French+Revolution+Notes+Nicholas+Lim+08.30.10

= The Government of France =
 * Governed by King Louis XVI (16th) in the form of absolute monarchy
 * He was well liked by his people but soon began to loose popularity, especailly after marrying Austrian archduchess Marie Antoinette age 15
 * Palace of Versailles
 * 18km outside of Paris, thousand rooms filled with nobles who served him.

Marie Antoinette

 * Many people disliked her because she was foreign
 * She splurged on unnecessary items, such as gambling and jewelery
 * She was unfaithful to King Louis
 * In 1774, King Louis XVI gave her a piece of land on the Palace called the Petit Trianon
 * She spent large amounts of taxpayers money on building beautiful gardens and run-down villages
 * Many people thought this was pointless, even her loyal subjects agreed it was pointless
 * Some people believe that the construction of the place was beneficial
 * 12 families were allowed to live in there, where she provided them with what they needed
 * Allowed the village to run commercially, creating an income of 6,000 livres a year.

Use and Abuse of Power
= = = Financial Problems =
 * Marie Antoinette played apart to the loss of popularity in the government, but not all.
 * People disliked the king having too much power
 * He was able to use such things like the "sealed letter" (lettres de caches) a royal warrant ordering imprisonment/ exile of a person.
 * With this he could control how long he wanted a person in exile or in prison. The ministers were also allowed to use it, angering the people further
 * These were used mainly on people who disagreed with the government, 14,000 of them were sent during his rule.
 * They were one of his only ways to impose authority, this resulted in people calling him a "despot"(Tyrant).
 * France was one of the world's largest countries, resulting in several serious problems around
 * The biggest one was the debt the government was in major debt.
 * Was waiting to happen, France was in debt for 100 years, taxes received were less than the total amount spent by the country
 * 417.6 million livres income, 633.1 million livres expenditure
 * In 1786, government minister in charge of finances told King Louis XVI that France was on the verge of financial collapse
 * Had to increase tax, reduce spending or borrow money

An Attempt at Reform

 * The government decided to raise taxes, Calonne drew up a plan for this, with the biggest change being taxation on land
 * Nobles and clergy who used to be exempt from such taxes would try to get away from this tax. They could do this by refusing to register in the Paris law courts they controlled (Parlament)
 * This could result in a delay of the tax coming into effect, Calonne decided to invite 150 noblemen and clergymen to discuss the new tax, only loyal supporters were invited.
 * However, they refused, saying only the Estates General (A kind of national parliament elected by all three estates) had the power.
 * King Louis XVI then dismissed this assembly, and tried to introduce it without approval, resulting in the nobles of the Paris Parlaments refusal to register it, claiming that only the Estates General was the only body of power that could do that.
 * Angry, King Louis XVI exiled the entire Paris Parlament
 * Violent protests were started throughout the country
 * It lasted 6 months long
 * King Louis XVI gave in and ordered the elections for the Estates General to be held on May 1, 1789.

= Summary = France was governed by King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette whom many people disliked because she was a foreigner, spent unnecessary amounts of money and was unfaithful to King Louis XVI. An example will be the Petite Trainon where she spent a large portion of money building run-down villages and beautiful gardens, this money could have helped the villages around a 20-30 mile radius. However, some people thought that what she did was good because 12 families could live in the village she built. King Louis XVI had alot of power, which people disliked, the "'sealed letter" was one of the only ways he could impose his authority although people disliked it. France was also in debt for 100 years and through the advice of finance minister Calonne, King Louis XVI decided to go with the plan of introducing a new tax plan, the biggest change being land taxes. The Nobles and Clergy were unhappy about it and refused to register to it. King Louis XVI then exiled the Paris Parlament and decided to put it into effect without any authorization. Many people were unhappy about this and protests began everywhere, in 6 months, King Louis XVI gave up and decided to host the elction of the Estates General on May 1st 1789. = = = Questions = Why was King Louis XVI unable to cut back spending costs instead of imposing new tax laws? What happened to Calonne after all this failed? What power did the Estates General have?