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WAS KING LOUIS XVI DOOMED FROM THE START? (Absolutism, court faction, and…
WAS KING LOUIS XVI DOOMED FROM THE START?
Absolutism, court faction, and the parliaments
The Bourbon dynasty ruled with divine right, creating an absolute monarchy
King chose his ministers, the most important being the controller-general
The King had the right of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment through the use of the lettre de cachet
Political power based in Versailles, where life was dictated by etiquette
Biggest limit to the King’s power
local law court 13 in Made up of important local nobles and higher clergy
Had the ability to refuse to register and implement laws created by the king, but the king could issue a lit de justice, overruling the risk being accused of despotism
The three estates, the rights of nobles, and church privilege
In the ancient regime France was divided into three estates acting as social classes, diving up the national population of 28 million
The first estate (Clergy)
Population of 130,000 & Exempt from paying tax
Largest individual landowner (owned 10% of all land)
The majority were monks, nuns, and lower clergy such as parish priests who tended to be quite poor
The church was responsible for poor relief, some education, and hospitals Bishops earned their money by collecting a tithe (10% of your earnings)
Most tithes were based on land value and were typically 7%, but they did range, with Britany rate being 25% and Duphine’s being 20%
The second estate (Nobles)
Exempt from paying nearly all direct taxation, some indirect taxes, including the gabelle compulsory military service, though all officers were exclusively nobles
Noblemen were often granted exclusive hunting and fishing rights, as well as monopolies over the local sale of certain goods, such as wine or small businesses
Population from 120,000 to 350,000
Held the majority of wealth
The third estate (everyone else)
The wealthiest of the third estate was composed of doctors, lawyers, merchants, industrialists, and other educated people
Due to enlightenment ideas, many of this group were dissatisfied by the fact they contributed a significant amount to the French economy, but receiving little rights and freedoms
Peasants, making up 85% of the overall population
These groups had the least rights and often had to pay feudal dues as well as all taxes also forced to work maintaining roads and noble’s estates under the corvee
Enlightenment and the Spread of new Ideas
Age of reason’, philosophers in the 17th and 18th centuries promoted the use of reason, logic and evidence, rather than reliance on tradition and superstition
Ideas spread through the educated and those who could read in the form of pamphlets, prompting discussions at the salons around Paris.This led to people questioning the fairness and values of society with the ancien regime
Censorship and repression
Printers could only operate with a royal license, but many printed illegally.Pamphlets were also smuggled in from GenevaPamphlets were banned from authors such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire.Voltaire had even been banned from Paris, with Montesquieu also fleeing to Britain to avid his arrest warrant
The Spread of Radical Ideas
both the education and wealth needed to have access to such pamphlets, but they grew in popularity in urban areas where there were many bookshops
The Duc d’Orleans also played a part in the spread of these ideas, despite being a Bourbon
He used his royal residence to print and discuss radical ideas, as with his home being a ‘royal palace’ it was exempt from censorship laws
The American revolution also contributed to this spread, as soldiers returning home from fighting for American independence and freedom from monarchy found their own families repressed by the same despotic rule