France Under the Old Regime PDF

21 The French Revolution Part I: France under the Old Regime W hat was life like in eighteenth century France? It is safe to say that it was very different from the life we are familiar with...

21 The French Revolution Part I: France under the Old Regime W hat was life like in eighteenth century France? It is safe to say that it was very different from the life we are familiar with , ,1t is in my person alone that sovereign power resides.... It is from me alone that my courts derive their authority; today. Yet without some sense of the life and and the plenitude of their authority, beliefs of the French people at the time, it is which they exercise only in my name, difficult to answer the question: why did the remains always in me.... It is to me French Revolution take place? alone that legislative power belongs, To help you understand what led to the without any dependence and without revolution that began in 1789, Part I of your any division.... The whole public reading traces the contours of French social order emanates from me, and the and political life during the Old Regime (Old rights and interests of the nation...are Regime was a name given to the system of rule necessarily joined with mine and rest in France before 1789). You will read about the only in my lwnds." economic conditions facing the French people. -King Louis XV, 1766 You will examine the role of social classes and of the Roman Catholic Church, and see how King Louis XVI certainly also thought of political decisions were made. You will also his power as absolute, but France in the late consider some of the new ideas about society eighteenth century was a complex society with that were beginning to circulate in France at competing ideas and political interests. Some that time. in France were beginning to question the abso- 1 ute authority of the king. A New King In May 1774, a young man of nineteen French Society became King Louis XVI of France. He suc­ When Louis XVI became king, France ceeded his grandfather who died at the age of had about twenty-six million inhabitants, not sixty-four from smallpox. His father had died counting its colonies overseas. There were when the king was eleven. Like his grandfa­ distinct social classes, complex political divi­ ther before him, Louis XVI came to the throne sions, and rigid hierarchies. Roughly speaking, through dynastic succession (when members the wealthiest and most powerful group were of a family continue to hold political power the nobility, who numbered approximately from generation to generation). The king was 300,000. Beneath this group were the ap­ a member of the Bourbon family, which had proximately three million bourgeoisie, a social ruled France since 1589. class made up of professionals such as mer­ chants, judges, legal officials, and small factory How much power did the owners. The largest group was the peasants, king claim for himself? numbering more than twenty million. (The The king was at the top of the social and word peasant is derived from the Old French political order in France. At the time, most word paisent, meaning "someone who lives in French people believed that Goel had given the country.") The peasants were at the bot­ the king authority to rule. This idea is known tom of the hierarchy; the king was at the top. as the "divine right of kings." Not only did Life was often very difficult for those near the the king represent France, but all authority bottom. of the government resided in him. (This type of government is referred to as an absolute Who were the peasants? monarchy.) Peasants lived all over France, had dif­ ferent customs, and even spoke different CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY WWW.CHOICES.EDU  The French Revolution 3 languages. The vast majority of peasants (more than 85 percent) worked in agriculture. Al­ though there was no such thing as a typical ' ' peasant-life varied widely in the different regions of France-all shared certain experi­ ences. Peasants were expected to obey their "betters" and pay dues and taxes to local nobility, the church, and to the crown. Life was filled with hardship, hunger, and suffer­ ing. Death was commonplace due to overwork, poor nutrition, and illness. One in five died before reaching the age of one. Less than half lived to the age of fifteen. What was life like for peasants in the countryside? Poverty was the greatest challenge for peasants in the countryside. Most peasant families could afford a one or two-room dirt "' floored house, which they might share with C: - !" any farm animals that they owned. These This eighteenth century drawing is called "Peasants houses generally had little to no ventilation Resting." and were breeding grounds for disease. Even though most peasants worked in agriculture, their nutrition tended to be poor. The difficulty of making enough to survive Diets often did not include meat-it was too in farming forced many peasants to look for valuable to butcher-or even green vegetables. additional work. Many added to their income Child mortality rates increased in the months by spinning and weaving in their homes. before and during harvests, when breast­ Other peasants occasionally took jobs in rural feeding mothers had to work long hours in towns as stone masons, chimney sweeps, the fields and supplies of food from the last ropemakers, and papermakers. In fact, most of harvest were running low. Farming techniques France's industry was in rural areas. were not innovative and relied heavily on The financial pressures of having a fam­ manual labor. Agriculture was the most impor­ ily meant that men often waited until their tant economic activity in France, but harvests late twenties to get married. Women usually were often poor. married a few years earlier. Although these In addition, peasants were heavily taxed distinctions varied, men usually worked by a variety of sources. For example, a peas­ away from the immediate area of the home, ant renting land might be expected to pay the for example in the fields, fulfilling obligations land owner half of all crops that he produced. to local nobility, or fixing roads (a require­ In addition, the Roman Catholic Church col­ ment regularly imposed by the state). Women lected a tithe (a tithe is from the Old English tended to work closer to home, for example word meaning one-tenth, but the church col­ tending small livestock, or growing and selling lected anywhere from 8 to 15 percent of the produce at local markets. value of the harvest). There were also likely to be fees paid to local nobility as well as other What was life like in the city? taxes. Peasants could hope for some profit During the reign of King Louis XVI, hard­ from about 15 to 20 percent of their crops and ship in the countryside led many peasants livestock. to come to urban areas to find work. Paris, WWW.CHOICES.EDU WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY a CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM a 41 The French Revolution France's largest city with a population of about fed, but despised, tliey resent us, and 700,000 in 1789, grew by 100,000 during the have become our greatest enemies." eighteenth century. Most people who lived in -Louis Sebastien Mercier, 1783 urban areas were poor, unskilled workers. Pov­ erty and hunger were the greatest challenges to The well-off were also worried about those who lived in cities. rioting and violence by peasants, particularly A central component of the diet of the when shortages led to rises in the price of working class was bread. The average male bread. There were numerous instances of riots worker would spend about half of his wages and violence over high prices and shortages of just to buy this bread. In times of bread or bread during the reign of Louis XVI. Because grain shortages, the cost of bread would rise of their role in preparing and providing food, even higher-up to about 75 percent of in­ women often participated and even led these come. Women workers earned considerably demonstrations. less than men. The challenge of providing for Shortages and high bread prices contrib­ a family was high. uted significantly to public dissatisfaction and would play an important role in the early , ,workmen today need twice as much days of the revolution. Women, as important money for their subsistence, yet they participants in these demonstrations, began to earn no more than fifty years ago have a larger role in public life. when living was half as cheap." -Jean Marie Roland, manufacturing Who were the bourgeoisie? inspector, 1777 The largest group of well-off people in France were the bourgeoisie, or what today A large group of workers worked as ser­ would be called the middle class. In 1789, vants to the well-off. Servants made up about they numbered two to three million, about 5 to 7 percent of the population of cities. Paris 10 percent of the overall population. Most is thought to have had about fifty-thousand made their money as merchants and business­ servants during the reign of Louis XVI. Many men in industry, commerce, and trade. As the servants were new arrivals from the coun­ economy grew between the reigns of Louis tryside. Although they enjoyed advantages, XIV (1661-1715) and Louis XVI, the number including regular food, clothing, and a place of bourgeoisie tripled. During the same pe­ to sleep, the high turnover rate suggests that riod the population of France only grew by 25 many servants found the disadvantages to be percent. As a result, the role of bourgeoisie in significant. Servants were forbidden to marry French society became more important. or have relationships, and often were poorly treated by their masters. Many servants de­ As the wealth of the bourgeoisie grew, they spised their masters and many masters thought invested heavily in land and new businesses. poorly of their servants. They bought luxury goods like sugar and cof­ fee from the Caribbean. They built new houses and decorated them with silks and wallpaper , ,Today, servants who go from house to produced in France. They wore fancy clothing house, indifferent to rnasters whom and had servants. Their lives were very differ­ they serve, can meet a master they ent from the peasants who struggled to survive just left without feeling any sort in the countryside, cities, and towns. of emotion. They assemble only to exchange the secrets they have , ,The distance which separates the unearthed; they are spies, and being rich from other citizens is growing well paid, well dressed, and well daily and poverty becomes more insupportable at the sight of the CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY WWW.CHOICES.EDU  The French Revolution 5 astonishing progress of luxury which tires the view of the indigent [poor]. Hatred grows more bitter and the state is divided into two classes: the greedy and insensitive, and munnuring malcontents." -Louis Sebastien Mercier, 1783 In addition to investing in land, the bourgeoisie bought public "offices" from the crown. For example, a Roman Catholic mem­ ber of the bourgeoisie could buy an "office" (position) as a judge. (French law barred Protestants and Jews from buying offices.) By paying an annual tax, holders of these offices could keep them and then pass them on to their children. Under Louis XVI, there were approximately fifty thousand of these offices. They were a valuable source of revenue for the king. A few of the offices even gave the pur­ chaser the status of nobility. The bourgeoisie saw these offices as an important means of achieving social status as well as providing a well-paying job. Louis XVI. Members of the bourgeoisie also invested in education, which they saw as a way to help tion helped them amass wealth. The nobility future generations prosper. During the eigh­ owned about one-third of the land. They also teenth century, the number of schools and held special rights over the rest of the land, universities increased. There was growth in which entitled them to collect fees and taxes the number of newspapers, public libraries, on those who used or lived on the land. They theaters and clubs. All of these factors con­ owned most of the valuable public offices. tributed to the introduction and circulation About 25 percent of the revenues of the Ro­ of new ideas in France. More of the French man Catholic Church went to those clergy who bourgeoisie began thinking about the relation­ were also members of the nobility. ship of art, culture, philosophy and economics The nobility also had political influence and to their own lives and society. and power. Most of the senior advisors to the king were nobles. It would have been extreme­ What was life like for the nobility? ly unusual for the king even to meet someone Life in the nobility brought status that who was not a noble. many members of the bourgeoisie found Nobility was no guarantee of wealth. (But highly desirable. They had special privileges great wealth for a member of the bourgeoisie and were exempt from many of the numerous did guarantee eventual membership in the no­ and complex taxes that the bourgeoisie and bility.) In fact, about half of the nobility were peasants had to pay. If they were accused of a not as well off as an average member of the crime they were entitled to be tried in a spe­ bourgeoisie. This had two important conse­ cial court and they could not be drafted into quences. First: most of the wealth and political the military. power in France was concentrated in very few While there were only about 300,000 hands. Second: nobility who were not wealthy members of the nobility, customs and tradi- relied on collecting the numerous fees and WWW.CHOICES.EDU WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM 6 The French Revolution taxes on their lands and asserting their social crowded into a large room simply to watch the superiority-all of which heightened resent­ king and queen eat their midday meal. Those ment against them. most in favor got to sit on stools, others simply stood and found places to watch the royal What was life like for the kin g couple who sat at a table facing the crowd and and the royal family? ate their meal. The queen and the king lived a life of plenty, and they were the top of the hierar­ The Political Structure chy in France. King Louis XVI ruled France King Louis XVI wanted to be a conscien­ from his Palace of Versailles, which was about tious ruler, but there were signs that he felt twelve miles from Paris. Approximately ten burdened by his responsibilities. He preferred thousand people worked at the Palace of working in his own locksmith shop or carv­ Versailles to serve the king and the court (the ing wood to consulting with his ministers on court was made up of the entourage of the matters of the state or dealing with the large king). The expense was tremendous; it was problems facing France. When one of his min­ paid for with taxes and revenues that the king isters resigned, the king said, "How lucky you collected from the people of France. are! Why can't I resign too?" A place at the royal court brought status and privilege and was therefore highly desir­ What factors complicated the able. To be a courtier (a member of the court), task of governing France? one had to have a noble family stretching back The king inherited the throne and with it a to the year 1400, or have special permission political structure and organization to France from the king. Only a thousand families met that had developed over centuries. It was a this criterion. Many chose not to attend or sim­ tangled web of overlapping jurisdictions. This ply could not afford to live the very expensive made governing France an extremely complex life at court. Those who could were the elite and often inefficient process. of France; they were from the wealthiest, most powerful families. By being close to the king, One example of this was how France was they had status and influence. divided internally. France had thirty-nine provinces that each had governors. (A prov­ One example of the rituals of the court ince is a geographic area like a state.) At the shows the exalted status of the king and same time, France was divided into thirty-six queen-and the desire of the courtiers to be as generalites (pronounced zhen-air-al-itay). It close to them as possible. Every day courtiers was the generalites, not the provinces, that Marie Antoinette King Louis XVI had married his wife Marie Antoinette when he was fifteen and she fourteen. She was the daughter of the empress of Austria who had sent her to help strengthen Austria's relationship with France. Although the king and queen were both popular at first, Marie Antoi­ nette became the target of pamphlets that attacked her in later years. Her failure to bear the king an heir for seven years, the fact that she was foreign born, and her financial extravagances made her the subject of gossip and criticism. Many in France distrusted her and even considered her to be a spy. Although she was often harshly criticized, one of the most famous and lasting stories about Marie Antoinette is probably untrue. During one of the periods of famine, she is alleged to have been told that common people couldn't afford bread to which she replied, "Then let them eat cake." There is no actual evidence to support this story, but it was probably told to show that the queen was out of touch with the reality of her subjects' lives. CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY WWW.CHOICES.EDU  The French Revolution 7 assumed most responsibility for administering France was a complex maze of jurisdic­ and governing the regions of France, including tions and inconsistent rules that the privileged the essential function of collecting taxes. and powerful used to benefit themselves. The king claimed absolute authority Some historians have called the government of throughout France, but the regions farthest pre-revolutionary France a plutocracy (gov­ from the site of his rule in Paris often ex­ ernment for and by the wealthy). The king ercised some autonomy. For example, the depended on a minority of the French people, regions in southern France established their who were in the nobility or clergy, to preserve own rates of taxation in consultation with the his rule. This small minority depended on and king's ministers. used the system he headed for wealth, status, and power. Although the peoples of France were uni­ fied by the fact that Louis XVI was their ruler, there were in fact great variations throughout What was the role of the the kingdom. For example, in the provinces Roman Catholic Church? around Paris French was the language spoken. France was primarily a country of Roman But there were other dialects and languages Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church was spoken in other provinces, including Basque, both wealthy and politically powerful. By Breton, and German. Taxes were also adminis­ law and tradition, clergy were considered the tered differently. For example, salt was taxed most important group in France, ahead of the at different rates throughout France. In some nobility. All of the king's subjects were legally areas people were taxed, in other areas, only designated as Catholics and no one was per­ land was taxed. mitted to practice any other religion publicly. Protestants, who numbered about 550,000, had no civil rights and were not tolerated except in How was the king able to rule France? the province of Alsace. About thirty thousand Although the king claimed absolute power Jews lived in France and their rights were and final say over all decisions and policies of similarly curtailed. France, he depended on the nobility and of­ ficials to carry out his policies. Many of them The Catholic Church played an impor­ did this simply because it benefitted them. tant role in the lives of ordinary people. The For example, the tens of thousands of officials who had purchased "offices" and paid taxes so that they could pass the office on to their offspring wanted to preserve the source of their income. It served their personal interests ::, z to perpetuate the system E of government. After all, E 0 u if it had not made them m wealthy, it at least made them financially secure. They were free from the fear of hunger, something that the vast majority struggled with daily. This photograph shows the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame in present-day Paris. The cathedral was built between 1163 and 1345 CE. WWW.CHOICES.EDU WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY foUCATION PROGRAM s I The Fcench Re,olufoc church was responsible for most of the educa­ order to get support for new taxes. By the time tion system and provided aid and charity to King Louis XVI came to the throne, the Estates the poor. It ran almost all of the hospitals and General had not met since 1614. orphanages as well. For the many poor people of France, the church provided vital services What were parlements? that they would not otherwise be able to af­ France had thirteen parlements that served ford. as the highest courts of law in the land. The When life was filled with hardship, death, king registered all new laws and edicts with and uncertainty, the church also provided the parlements; the parlements had the right hope to peasants in the countryside. Priests to criticize these edicts, but ultimately could blessed crops and animals. Church bells were not overrule the king. rung in the belief that they could prevent The jurisdiction of these courts was geo­ thunderstorms, which would spoil a harvest. graphic and often covered multiple provinces The church also had an important admin­ and generalites. These overlapping adminis­ istrative role. It kept records of births, deaths, trative boundaries often led to disputes over and marriages. It had the power to censor or which laws should apply. The fact that the suppress publications of which it did not ap­ laws and legal code varied throughout the prove. Government decrees or warnings were provinces complicated the situation further. often issued through the church. The northern provinces of France relied on The church owned about 10 percent of the customary law (unwritten law established by land in France and earned revenue from the being used over a long period of time). The tithes it collected. While many French people southern provinces used laws with their ori­ loved their parish priests, they resented the gins in the Roman empire. wealth collected from the tithes by higher­ ranking clergymen, for example, bishops and France and the Age of cardinals. These higher-ranking clergy were appointed by the king and were often members Enlightenment There were many problems in France, of the nobility as well. including widespread poverty. In spite of The church and clergy paid no taxes of this, the king was still a popular and exalted their own, but regularly gave the crown a gift figure. For example, many wept with joy at of cash. Positions of power in the church were his coronation or even fainted in his presence. usually controlled by nobles, many of whom The idea of the "divine right of kings" was still saw the church as way to increase their own widely accepted in the eighteenth century. family wealth. During the reign of Louis XVI, about one-third of the French people were liter- What was the Estates General? ate, and one in fifty-two boys would attend France did not have a representative body a high school. Only the well-off could afford like a parliament or Congress when Louis XVI to purchase journals or books or have time to came to power. The king could convene what read. Yet France was changing. Education and was known as the Estates General, which was literacy rates had increased even among the meant to be a representative body. The Es­ poor. Newspapers and journals grew in impor­ tates General was made of three groups: the tance. The number of libraries increased as did First Estate, which was the clergy; the Sec­ the places where political discussions could ond Estate, the nobility; and the Third Estate, take place. For example, people gathered in which included everyone else. King Philip III public coffee houses to discuss issues. Private had established the Estates General in 1302 to gatherings known as salons, often sponsored provide counsel in times of crisis. Normally by wealthy women, were another place for the French kings convened the Estates General in airing of new ideas. CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY WWW.CHOICES.EDU  The French Revolution g It was in this environment that writers and philosophers introduced new ideas and ways of thinking about society and government. This period came to be known as the Age of Enlightenment and it occurred not only in France, but in all of Europe. The beginning of this period in France can be traced to King Louis XIV's decision to eliminate the rights of French Protestants in 1685. Hundreds of thousands fled France to E E 0 neighboring countries where some were able u to publish works that criticized France's Old E :_;;; Regime. Changes in scientific understanding also contributed to the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century, with its emphasis on observation, measurement, and rationality as a means to understand the physical world, influenced the philosophers of the Enlighten­ ment. Philosophers tried to address questions of government and society using the same Denis Diderot. approach. Although their goal was to improve society and increase human happiness through the public. Many of the philosophers were criticism and reform, they were not advocates exiled from France and their writings banned. for revolution. Who was Voltaire? ,we will speak against senseless laws Voltaire was the pen name of Frenchman until they are reformed; and while Frarn;:ois-Marie Arouet who lived from 1694 we wait, we will abide by them." to 1778. Early in his life Voltaire was exiled to -Denis Diderot, Enlightenment England. There he published Letters Concern­ philosopher ing the English Nation, in which he compared Britain's constitutional monarchy and par­ What was the object of the Enlightenment? liamentary government to France's absolute Not all of the writers of the Enlighten­ monarchy. Voltaire admired the British Bill of ment agreed with each other or made the same Rights, which was written in 1689, because arguments. What the philosophers and writers it made freedom of speech a right and gave did share was the idea that society could be Protestants freedom of religion. (He did not improved by using the principles of rationality mention the fact that Roman Catholics did not and reason. have rights in Britain.) Although this book The ideas of the Enlightenment challenged was banned in France, it nevertheless became the fundamental principles of French soci- a best seller. Voltaire spoke out frequently ety, including the authority of the king and against the Catholic Church and religious the Catholic Church. Enlightenment writers persecution. believed that rationality, not merely tradition or religious ideas, should be the driving force , ,1J this world were as good as it seems behind all decisions. Philosophers sought to it could be, if everywhere man could shape the opinions of educated members of find a livelihood that was easy and WWW.CHOICES.EDU WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY CHOICES FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM 1Q The French Revolution I assure a climate suitable to his thousand copies had been sold in France and nature, it is clear that it would be in other countries. impossible for one man to enslave another.... If all men were without , ,ram a man, and I have 110 other pure, needs, they would thus be necessarily inalienable natural rights than those equal. It is the poverty that is a part of humanity...the laws should be of our species that subordinates one made for everyone, and not for one man to another. It is not inequality, person [the king]." it is dependence that is the real -Denis Diderot, Encyclopedia, 1755 misfortune. It matters very little that this man calls himself 'His Highness,' or 'His Holiness.' What is hard is to Who was Rousseau? serve him." Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived from 1712 to 1778. He was also a philosopher of the En­ -Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary, 1765 lightenment, but he disagreed with many of the arguments made by others of the era. For Who was Montesquieu? example, he believed that progress in arts and The Baron de Montesquieu was the science had hurt rather than helped humanity. noble title of the Frenchman Charles-Louis One of his most important works was The So­ de Secondat who lived from 1689 to 1755. cial Contract. Rousseau set out the ways that Montesquieu's most famous contribution to he thought government could legitimately es­ political thinking was his work The Spirit of tablish authority while protecting the liberty of Laws. In this work he outlined the principal citizens. The Social Contract was condemned of the separation of governmental power into for its attacks on the church and priests and three branches of government: the executive, Rousseau fled France for eight years. the judicial, and the legislative. This form of government, he argued, was the best way Rousseau's political ideas were radical for to encourage political liberty. Montesquieu's the time. He argued that all adult male citizens ideas were important in France, and also influ­ had the same innate rights, and that govern­ enced the authors of the U.S. Constitution. ments could only gain legitimacy by protecting the rights of each citizen. Rousseau also placed great importance on the "general will" of the , ,111 order that power be not abused, populace as a guide for establishing political things should be so disposed that authority. He claimed that the king received power checks power." his authority from the "general will" not from -Baron de Montesquieu, God. The Spirit of Laws, 1748 Who was Diderot? , ,The Sovereign [king], having 110 force Denis Diderot lived between 1713 and other than the legislative power, acts 1784. He helped author and publish a multi­ only by means of the laws; and the volume collection of knowledge. It was called laws being solely the authentic acts Encyclopedia, but its purpose was more than of the general will, the Sovereign simply summarizing what was already known. cannot act save when the people is Diderot intended to promote an understand­ assembled." ing of the world based on rationality, and also -Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social a critical attitude towards all things, particu­ Contract, 1762 larly the church and the authority of the state. Although both church and crown tried to sup­ press publication, by 1789 about twenty-five a CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM a WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY a WWW.CHOICES.EDU