InNo+annielo822+08.30.10

= France Before the Revolution = ** p. 13-19toc August 30, 2010 **







__**The government of France**__
- Governed by King Louis the Sixteenth (Louis XVI) ** - Absolute monarch ** o Didn’t share power with anyone else - Louis governed from thousand-room palace of Versailles, 18km outside Paris - Thousands of nobles lived with him in the palace o Served him as courtiers, helped run affairs of the nation - Louis’ wife was Marie Antoinette, Austrian archduchess o Married in 1770, he was 15 and she was 14 o Were popular at first, then lost popularity o People disliked Marie Antoinette

**Marie Antoinette**
** - Disliked her for many reasons (shown in chart above) ** - 1774, Louis gave Marie Antoinette her own small palace in the grounds of palace of Versailles called Petit Trianon - Over next 5 years, she spent lots of money on gardens around Petit Trianon - Built a village in part of the garden known as hamlet, made it look poor like a real village - Many thought the idea of the farm was pointless - Her most loyal courtiers said she should’ve used the money to help the poverty in real villages - Historians have agreed with the criticism ever since - Some modern historians defended her

**Use and abuse of power**
** - Many people disliked gov’t because king had too much power ** ** - Disliked king’s use of ‘scaled letters’ // (letters de cachet) //, hated this most ** ** - Sealed letter was royal warrant ordering imprisonment or exile of the person named in it ** ** - Person named stayed in prison or exile for as long as king wanted ** ** - Hated that king’s ministers could use them ** ** - People wrote protests to the king ** ** - During reign of Louis XVI, around 14,000 sealed letters were sent ** ** - Mainly against people who disagreed with the gov’t ** ** - Great range of power allowed king to do whatever and whenever he wanted ** ** - More people criticized this as time passed ** ** - Accused Louis of being a ‘despot’ (tyrant, dictator) **

** The royal debt **
- Most urgent problem was gov’t deeply in debt ** - Been in debt nearly 100 years ** ** - Spent more each year than it received in taxes ** ** - 1786, gov’t minister of charge of finances (Calonne), told Louis gov’t was close to financial collapse ** ** - Must either increase taxes, reduce spending, or borrow money **

** An attempt to reform **
- To avoid bankruptcy, must raise taxes ** - Biggest change would be tax on land all landowners pay ** ** - Nobles and clergy, exempt from most taxes, would try to evade taxes ** ** - Could refuse to register it in the Paris law courts (// Parlement //), which they controlled ** ** - This delayed the new tax from coming into effect ** ** - To avoid delay, Calonne invited 150 nobles and clergymen to discuss new taxes ** ** - Only loyal supporters of the king were invited, so Calonne thought they would give approval w/o argument ** ** - But the “Assembly of Notables” refused to agree with new tax ** ** - Claimed did not have power to approve new taxes ** ** - Only Estates General, a national parliament elected by the three states, had the power ** ** - Dismissed “Assembly of Notables” and introduced new tax without approval ** ** - Nobles of Paris // Parlement // refused to register it, also said only Estates General could approve ** ** - Louis said he had this power alone and exiled the entire // Parlement // from Paris ** ** - People protested angrily about this, some violent ** ** - Day of Tiles: protestors pelted soldiers with tiles torn from rooftops, and 4 people died ** ** - Protests lasted 6 months ** ** - August 1788, Louis gave in ** ** - Ordered elections to be held for an Estates General ** ** - 1 May 1789, first meeting **

**Questions**

 * 1) France had already been in debt for almost 100 years, so why didn't anyone think to fix this problem before?
 * 2) Since Calonne is the government minister of charge of finances, shouldn't he be keeping track of the outcomes and incomes, warning the king that the outcome is exceeding the income too much?
 * 3) Why didn't Louis appoint a meeting with the Estates General instead of just exiling the entire //Parlement// from Paris?

 Summary
This section of the chapter introduces King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. It explains why people disliked Marie Antoinette. The section on use and abuse of power shows how King Louis XVI is becoming more like a tyrant/dictator. The financial problem was the biggest problem that the government faced, being deeply in debt. In order to avoid financial collapse, there were new tax laws and taxes were raised. The Paris law courts (Parlement) must approve of the law. However, the nobles and clergy, who were exempt from most taxes and would try to evade taxes, controlled the //Parlement// and they could refuse the law. This could delay the new tax coming into effect. Calonne invited nobles and clergymen to discuss the tax to avoid delay. However, they refused to agree with the new tax, claiming that they didn't have the power to approve new taxes. Only the Estates General had the power. So, Louis tried to introduce the new tax without approval. The nobles of Paris //Parlement// refused to register it, again saying only the Estates General could approve. Louis said he had this power, and exiled the entire //Parlement// from Paris. This caused people to protest angrily, sometimes with violence. The Day of Tiles was when protestors pelted the soldiers with tiles torn from rooftops. The protests lasted 6 months, then on August 1788 Louis gave in. He ordered elections to be held for an Estates General, 1 May 1789 being the first meeting.