Louis XVI

• Louis XVI took the fateful decision to enter the American War of Independence

  1778
• America was another source of ideas challenging the Ancien Regime
• Many in France were sympathetic to the colonists' cause for freedom and democracy
• Some idealistic French aristocrats, notably the Marquis de Lafayette, had already crossed the Atlantic to enlist in the American forces
• When they and the 8,000 troops who served in America came home after 1783, they brought with them renewed ideas of liberty and democracy, plus the example and experience of the overthrow of an existing political authority and the building of a new order in its place
• Changes in society


  • The rise of the bourgeoisie and their challenge to the fundamental principles of the Absolutist state
  • The growth in population from around 20 million at the end of the 17th century to 28 million in the 1760s. This demographic change placed pressure on French urban and rural society
• The demand for noble status posts increased, and the dividing lines between the rich bourgeoisie and the nobility blurred
• Venality seemed to suit everyone, and the upper bourgeoisie copied their social superiors by buying up land and acquiring feudal rights
• The Enlightenment had already undermined Divine Right monarchy
• The Enlightenment


  • Philosophes: The Encyclopaedia aimed to 'change the way people think', dealing with topics like reason, agricultural techniques, printing and metalworking
  • Scientific approach directly challenged ideas held by the Church and other institutions, causing huge controversy- sparked debate
  • Montesquieu criticised royal absolutism, Voltaire criticised the Catholic Church and religious intolerance, Rousseau argued that a despotic monarch could be overthrown by their subjects
  • Ideas spread through salons. Nobles and bourgeoisie met to discuss art, literature and politics. Occasionally political decisions were taken and deals made between the king's ministers
• The American Revolution meant that soldiers returned with ideas about freedom, equality, liberty etc.
• Without the Enlightenment people wouldn't have been able to discuss ideas about revolution, and ideas spread through newspapers and popular publication
• Evidence of an egalitarian society is seen in salons, where kings, ministers and even aristocrats could impact policy
• In 1734, the publication of his Lettres philosophiques in the city of Rouen led to a public outcry, as it was seen as an attack against the ancien régime of France. In response, the French authorities ordered copies of the book to be publicly confiscated and burnt, and Voltaire was forced to flee Paris
• Although France was becoming more difficult to rule, the impact of the Enlightenment was, ultimately, limited. The cahiers of 1789, which listed grievances from every class, reveal a conservative society that lacked the commitment to radical change
• The Weaknesses of the Eighteenth-Century French State

  • The Estates System
  • Tax system and the system of government
• Ancien regime


  The old order, as early as 1790
• Estates System


  • First estate - clergy
  • Second estate - nobility
  • Third estate - nearly 28 million people
• Privileges and burdens


  • Clergy paid no taxes - church donated annual grant, only 5% of their total income
  • Nobility were exempt from heaviest taxes such as talle (land tax) - exempt from military commission
  • Peasants - paid all taxes and had to do all labour service - paid the tithe to the church, main concern to stay alive and this was dependent on price of bread
• Strengths and weaknesses of the French state

  • France was arguably most powerful European country
  • Structure of ancient regime was inefficient and unfair
  • King could not make radical changes so its key weakness, problems of government and of taxation could not be reformed and tensions in society
  • Peasants made up vast majority of population and yet were treated worse, caused tension and ability to rise up due to them being the majority class as they wanted reform - also most susceptible to radical ideologies as they wanted change (enlightenment ideas)
  • Even nobility didn't like it - Brienne and aristocratic revolt
  • Louis weakly tried to force new taxes without support of nobility
  • Nobility had wealth and power to stop king
  • Difficult to implement change
• Any attempt of taxation policy, the first time an attack on the privileged status of the aristocracy and the Clergy who were normally exempt, was met with violent protests
• Louis' weakness had a long term negative impact, weakened his positions and made the whole situation harder to rectify
• Economic factors


  • Growth of population in France from 22,000,000 in 1700 to 28,000,000 in 1789
  • Scale of debt of the French government - 50 million livres in 1763, 40 million livres in 1774, 112 million livres in 1786
  • Investment in agriculture stagnated, and France struggled with outdated agricultural practices and underdeveloped transport systems
  • Mechanisation and large-scale factory production lagged behind European rivals like Britain
• Even in peacetime royal income was not enough to cover expenditure because of the size of interest payments
• Inefficient tax system - Nobles were exempt from most taxes, tax collection was chaotic due to regional differences, tax farming reduced income, venality reduced income
• Lavished royal spending - Louis XIV spent $2-300 billion in today's money to build Versailles
• Failure of financial reforms - Turgot's reforms were dismissed, Necker's reforms drew hostility, Calonne was unsuccessful in raising loans and went bankrupt
• Louis did so by introducing the Archbishop Brienne, implementation of a land tax against this idea of a land tax, the Assembly of nobles would also refuse these proposals that were established by Brienne
• The collapse of the economy under the weight of the royal debt and in August of 1788 this collapse would become more apparent when we see that the treasury starts suspending payments, so Louis reappoints necker
• Economic problems perhaps wouldn't have been as much of an issue if he weren't such a poor leader
• Reforming ministers offered little in the way of solution to the economic problems, but those who did offer plausible reform (Calonne, Necker x2) were dismissed after failing to successfully implement policies
• Food production increased by about 40% between 1700 and 1789, and modern scientific farming methods were introduced after 1750
• In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. This was unpopular, as Austria was blamed for France's defeat in the Seven Years War having traditionally been France's enemy
• Marie Antoinette played a large part in undermining the prestige of the monarchy. She was conceited, flippant and unpopular. Despite the need for strict economies in court expenditure, she managed gambling debts of half a million livres in one year and became known as 'Madame Déficit'
• Louis was like dissolve the Assembly of Nobles Feb 1787= meeting of Estates general - may 1789 and attempt to present the reforms back to the Paris Parliament, refused, leading to the aristocratic Revolt
• Louis left the decision of whether or not the votes would be counted by order or by head to be a discussion to be had at the first meeting of the Estates General, and made up no attempt to draw up any kind of proposals for consideration when the Estates General would eventually meet
• On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, representing the nation, and could challenge the king on tax
• Louis closed the room of the Estates General meeting, but on 27 June 830 members joined anyway, and Louis ordered the rest to join