French Revolution: King Louis XVI

• France, under King Louis XVI, was an absolute monarchy where monarchs possessed unlimited power and considered themselves God's representatives.
• King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, faced criticism for their luxurious lifestyle in Versailles amid France's economic struggles.

Economic Crisis and Initial Responses

• France was deeply in debt and experiencing an economic crisis when Louis XVI became king.
• In 1774, Louis XVI appointed Turgot as finance minister, who reduced royal court expenditure and increased taxes.
• By 1776, Necker replaced Turgot and released a report on state income and expenditure.

Assembly of Notables

• The Assembly of Notables was a rarely used ancient institution similar to the Estates-General, convened by the king during crises for advice.
• It was an assembly composed of members from the First and Second Estates (clergy and nobles).
• Louis XVI called upon the Assembly of Notables based on Charles Alexandre de Calonne's advice to pass fiscal reforms without parlement debate due to fiscal crisis, insufficient revenue, and national debt.
• In February 1787, about 144 nobles, bishops, magistrates, deputies, and mayors gathered at Versailles for the Assembly of Notables.
• France's involvement in the American Revolution exacerbated its bankruptcy, leading to new taxes that angered the Third Estate.
• Louis XVI's deregulation of the grain market during bad harvests caused famine.

Policies of Calonne and Brienne

• Calonne convened the Assembly of Notables in 1787 to pressure the parlement and gain support for his fiscal reforms but the Notables opposed his reform package.
• The Assembly of Notables felt that significant reforms affecting the Three Estates needed approval by the Estates-General.
• Calonne's four major fiscal reforms included unitary land tax, commutation of the Corvée, election of provincial assemblies, and abolition of internal tariff.
• Unitary Land Tax: A single land tax payable in kind, applicable to all landowners, assessed by property value and supervised by a local intendant.
• Commutation of the Corvée: Conversion of forced labour on public highways to monetary contributions.
• Election of Provincial Assemblies: Democratic reforms to eliminate corruption and the buying of positions by the elite.
• Abolition of Internal Tariff: Complete freedom of grain trade, temporary suspension of export, and fairer proportional taxation without elite exemptions.
• To gain public support, Calonne publicized French fiscal problems and his reform attempts, revealing a national deficit of 110 million livres.
• By April 7, 1787, Calonne was dismissed by the Notables and King Louis XVI, replaced by Loménie de Brienne.
• Brienne advocated for same fiscal policies as Calonne, and was influential due to his status as Marie Antoinette's favorite and his prior membership in the Assembly of Notables.

The Estates-General (1789)

• The Estates-General comprised representatives from the Three Estates, but lacked legislative power and met infrequently, only when summoned by the king mainly during crises.
• The Paris parlement opposed Brienne's proposed fiscal reforms and new taxes in 1787 and demanded that the Three Estates collectively approve such taxes.
• Conflict rose leading Louis XVI to promise the Estates-General convocation in 1792, to win over the Paris parlement.
• Traditionally, the Estates-General voted by order, with each of the Three Estates casting one vote, often marginalizing the Third Estate.
• In September 1788, the Paris parlement issued an edict for the Estates-General to use the outdated 1614 procedures, reducing parlement members to aristocrat servants.
• Louis XVI issued an edict on January 24, 1789, for the instructions on electing deputies to the Estates-General
• In the First and Second Estates, deputies were elected through an electoral assembly, attended by all clergymen and nobles.

Composition of Estates-General Deputies

• Due to the costs of travel and residing in Versailles, Third Estate deputies were primarily from the bourgeoisie, not the working class.
• The Third Estate deputies did not include peasants or artisans, but instead about 80 business owners, and half were lawyers.
• Parish priests made up about 208 of the 296 First Estate deputies, with the remainder being bishops.
• Approximately 70% of Second Estate deputies were serving or retired military officers with the rest being aristocrats.

The Tennis Court Oath

• On June 17, the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly to force King Louis XVI to form a new constitution, due to grievances, hope for political reforms, and expectations of being outvoted.
• After being locked out of a meeting hall, the Third Estate took an oath at a tennis court on June 20, 1789.

The Storming of the Bastille

• The Bastille was a prison for political dissidents like writers and philosophers.
• Parisians revolutionaries seized muskets at the Hotel des Invalides, fearing an attack by the French army after demanding increased governance representation.
• The Bastille was a military fortress with gunpowder and ammunition.
• On July 14, revolutionaries demanded that Governor de Launay surrender Bastille, abandon gunpowder, and release prisoners, but he refused.
• Fighting broke out, and French soldiers sided with the revolutionaries.
• Launay raised a white flag as more Parisians approached Bastille after negotiations failed.
• Launay was killed by a mob while being transported to Hotel de Ville to be tried by the revolutionary council.
• This event highlighted how the common French people wanted to end tyranny and feudalism.

Grande Peur

• The "Great Fear" involved peasant riots between July and August 1789 due to rumors of brigands rampaging the countryside.
• Peasants armed themselves, looted aristocratic chateaux, and destroyed feudal contracts because of the spread of rumors.
• Due to food shortages in Spring 1789, peasants became paranoid toward outsiders, who were often landless laborers, beggars, and vagrants competing for scarce resources.
• Peasants believed the king hired brigands to suppress revolutionary sentiments.
• Large groups of armed peasants searched villages, targeting symbols of feudal authority, like contracts, land holdings, and private property.
• The worst riots of the Great Fear occurred in late July in Dauphine, where peasants ransacked and burned chateaux.
• Some nobles gathered to create militias to protect their citizens from peasant rioting.
• Mary Matossian theorized in the late 1980s that ergot-contaminated wheat may have caused paranoid delusions among the riotous peasants.

National Assembly (1789)

• The Third Estate delegates, angered by their lack of voice, met and formed the French National Assembly on June 17, 1789.
• With the goal of establishing a new constitution, the National Assembly was formed, and it operated as a revolutionary government until 1791.
• Delegates from the First and Second Estates joined the National Assembly as resentment towards King Louis XVI increased.
• The National Assembly turned into the National Constituent Assembly by July 9th, until it was replaced by the Legislative Assembly in 1791.