French Society During the Late 18th Century

Questions and Answers

Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated, resulting in the government acquiring assets worth at least 2 billion livres.

Rumors spread that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands to destroy the ripe crops.

A bad harvest, which led to a rise in the price of bread.

They were frustrated with the long queues and the exploitation of the situation by bakers who hoarded supplies. Signup and view all the answers

The agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. Signup and view all the answers

To limit the powers of the monarch. Signup and view all the answers

Many of them migrated to neighbouring countries. Signup and view all the answers

They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. Signup and view all the answers

To maintain control and order in the city, which was experiencing turmoil and unrest. Signup and view all the answers

France became a constitutional monarchy. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France in 1774 at the age of 20 and was married to Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
The new king found an empty treasury, drained by long years of war and the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the palace of Versailles.
France helped the thirteen American colonies gain independence from Britain, adding over a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to over 2 billion livres.

On July 14, 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm after the king commanded troops to move into the city.
Rumors spread that the king would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens, leading 7,000 men and women to gather in front of the town hall and form a people's militia.
The militia broke into government buildings in search of arms and eventually stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, releasing seven prisoners and killing the commander.
The Bastille was hated as a symbol of the king's despotic power, and its demolition was seen as a revolutionary act.

The days that followed saw more rioting in Paris and the countryside, mostly due to the high price of bread.
The National Assembly was busy drafting a constitution at Versailles while the rest of France seethed with turmoil.
Peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks, attacking chateaux, looting hoarded grain, and burning documents containing records of manorial dues.
Many nobles fled their homes, migrating to neighboring countries.