Causes of the French Revolution and the Events of 1789

• What was the name of the regime governing France in 1774?

  The Ancien regime
• When had Parliament (the Estates General) in France last convened?


  1614
• What were classes called in France in 1774?

  Estates
• How many estates were there in France in 1774?

  3
• What did the First Estate consist of?

  The clergy
• What did the Second Estate consist of?

  The nobility
• What were the two different types of nobles called?

  • Nobles of the Robe
  • Nobles of the Sword
• What did the Third Estate consist of?

  The peasantry
• How many people were in the First Estate in 1774?

  200,000
• How many people were in the Second Estate in 1774?

  400,000
• How many people were in the Third Estate in 1774?

  26,400,000
• What percentage of French land did the clergy own in 1774?

  15%
• What percentage of French land did the nobility own in 1774?

  20%
• What percentage of French land did the bourgeoisie own in 1774?

  30%
• What percentage of French land did the peasantry own in 1774?

  35%
• What was the total population of France in 1774 (approximately)?

  27 million
• Who were the Nobles of the Sword?

  Old nobles from the ancient warrior class who were at the royal court
• Who were the Nobles of the Robe?

  French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts
• What type of monarch was France led by in 1774?

  An absolute, hereditary monarch, who was supposedly chosen by God through the Divine Right of Kings and the Great Chain of Being
• Who was King of France in 1774?

  Louis XVI
• What was the official name for French laws?

  Edicts
• What were 'lettres de cachet'?

  Where the King could arbitrarily arrest anyone using a warrant
• What was the 'lit de justice'?

  The King could use it to ignore the Paris parlements and force through the registration of laws
• What was the French land tax called?

  The taille
• Which estate were taxed with the taille (the land tax)?

  The Third Estate (the clergy and the nobility were exempt)
• What was the labour tax called?

  The corvée
• When did Louis XVI marry Marie Antoinette?

  1770, at the age of 15
• How old was Louis XVI when he ascended to the throne?

  19
• What famous quote from Louis XVI encapsulated his thoughts regarding his kingship?

  'I want to be loved'
• How did Louis XVI attempt to reform the French government in accordance with Enlightened ideas at the beginning of his reign?

  • Tried to abolish serfdom
  • Wanted to remove the corvée and the taille
  • Wished to increase tolerance towards non-Catholics
  • Abolished the death penalty for deserters
• What was the salt tax called?

  The gabelle
• How much was the French national debt in 1774?

  235 million livres
• How much was the French deficit in 1774?

  37 million livres
• How much was spending in 1786?

  633 million livres
• What was the total French income in 1786?

  472 million livres
• What was the French national debt in 1789?

  12 billion livres
• How much did the Seven Years' War cost France?

  1.3 billion livres
• What was Marie Antoinette's model village called?

  Le Hameau de la Reine
• What was the problem with the gabelle tax?

  There were enormous price disparities between the different provinces (the salt price in Paris was 30% higher than in Brittany), meaning there was a strong enticement to smuggling.
• When was Turgot finance minister of France?

  1774-1776