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The French Revolution (Beginnings (Everything is Fine TM (Necker (followed…

- - - - Proto-Capitalists destroyed feudalism
        
        modern historians see this as flawed
  - - - owned about 10% of land
      - king appointed
      - top positions filled with nobility
      - bottom positions were held by unhappy peasants
      - exempt from property tax (mostly)
    - - 120,000-400,000 || 1-2%
      - owned about 1/3 of all land
      - held feudal rights. ie control prices and other stuff.
      - used surrogates in 3rd estate to engage in trade and get around restrictions
      - best nobles dominated highest ranks of government
      - exempt from property tax (mostly)
    - - 27 million people so way bigger than american or english revolutions
      - peasants
        
        landless
        
        price inflation was brutal to them
        
        landed
        
        small substance farmers
        
        independant
        
        mostly in the north
        
        owned enough land to make profit and provide jobs
        
        urban
        
        mostly towns <2000
        
        a few ~50,000
        
        650,000 in paris
        
        lots of unskilled workers
        
        skilled workers
        
        Guilds were still powerful
        
        bourgeoisie
        
        wanted to break into nobility
        
        bought venal offices. both important bureaucratic jobs and symbolic titles to get ennobled.
  - - - Genius banker protestant financial minister 1777-1781
      - believed he needed to take loans to grow the economy
      - convinced everyone that the finances were fine
      - followed by (random dude at first but after him) Calonne
        
        Calonne knew he couldn't raise taxes. so he spent more money to impress lenders. this was not an effective long term solution.
        
        In 1786, he tries reform
        
        to force it through the parlement he calls the ancient Assembly of Notables to give the reform legitamecy
        
        Unfortunately, he botched it and the Notables unexpectedly turned on him
        
        The Notables complained to the King and Calonne got sacked being replaced by his opponent Brienne
        
        The Plan
        
        A universal land tax for an unspecified amount
        
        Provincial assemblies would be made based purely on land not being noble or not to administrate
        
        removal of internal trade customs and a unified border tax
    - - Like really really bad from 7 years and american war
    - - The Royal Council of Finance
        
        Parlements
        
        wants to call the estates general which they believed they could control
        
        provincial parlements don't want any changes to the tax system at all
        
        Paris Parlement fights Brienne because they want to gain more power against the king
        
        discussions in paris were public which let a liberal audience shift things in a radical direction
        
        Brienne (oponent of Calonne) put in charge and revives this old organization as a real force
        
        eventually loses fight against parlement and has to comprimise
        
        But the king gets pissed off and decides to fight parlement and fails so...
        
        notables are disbanded
        
        Estates General
    - - A complicated scandal called the Necklace affair makes marie antoinette look really bad (not her fault) and makes the throne less popular
  - - - BUT not Montesquieu who wanted balance of powers
    - - powerful local nobles/magistrates who were the highest judicial power and often thwarted the king's plans
      - At one point was removed, but managed to make it back into power. Which left everyone a bit unhappy.
      - Presented themselves as defenders of liberty
    - - happened right as a famine occurred which was a disaster so price fixing was reinstated
        
        .
  - - - was becoming stronger since glorious revolution
      - rivals with france
    - - HUGE rivals
      - Loius 14 formed alliances against them but they were breaking down
    - - new rising power. reduced french allies turks, polish, swedish
    - - very new power. Frederick the great is stupid good and their army is terrifying.