this are, Necker, who used loans to deal with the situation, and Calonne who managed finances
, by selling venal offices and lavish spending. However, it is clear that neither of these are at all
going to reform the system enough to get rid of the billions of livres of debt that they were in. It
also shows that ministers of finance were never successful overall in creating a system, which
would fully solve the financial situation and led to there being no other choice but the calling of
the Estates General in 1789.
6. The Enlightenment
Writers such as Voltaire defended the ideas of free speech: “I may not agree with what you say
but I will defend your right to say it”. Diderot is best known for his work, Encyclopédie in which
he hoped to show how man had mastered the natural world through science and technology
and how he rejected religion and saw the church as a bar to progress and Rousseau was best
known for his line “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”
The ideas of philosophes achieved a fairly wide circulation through coffeehouses, “academies”,
“salons” and other social gatherings in Paris and major provincial towns. Freemasonry lodges
were another form for debate and by 1744 there were around 20 lodges in Paris and 20 in the
provinces
The most important reason for the calling of the Estates General
1. Economy
Finance was the fundamental crisis that led to the 5th May 1789 because if had France not been
in so much debt and rise in prices had not been such a significant problems, people would not
have wanted reform of the tax system in France so desperately and the Estates General would
not have been brought forward.
War that France was involved in, such as the Seven Years War and the War of Austrian
Succession, had cost France nearly 3 billion livres, which King Louis could not pay off. This led to
5th May due to the need for an introduction of reform to the tax financial system so the King
could pay the debt, which it was argued by Necker and the Parlements only the Estates General
could bring.
Furthermore, the financial crisis is clear where it can be seen that, prior to 1789, a Parisian
would have spent 50% of their wages on bread, but by 1789, 90% of their wage was going
towards bread, which in the 1780s was a necessity. This increase in the price of bread meant
that people in France, who were already struggling with bad harvests, especially the harvest in
1788, were struggling even to eat, let alone to pay rent and tax. Increase in prices led to a lot of
anger by the people in France and an increasing recognition that significant reform needed to
happen in order to deal with the crippling financial situation. This increase in prices for
necessities and need for reform therefore led to the bringing forward and meeting of the
Estates General, which was hoped to bring in new taxes to deal with finances and therefore
solve many of these significant issues in France.
As well as this, those appointed by King Louis for role of Controller General to reform and
improve royal finances never made any proper attempts at long-term reform. Two examples of
this are, Necker, who used loans to deal with the situation, and Calonne who managed finances
by selling venal offices and lavish spending. However, it is clear that neither of these are at all
going to reform the system enough to get rid of the billions of livres of debt that they were in. It
also shows that ministers of finance were never successful overall in creating a system, which
would fully solve the financial situation and led to there being no other choice but the calling of
the Estates General in 1789.
Finance can clearly be seen here as a crisis that caused the meeting of the Estates General,
because, if people had not been so desperate as to need such reform to the tax system or if the
ministers had made effective change needed at this point, the Estates General would not have
had to have been called.
2. Enlightenment
