CHAPTER 2

The origins of the French Revolution

The storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 came to symbolise the start of the French Revolution, one of the most
dramatic events in modern European history.
The origins of the Revolution were a combination of political, economic and social factors. This chapter examines
these factors as two main themes:
• Long-term causes of the French Revolution
• Short-term causes of the French Revolution
The key debate on page 25 of this chapter asks the question: What are the different ways in which the origins of the
French Revolution have been interpreted?

KEY DATES
1614 Last summoning of the Estates-General before
1789
1756–63 The Seven Years’ War
1774 Accession of Louis XVI
1778 France entered the American War of Independence
1781 Feb Publication of Compte Rendu
1781–7 Economic crisis
1786 Eden Treaty
Aug Calonne proposed reforms to French finances
1787 Feb. The Assembly of Notables met
May Assembly of Notables dissolved
1788 Apr Louis dismissed Calonne
June Revolt of the Nobility
Jul Louis agreed to call the Estates-General
Aug Declaration of bankruptcy

1 Long-term causes of the French Revolution

How did long-term causes contribute to the outbreak of the Revolution?
During the ancien régime there were a number of deep-rooted problems that affected successive royal governments.
These problems influenced:
• the way France was governed, particularly the taxation system
• the carefully ordered, yet deeply divided, structure of French society
• the gradual spread of ideas that started to challenge this structure.
These deep-rooted problems can be seen as long-term causes of the French Revolution. In order to understand them
fully, it is necessary to understand the nature of French society before 1789, namely:
• the structure of royal government
• the taxation system
• the structure of French society
• the Enlightenment.

Royal government
France before 1789 was an absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbons. This meant that the authority of the French
Crown was not limited by any representative body, such as an elected parliament. The King was responsible only to
God and answerable to no one on earth. This system of government is also known as absolutism. In such a system,
the personality and character of the ruler are very important as they set the tone for the style of government.

Figure 2.1 Pre-revolutionary France’s main administrative, judicial and financial subdivisions.

In the century before the outbreak of the Revolution, there were three French kings: Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis
XVI (see page 8). Louis XV said in 1766 that ‘sovereign power resides in my person alone … the power of
legislation belongs to me alone’.

Limitations to power
Although their power was absolute, kings were bound by the laws and customs of their kingdom. For example, there
were many independent bodies such as the Assembly of the Clergy which had rights and privileges guaranteed by
law. The King could not interfere with these.
The King also had to consult his council of ministers and advisers to make laws. This meant that considerable power
was in the hands of a small number of men. The most important of these was the Controller-General, who was in
charge of royal finances. Each minister dealt with the King on an individual basis and did not form part of a cabinet
system of government.
In the provinces, the King’s government was carried out by the intendants, who had far-reaching powers in the
généralités. In 1774 Louis XVI, the grandson of Louis XV, acceded to the French throne. The new King was well
intentioned but never came to terms with the State’s financial problems. In an absolutist system the monarch needed
to be a strong figure with a dominant personality. Louis was rather weak and indecisive.
In 1770 Louis married Marie Antoinette, the daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. When Louis
acceded to the throne in June 1774, the young couple were very popular. Over the following years, however, this
popularity dissipated owing to a combination of Marie Antoinette’s extravagance (the purchase of a diamond
necklace for 400,000 livres in 1776) and a series of scandals. She was portrayed very negatively as the ‘Austrian
whore’. As the government’s debts ballooned, the Queen’s fondness for gambling and expensive construction
projects suggested that she was widely out of touch with ordinary people. It was believed by many revolutionaries
that she influenced the King so that he avoided granting them concessions. Her supporters were labelled the
‘Austrian Party’ and were suspected of sacrificing the interests of her adopted country for those of her homeland.

The taxation system

Good government benefits greatly from an efficient taxation system that provides it with an adequate income. The
taxation system in France was both chaotic and inefficient (see Table 2.1, page 9).

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Tax collection
Taxes were collected by a system known as tax farming. The Farmers-General was a company that collected the
indirect taxes for the government. They paid the State an agreed sum and kept for themselves anything collected
above this figure. The French government consequently never received enough money from taxes to cover its
expenditure, and so frequently had to borrow. Interest rate payments on the debt became an increasingly large part
of government expenditure in the eighteenth century.

Louis XVI

1754 Born and christened Louis-Auguste

1770 Married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of
Austria
1774 Crowned Louis XVI following the death of his grandfather
1788 Agreed to calls to summon the Estates-General
1789 May, Louis opened the Estates-General at Versailles
 October, royal family brought forcibly to Paris
1791 20–21 June, ‘flight to Varennes’; Louis attempted to escape from Paris
1792 10 August, storming of the Tuileries – overthrow of the monarchy
November, discovery of the ‘armoire de fer’ in the Tuileries
December, trial of Louis
1793 21 January, executed
Personality and character
Louis was ill-suited to the task of governing an absolute state, particularly one with many pressing
problems. He had an excellent memory, took an interest in a range of intellectual subjects (mathematics
and geography) and learnt English, yet he lacked the strength of character to combat the powerful
factions in his court and failed at crucial times to give the necessary support to reforming ministers.
Louis’ increasing reliance on the advice of Marie Antoinette and her circle confirmed what many
suspected, that he lacked leadership skills.
The overthrow of the absolute monarchy
Louis was clearly aware of the need to resolve his most pressing problems: the lack of revenue and an
increasing public debt. When reform plans were submitted to the Assembly of Notables and rejected, he
failed to back his ministers and they were dismissed. With a worsening financial crisis he agreed to
summon the Estates-General (see page 22). This was seen by his opponents as a sign of desperation,
and a failure to provide leadership. The initiative was seized by the Third Estate (see page 35) while
Louis was forced to react to events rather than control them.
The overthrow of the monarchy
When a new constitution was drawn up creating a constructional monarchy, Louis supported the
proposals in public while privately seeking to undermine them. His attempt to leave France, in 1791, and
the revelation of his true thoughts on the Revolution, significantly weakened his position and contributed
to the rise of republicanism. Louis’ decision to veto decrees against the émigrés and non-juring
priests confirmed for many his opposition to the Revolution. He was overthrown on 10 August 1791 in
what has been described as the second French Revolution.

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SOURCE A
An entry from the private diary of l’Abbé de Veri, 1780, quoted in L. Cowie, Documents and
Debates. The French Revolution, Macmillan, 1987, p. 6.
Louis XVI may be seen passing each morning in his room, observing with his telescope those who arrive at
Versailles. He often occupies himself in sweeping and nailing and repairing locks. He has common sense, simple
tastes, an honest heart and a sound conscience. That is his good side. On the other hand he has a tendency to
indecision, he possesses a rather weak will and he is incapable of ruling effectively. He also lacks an ability to
fully appreciate the significance of what is occurring around him.
 SOURCE QUESTION

Read Source A. According to the Abbé de Veri, why might Louis be unsuited to the role of king?

Table 2.1 The main taxes imposed during the ancien régime. For a description of the three estates, see
pages 10–15
Tax Description Indirect (levied on Who was taxed?
goods)/direct
(levied on
incomes)
Taille Land tax – the Direct In theory, the Third Estate, although in reality, some
main direct tax people had been granted exemption by the Crown, so it
was mainly the peasants who were taxed
Vingtième Five per cent Direct Third Estate
tax on income
Capitation Tax on people – Direct In theory, the Second and Third Estates
frequently
called the poll
tax
Gabelle Salt tax Indirect Everyone
Aidas Tax on food and Indirect Everyone
drink
Octrois Tax on goods Indirect Everyone
entering a town

Many of the taxes were collected by officials who, under a system known as venality, had bought the right to hold
their positions. They could not, therefore, be dismissed. Corruption and wastage were vast, and resulted in the
Crown not receiving an adequate income, while the taxpayers knew that much of the tax they paid never reached the
treasury.
On his accession in 1774, Louis XVI was aware of many of the problems affecting the finances of the State. He
appointed Turgot as Controller-General. Turgot was influenced by the ideas of the philosophes and embarked on a
reform programme. His attempts to abolish the trade guilds and the corvée and to reform the tax system provoked
such a storm of protest from the parlements and other interested parties that Louis, for the sake of harmony,
withdrew his support and Turgot left office.
The bulk of royal revenue was made up of taxation, yet because of the system of exemptions the Crown was denied
an adequate income with which to govern the country. In order to meet the demands of war, the Crown was forced
to borrow money. Tax farming meant that not all the revenue paid actually reached the treasury. The issue of
taxation weakened the Crown and created resentment among the Third Estate, which bore the burden of tax
payment. This was one of the most important long-term causes of the Revolution.

French society during the ancien régime

On the eve of the Revolution, it was estimated that the population of France was about 28 million. French society in
the eighteenth century was divided into three orders known as the Estates of the Realm. The first two estates had
many privileges that they frequently used to the disadvantage of the Third Estate. Over the course of the eighteenth
century, divisions appeared between and within the estates, and this became a long-term cause of the Revolution.
Figure 2.2 The structure of the ancien régime c.1780.

The First Estate

The First Estate was the clergy, which consisted of members of religious orders (monks and nuns) and clergy (parish
priests). A number of issues contributed to the Church being unpopular with many people. These were:
• plurality and absenteeism
• tithes
• exemption from taxes
• power over the people.

Plurality and absenteeism

Many younger sons of noble families entered the Church and occupied its higher posts, such as bishops and
archbishops, which provided large incomes. The Archbishop of Strasbourg received an annual 400,000 livres, which
contrasted sharply with most parish priests (curés) who received only between 700 and 1000 livres. Some bishops
held more than one bishopric, which meant that they were bishops of more than one diocese. This is called plurality.
Many never visited their diocese: a practice known as absenteeism. This made the Church very unpopular with
many ordinary people who considered that bishops were more interested in wealth than in the religious and spiritual
needs of the people.

Tithes
The wealth of the Church came from the land it owned and the tithes paid to it. It was the largest single landowner in
France, owning about ten per cent of the land.
The tithe was a charge paid to the Church each year by landowners and was based on a proportion of the crops they
produced. This charge varied widely. In Dauphine it amounted to about one-fiftieth of the crops produced, while in
Brittany it was a quarter. In most parts of France it was about seven per cent of the crop. The income produced by
the tithe provided the Church with 50 million livres each year.
Tithes were supposed to provide for parish priests, poor relief and the upkeep of Church buildings, but much of it
went instead into the pockets of bishops and abbots. This was greatly resented by both the peasantry and the
ordinary clergy and was one of the most common grievances made in their cahiers in 1788.

Exemption from taxes

The Church had many privileges apart from collecting the tithe. By far the most important of these was its
exemption from taxation. This added to its unpopularity. Its income from property was immense: around 100 million
livres per year in the closing years of the ancien régime. Instead of paying tax, the Church agreed to make an annual
payment, which it determined, known as the don gratuit. It was under five per cent of the Church’s income and was
much less than it could afford to pay.

Power over the people

France was a very religious country and Catholicism was the official State religion. The influence of the Church was
considerable and touched many areas of people’s lives. The Church had wide-ranging powers of censorship over
books that were critical of it; provided poor relief, hospitals and schools; and kept a list in the parish of all births,
marriages and deaths. At a time when communication in general was very poor, the Church acted as a sort of
Ministry of Information for the government when parish priests informed their congregations about various policies
and initiatives. The vast wealth of the Church and its resistance to new ideas made it unpopular with many people,
which contributed to the long-term causes of the Revolution.

The Second Estate

Of the three estates, the nobility was the most powerful. Unlike the British nobility, which numbered in the
hundreds, the French nobility numbered hundreds of thousands, although the exact numbers are disputed. Figures
for the numbers of nobles by 1789 vary between 110,000 and 350,000. Within the nobility there were great
variations in wealth and status:
• The most powerful were the 4000 court nobility, restricted in theory to those whose noble ancestry could be traced
back to before 1400; in practice, to those who could afford the high cost of living at Versailles.
• Second in importance were the noblesse de robe: legal and administrative nobles which included the 1200
magistrates of the parlements.
• The remainder of the nobility – the overwhelming majority – lived in the country in various states of prosperity.
Under the law of primogeniture, a landed estate was inherited by the eldest son. Younger sons were forced to fend
for themselves and many joined the Church, the army or the administration.
The main source of income for the Second Estate was land, and it owned between a third and a quarter of France.
Nearly all the main positions in the State were held by nobles, among them government ministers, intendants and
upper ranks in the army.

Privileges
In addition to holding most of the top jobs in the State, nobles had many privileges. These included the following:
• They were tried in their own courts.
• They were exempt from military service.
• They were exempt from paying the gabelle.
• They were exempt from the corvée (forced labour on the roads).
• They received a variety of feudal dues (also known as seigneurial dues).
• They had exclusive rights to hunting and fishing.
• In many areas, they had the monopoly right (known as banalities) to operate mills, ovens and wine presses.
Perhaps the nobles’ greatest privilege was exemption from taxation. Until 1695 they did not pay direct taxes at all.
In that year the capitation was introduced and, in 1749, the vingtième. Even with these they managed to pay less than
they could have done. They were generally exempt from the most onerous tax of all: the taille.
Provincial nobles, who were unlikely to be very wealthy, were strongly attached to these privileges, which
represented a significant part of their income. They felt that if they were to lose their tax privileges and their
seigneurial rights, they would face ruination. Consequently, they were determined to oppose any changes that
threatened their position and undermined their privileges. The privileges relating to land ownership and tax
exemption were resented by many ordinary people who saw the Second Estate as avoiding their share of the tax
burdens borne by others. These issues contributed to the causes of the Revolution.

Joining the nobility

There were various ways of becoming a noble besides the obvious one of inheritance. One of the main ways of
acquiring noble status was either by direct appointment from the King or by buying certain offices that carried
hereditary titles. These were called venal offices and there were 12,000 of these in the service of the Crown. They
carried titles that could be bought, sold or inherited like any other property. Although there were significant benefits
to gaining noble status there were also some limitations, the most important of which was that noblemen were not, in
theory, allowed to take part in industrial or commercial activities since this would mean they would suffer
derogation (loss of their nobility). In reality many did, as the rule was not rigidly enforced.

The Third Estate

In essence, the Third Estate consisted of everyone who did not belong to one or other of the two privileged estates.
There were enormous extremes of wealth within this estate.

The bourgeoisie
At the top end were the rich merchants, industrialists and business people. This group of rich commoners, who were
not peasants or urban workers, is frequently referred to as the bourgeoisie. Among the wealthiest of the bourgeoisie
were the merchants and traders who made vast fortunes out of France’s overseas trade. Others included financiers,
landowners, members of the liberal professions (doctors and writers), lawyers and civil servants. Many were venal
office-holders.
As a group, the bourgeoisie was rising not only in wealth but also in numbers. There was a threefold increase in the
number of bourgeoisie over the course of the eighteenth century to 2.3 million. Although the bourgeoisie was
increasing in importance, there was no real conflict between with the nobility until at least the closing years of the
ancien régime. The bourgeoisie did, however, feel that its power and wealth should in some way be reflected in the
political system as it bore such a substantial part of the tax revenue paid to the Crown. This slowly simmering
resentment was one of long-term causes of the Revolution.

The peasantry
At the other extreme of the Third Estate from the bourgeoisie were the peasantry. They were by far the most
numerous section of French society. On the eve of the Revolution, the peasantry comprised roughly 67 per cent of
the population. This group, however, covered enormous variations in wealth and status.
At the top end was a small group of large farmers who owned their land and employed labourers to produce food to
sell to others. More numerous were the labourers who existed at, or near, subsistence levels. For much of the
eighteenth century they, and the larger farmers, did well as agricultural conditions were favourable, particularly in
the 1770s. Half of the peasants were sharecroppers who did not own their land but farmed it and gave half of their
crops to the landlords instead of rent. About a quarter of the peasants were landless labourers, who owned nothing
but their house and garden.
In some parts of France serfdom continued to exist. There were a million serfs in the east, mainly in Franche Comté.
They were at the bottom of the social structure and their children were unable to inherit even personal property
without paying considerable dues to their lord. Poor peasants lived in a state of chronic uncertainty. Bad weather or
illness could push them into the ranks of the vagrants, who lived by begging, stealing and occasional employment.

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Figure 2.3 The Third Estate.

SOURCE B

A contemporary cartoon showing a peasant crushed by the weight of taxes and dues such as the taille
and corvée, imposed by the privileged First and Second Estates.

SOURCE QUESTION

Look at Source B. Which estate do you think the cartoonist sympathises with?

Grievances
As the largest group in society, the peasants bore the burden of taxation and this made them extremely resentful. All
peasants had to pay a tithe to the Church, feudal dues to their lord and taxes to the State. Nearly all land was subject
to feudal dues. These included the corvée, champart (a due paid in grain or other crops to the landlord which could
vary from five to 33 per cent of the harvest) and lods et ventes (a payment to the seigneur when property changed
hands).
A further grievance was that the peasant could be tried in the seigneurial court, where the lord acted as both judge
and jury.
Taxes paid to the State included the taille, capitation and gabelle. All these increased enormously between 1749 and
1783 to pay for the various wars France was involved in. Taxes took between five and ten per cent of the peasants’
income. The heaviest burden on the peasants was the rent they paid to their landlords. This increased markedly
during the second half of the eighteenth century as a result of the increase in population, which is estimated to have
risen from 22.4 million in 1705 to 27.9 million in 1790. This increased the demand for farms, with the result that
landlords could raise rents. The increasing financial burden placed on the peasantry, along with growing resentment
of the feudal system, was an important long-term cause of the Revolution.

Urban workers
The remaining part of the Third Estate was made up of urban workers. Small property owners and artisans in Paris
were known as sans-culottes. The majority of workers in the towns lived in crowded insanitary housing blocks
known as tenements. They were unskilled and poor.
On the other hand, skilled craftsmen were organised into guilds. In Paris in 1776, 100,000 workers – a third of the
male population – belonged to guilds. The standard of living of wage-earners had slowly fallen in the eighteenth
century, as prices had risen on average by 65 per cent between 1726 and 1789, but wages by only 22 per cent. In the
years immediately preceding the Revolution the worsening economic situation caused considerable resentment
among urban dwellers and contributed to the long-term causes of the Revolution. This helps to explain their
readiness to become involved in the popular demonstrations that helped to bring about the overthrow of the ancien
régime.

SUMMARY DIAGRAM
ISSUES AFFECTING FRENCH SOCIETY BEFORE 1789
The Enlightenment
During the course of the eighteenth century there emerged in Europe an intellectual movement of writers and
thinkers known as the Enlightenment. The movement questioned and challenged a whole range of views and ideas
that, at the time, were widely accepted – particularly relating to religion, nature and absolute monarchy. Their
analysis of society was based on reason and rational thought, rather than superstition and tradition.
In France these intellectuals were known as the philosophes and were writers rather than philosophers. The most
famous were Diderot, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. They wrote on the problems of the day and attacked the
prejudice and superstition they saw around them. Many of them contributed to the most important work of the
French Enlightenment, The Encyclopaedia (edited by Diderot, the first volume appeared in 1752, the last of 35 in
1780).

Aims of the philosophes

The aim of the philosophes was to apply rational analysis to all activities. They were not prepared to accept tradition
or revelation, as in the Bible, as a sufficient reason for doing anything. They were much more in favour of liberty –
of the press, of speech, of trade, of freedom from arbitrary arrest – than of equality, although they did want equality
before the law. The main objects of their attack were the Church and despotic government. The philosophes did not
accept the literal interpretation of the Bible and rejected anything that could not be explained by reason – miracles,
for example – as superstitious. They condemned the Catholic Church because it was wealthy, corrupt and intolerant,
and took up Voltaire’s cry of ‘Écrasez l’infâme’ (‘crush the infamous’ – meaning the Church).
The philosophes, while clearly critical of many aspects of the ancien régime, were not essentially opposed to the
regime and they were not therefore revolutionary. Yet they did have an impact on the outbreak of the Revolution.
Their ideas attacked all the assumptions on which the ancien régime was based. They challenged and helped to
undermine one of the key pillars of the old order, namely the position of the Church and the role of the King as
God’s servant. Although not revolutionary themselves, their ideas and approaches did influence many who would
become revolutionaries.

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SUMMARY DIAGRAM
LONG-TERM CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
2 Short-term causes of the French Revolution
What short-term factors brought about the crisis that sparked the Revolution?
In the ten years before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, a number of issues, crises and events contributed to
the downfall of the ancien régime and should be viewed alongside the long-term causes. The main short-term causes
were:
• foreign policy
• financial crisis
• political crisis
• economic crisis.

Foreign policy
The Seven Years’ War
Since the fifteenth century, France had more often than not had a hostile relationship with both Britain and Austria.
Britain was viewed as France’s only serious colonial rival and Austria was a rival for the dominance of mainland
Europe. By the middle of the eighteenth century, France and Austria had resolved their differences and were allies
when the Seven Years’ War (1756–63) broke out in 1756. During the course of this war, French forces in India and
North America suffered a series of crushing defeats at the hands of the British. Much of France’s overseas empire
was lost in 1763, although the profitable sugar-producing islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, and some other
lesser territories, were retained.

The American War of Independence

Following the humiliation at the hands of Britain and its ally Prussia, the French government dreamt of revenge. The
opportunity came when Britain became involved in a bitter quarrel with its thirteen North American colonies, who
rebelled against British rule.
In the resulting American War of Independence (1776–83), France intervened on the side of the rebels, providing
both financial and military support, including the Marquis de Lafayette (see page 88). The intervention of France in
1778 was decisive and helped to bring about the defeat of British forces and the creation of the United States of
America.

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Although France was unable to recover most of the territory lost during the Seven Years’ War, the Treaty of
Versailles (1783) did satisfy French honour. Few at the time, however, could foresee what the real cost of the war
would be: revolution in France. The war was very expensive and in the short term worsened the already weak
financial situation of the Crown. French soldiers who had fought in the war had been exposed to ideas such as
liberty and democracy and many, on their return home, demanded similar rights for the people of France.

Financial crisis
The main short-term cause of the French Revolution was the financial crisis. By far the most important aspect of this
was the huge deficit that the government was building up. On 20 August 1786 Calonne, the Controller-General,
told Louis XVI that the government was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenue for 1786 would be 475 million livres,
while expenditure would be 587 million livres, making a deficit of 112 million – almost a quarter of the total
income. A much more detailed and alarming picture of the situation is provided in the Treasury account of 1788,
which has been called the first and last budget of the monarchy (see Table 2.2).

Table 2.2 Royal income and expenditure in 1788 (millions of livres)

Royal income Royal expenditure
Education and poor relief 12
Court expenses 36
Other civil expenditure 98
Military – army and navy 165
Debt interest 318
Total 503 Total 629

The deficit had increased in two years to 126 million livres – twenty per cent of total expenditure. It was anticipated
that for 1789, receipts would amount to only 325 million livres and that the interest payments on the deficit would
amount to 62 per cent of the receipts. There are two reasons to explain why there was a deficit and a financial crisis
in France:
• War. Between 1740 and 1783 France was at war for twenty years, first in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–
8), then the Seven Years’ War (1756–63) and finally the American War of Independence (1778–83). The cost of
helping the American colonists to defeat the British government was approximately 1066 million livres. Jacques
Necker, the finance minister, funded the war by raising loans. While this did not directly lead to revolution, the
lack of an elected parliament to guarantee loans, as in Britain, did not give lenders confidence. In 1781 Necker
drew up the Compte rendu au roi (‘report to the king’). He was very selective in the figures that were included
and claimed that they showed a surplus of 10 million livres in royal finances. This positive statement meant that
lenders had more confidence in the financial outlook and would continue to lend money to the Crown.
• Tax. The Crown was not receiving much of the tax revenue (see page 12), and until it recovered control of its
finances, no basic reforms could occur. The privileged classes, whose income from property had increased, were
an untapped source of revenue that the Crown urgently needed to access. There would, however, be powerful
resistance to any change in the taxation structure from those with vested interests in retaining the status quo.

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SOURCE C
From Marquis de Bouillé, quoted in R. Cobb and C. Jones, The French Revolution, Simon &
Schuster, 1988, p. 20. Bouillé was a royalist supporter and military commander in 1789.
The most striking of the country’s troubles was the chaos in its finances, the result of years of extravagance
intensified by the expense of the American War of Independence, which had cost the state over twelve hundred
million livres. No one could think of any remedy but a search for fresh funds, as the old ones were exhausted. M.
 de Calonne the Minister of Finance conceived a bold and wide-reaching plan. Without either threatening the
basis of the French monarchy, this plan changed the previous system of financial administration and attacked
the vices at their root. The worst of these problems was the arbitrary system of allocation, the oppressive costs of
collection, and the abuses of privilege by the richest section of taxpayers. The whole weight of public
expenditure was borne by the most numerous but least wealthy part of the nation which was crushed by the
burden.

SOURCE QUESTION

In Source C, what does Bouillé consider to be the main cause of the financial problems affecting
France?

Reform
Following Necker’s dismissal in 1781, his successor, Joly de Fleury, discovered the true nature of France’s finances.
The Treasury was 160 million livres short for 1781 and 295 million livres short for 1782. To make good the
shortfall, Fleury and his successor, Calonne, undid much of Necker’s work by resuming the practice of selling
offices (many of which Necker had abolished). They both also borrowed much more heavily than Necker.

SOURCE D
From Alexis de Tocqueville, L’Ancien Régime et la Révolution, Michel Lévy Frères, 1856. De
Tocqueville (1805–59) was one of the first historians to offer an incisive analysis of the origins
of the Revolution, quoted in F. Furet and F. Melonio, Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and
the Revolution, translated by A.S. Kahan, University of Chicago Press, 1998, p. 222.
It is not always by going from bad to worse that a society falls into revolution. It happens most often that a
people, which has supported without complaint the most oppressive laws, violently throws them off as soon as
their weight is lightened. Experience shows that the most dangerous moment for a bad government is generally
when it sets about reform.

SOURCE QUESTION

In Source D, what does de Tocqueville suggest was responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution?

In 1786, with loans drying up, Calonne was forced to grasp the nettle and embark on a reform of the tax system. His
plan consisted of an ambitious three-part programme:
• The main proposal was to replace the capitation and the vingtième on landed property by a single land tax. It was
to be a tax on the land and not on the person, and would therefore affect all landed proprietors – Church, noble
and common alike – regardless of whether the lands were used for luxury purposes or crops. There were to be no
exemptions; everyone including the nobles, the clergy and the pays d’états would pay.
• The second part of the programme was aimed at stimulating the economy to ensure that future tax revenues would
increase. To try and achieve this, Calonne proposed abandoning controls on the grain trade and abolishing internal
customs barriers, which prevented the free movement of grain from one part of France to another.
• The final part of the programme was to try to restore national confidence so that new loans for the short term
could be raised. By doing this Calonne hoped that the parlements would be less likely to oppose the registration of
his measures. His plan was to achieve some display of national unity and consensus.

The failure of the reform process

The Estates-General was the obvious body to summon to approve the reforms, as it was representative of the
nation. However, this was rejected as being too unpredictable. Calonne and Louis XVI opted instead for a
handpicked Assembly of Notables. It was anticipated that this would be a pliant body who would willingly agree to
rubberstamp the reform package.
The 144 members of the Assembly met in February 1787. They included leading members of the parlements,
princes, leading nobles and important bishops. On examining the proposals it became clear that they would not
collaborate with Calonne and Louis in agreeing the reforms. As representatives of the privileged order they had the
most to lose from them.
The Notables were not opposed to all change and agreed that taxation should be extended to all. They claimed that
the approval of the nation was needed for Calonne’s reforms and urged the summoning of the Estates-General,
which had last met in 1614. Realising the strength of opposition to Calonne, Louis dismissed him in April 1787.

ONLINE EXTRAS
OCR
Test your understanding of the Assembly of Notables by completing Worksheet 4 at
[Link]/accesstohistory/extras

Political crisis
Calonne was replaced by one of the Notables, Loménie de Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, while another Notable,
Lamoignon, president of the Parlement of Paris, became head of the judiciary. The Assembly of Notables proved to
be no more cooperative with Brienne than it had been with Calonne.
Brienne retained Calonne’s land tax and introduced a number of new reforms following on from Necker’s earlier
plans. These were:
• an end to venal financial officials
• a new central treasury
• laws codified in a printed form accessible to those who needed to consult them
• educational reform
• religious toleration
• reforming the army to make it more efficient and less expensive.
When Brienne presented his reforms to the Parlement of Paris for registration, it refused and said that only the
Estates-General who represented the whole nation could consent to any new taxes. Louis’ reaction was to exile the
Parlement to Troyes on 15 August.
Louis’ action was considered to be high handed and the result was a revolt of the Nobility in the summer of 1788.
This proved to be the most violent opposition the government had yet faced. There were riots in some of the
provincial capitals where the parlements met, such as Rennes in Brittany and Grenoble in Dauphine. In all parts of
the country nobles met in unauthorised assemblies to discuss action in support of the parlements.

SOURCE E
 Contemporary French cartoon from 1787 depicting the Assembly of Notables as birds. President
Monkey (Calonne) addresses the Notables and asks them with which sauce they would like to be
eaten. Animals were frequently used to depict people as they were considered to be much less
intelligent than humans.

SOURCE QUESTION

What is the cartoonist suggesting in Source E?

An assembly of the clergy also joined in on the side of the parlements, breaking its long tradition of loyalty to the
Crown. It condemned the reforms and voted a don gratuit of less than a quarter the size requested by the Crown.
Although the opposition was fragmented and dispersed, it continued because of the collapse of the government’s
finances. At the beginning of August 1788 the royal treasury was empty. Brienne agreed, with Louis’ reluctant
approval, to summon the Estates-General for 1 May 1789. On 16 August 1788 Brienne suspended all payments from
the royal treasury, in effect acknowledging that the Crown was bankrupt. The previous year, the then navy minister,
the Marquis de Castries, had perceptively told the King, ‘As a Frenchman I want the Estates-General, as a minister I
am bound to tell you that they might destroy your authority.’
In September 1788 Louis was forced to back down and allow the Paris parlement to return. Following the
resignations of Brienne and Lamoignon, the King recalled Necker, in the belief that he was the only one who could
restore the government’s credit and raise new loans. Necker abandoned his predecessor’s reform plans and, while
indicating that he would try to raise new loans, stated that he would do nothing until the Estates-General had met.
The crisis had shown the limitations of royal power. Although Louis was in effect an absolute ruler, in reality he was
unable to impose his government’s reforms on the State. The forces of opposition detected clear signs of weakness
in the Crown. The failure to secure reform contributed to a paralysis of the government. In the short term this was
very significant, particularly when linked to the economic crisis.

Economic crisis
In the years immediately preceding the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789 the French economy faced a number of
crises. The economy was largely based on agriculture and this sector had grown steadily between the 1730s and
1770s. Good harvests had resulted in food surpluses which, in turn, contributed to an increase in population as
people were fed and healthy and more able to withstand diseases.
 SOURCE F
From Arthur Young, writing in 1788, quoted in Peter Vansittart, Voices of the Revolution, Collins,
1989, p. 72. Young was an English traveller and author of Travels in France 1787–89 (London,
1792).
One opinion pervaded the whole country, that they are on the eve of some great revolution in the government;
that everything points to it; the confusion in the finances is great; with the deficit impossible to provide for
without the States-General of the kingdom, yet no ideas formed of what would be the consequence of their
meeting; no minister existing, or to be looked to in or out of power, with such decisive talents as to promote any
other remedy than palliative ones; a prince on the throne with excellent dispositions, but without the resources
of a mind that could govern in such a moment without ministers; a court buried in pleasure and dissipation, and
adding to the distress … a great ferment amongst all ranks of men who are eager for some change without
knowing what to look for or what to hope for; a strong leaven of liberty, increasing every hour since the
American Revolution.

SOURCE QUESTION

Read Source F. According to Young, what was the political situation in France in 1788?

ONLINE EXTRAS
OCR
Get to grips with the role of Louis XVI in the French Revolution by completing Worksheet 5 at
[Link]/accesstohistory/extras

Bad harvests
During the 1780s the general agricultural prosperity came suddenly to an end. This was brought about by a series of
disastrous harvests in 1778–9, 1781–2, 1785–6 and 1787. In 1788 there was a major disaster. There was a very wet
spring and freak hailstones in many areas in July resulted in a very poor harvest. This was particularly disastrous for
peasants who produced wine as a cash crop. A poor harvest in a pre-industrial society always led to massive
unemployment.
The resulting rise in the price of food led to:
• a lower demand for manufactured goods, as more income had to be spent on food
• a significant increase in the price of bread – a key staple food.
Over the period from 1726 to 1789 wheat prices increased by about 60 per cent. In normal times it is estimated that
about half a labourer’s daily wage might be spent on bread. During the severe winter of 1788–9 this proportion was
increased to 88 per cent.
Figure 2.4 Bread prices in Paris, August 1788 to December 1789.

The picture in other sectors of the economy was equally gloomy. Production and employment in the textile
industries, which accounted for half of industrial production, fell by 50 per cent in 1789. The industry had been
badly hit by the Eden Treaty of 1786 which allowed imports of British goods, including textiles, at reduced rates of
import duties. This further affected a group who were already suffering economic hardship. The market for wine
was also very poor since rising bread prices meant that there was less money to spend on this and other goods.
Unemployment was rising at the same time as the cost of living and, as production was either stagnant or falling,
workers were unable to increase their wages.

Food shortages
Many ordinary people blamed tithe-owners and landowners for making the situation worse. They were accused of
hoarding grain and speculating on prices rising during times of shortage, thereby contributing to the lack of food. In
many areas there were food riots and disturbances as people attacked grain stores. These were most frequent in the
spring and summer of 1789 when grain prices were at their peak, before the new harvest had been collected.
Many ordinary people in both rural and urban areas believed that the economic crisis was in part the fault of the
nobility. Increasing disturbances against the nobility encouraged many ordinary people to take the first tentative
steps towards direct political action. The politicisation of the majority of the Third Estate began as a result of the
economic crisis. Louis’ handling of the political crisis further exacerbated the situation in the eyes of ordinary
people.
The deep-rooted long-term problems of the ancien régime, considered in the first part of this chapter, came to a head
in the years immediately preceding 1789. Short-term causes such as poor harvests and rising bread prices helped to
bring this about. The attempts at reform were an acknowledgement that changes were needed; the failure of the
process showed the depth of the divisions within French society. When the French monarchy declared itself
bankrupt and the Assembly of Notables refused to approve the reforms proposed by the King’s ministers, the way
was paved for the summoning of the Estates-General. Much was expected from this body by all parties.

ONLINE EXTRAS
Pearson Edexcel
Test your understanding of financial problems by completing Worksheet 4 at
[Link]/accesstohistory/extras

ONLINE EXTRAS
AQA
Test your understanding of the outbreak of the French Revolution by completing Worksheet 4 at
[Link]/accesstohistory/extras

ONLINE EXTRAS
Pearson Edexcel
Get to grips with the origins of the French Revolution by completing Worksheet 5 at
[Link]/accesstohistory/extras

The next chapter will reveal how few could have anticipated the momentous consequences of the decision to
summon it.

SUMMARY DIAGRAM
SHORT-TERM CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

3 Key debate
What are the different ways in which the origins of the French Revolution have been
interpreted?
Many historians hold sharply contrasting viewpoints on the origins of the French Revolution. One of the main
schools is the Marxist interpretation. Marxist historians see the Revolution as part of the class struggle as outlined
in the mid-nineteenth century by the German-born philosopher and social economist Karl Marx (1818–83). More
recently, revisionist historians have rejected this view in favour of different interpretations.

The Marxist interpretation

The dominant interpretation of the French Revolution for much of the past 100 years has been the Marxist
interpretation. This was most clearly expressed by Georges Lefebvre and later by his disciple Albert Soboul.
Lefebvre regarded the French Revolution as a bourgeois revolution closely tied to social and economic factors. The
commercial and industrial bourgeoisie had been growing in importance in the eighteenth century and had become
stronger economically than the nobility. Yet members of the bourgeoisie were kept out of positions of power by the
privileged nobility. According to the Marxists, a class struggle developed between the rising bourgeoisie and the
declining aristocracy. The bourgeoisie won this struggle because the monarchy became bankrupt owing to the cost
of the war in America. The French Revolution was, according to Lefebvre, a struggle for equal rights for the
bourgeoisie.

EXTRACT 1
From Albert Soboul, The French Revolution 1787–1799, Unwin, 1989, p. 27.
In 1789 French society remained fundamentally aristocratic; it was based on privilege of birth and wealth from
land. But this traditional social structure was now being undermined by the evolution of the economy which was
giving added importance to personal wealth and was enhancing the power of the middle class. At the same time
… the philosophy of the Age of Reason was sapping the ideological foundations of the established order. If
France still remained at the end of the eighteenth century a country of peasants and artisans, her traditional
economy was being transformed by the growth of overseas trade and the appearance of big industrial concerns.
No doubt the progress of capitalism and the demand for economic freedom aroused fierce resistance from those
social groups dependent on the traditional economic order; but such resistance did not make them seem any less
necessary in the eyes of the bourgeoisie whose spokesmen elaborated a doctrine which conformed to their social
and political interests.

INTERPRETATION QUESTION

How far do the historians quoted in Extracts 1, 2 and 3 agree or differ in their interpretations of the
origins of the French Revolution?

The revisionist interpretation

In the aftermath of the Second World War, a group of historians challenged the Marxist interpretation. The first
important revisionist critic was Alfred Cobban, who questioned the validity of the social interpretation and also
whether the Revolution was led by a rising bourgeoisie. For Cobban, the Marxist interpretation was too simplistic.

EXTRACT 2
From Alfred Cobban, The Social Interpretation of the French Revolution, Cambridge University
Press, 1964, p. 162.
In writing the social history of the revolution, I have not intended to suggest that it was other than primarily a
political revolution, a struggle for the possession of power and over the conditions in which power was to be
exercised. Essentially the revolution was the overthrow of the old political system of the monarchy and the
creation of a new one in the shape of the Napoleonic state. However, behind the political regime there is always
the social structure, which is in a sense more fundamental and is certainly much more difficult to change. Once
we begin to investigate this social background to the revolution we realize how little we really know of the
pattern of eighteenth-century French society and the impact on it of the revolution. The supposed social
categories of our histories – bourgeois, aristocrats, sans-culottes – are in fact all political ones.

The best known of the revisionist historians is François Furet. He went beyond merely questioning the economic and
social interpretations of the Revolution as a class-based struggle, favoured by the Marxists, to considering the
intellectual and cultural background to 1789. According to Furet, the driving force for change was the advanced
democratic ideas of the Enlightenment philosophes such as Rousseau.

Towards a post-revisionist consensus

A number of historians have attempted to synthesise the vast amount of historical writing surrounding this issue and
reach some sort of balanced judgement. The following extract by Peter McPhee, which draws on recent research, is
a good example of this.

EXTRACT 3
From Peter McPhee, Liberty or Death. The French Revolution, Yale University Press, 2017, pp.
56–7.
The crisis of the regime was the result of three linked causes: the increasing costs of empire; the failure of the
ruling elites to deal with the financial crisis emanating from involvement in the American War of Independence:
and changes in political culture and social assumptions that were undermining the legitimacy of absolute
monarchy and aristocracy. Different social groups within the Third Estate – from those in commerce and the
professions to the rural poor – had their own reasons for responding enthusiastically to the opportunities
presented by … the calling of the Estates-General of May 1789. But regimes are in crisis far more often than
they are overthrown. A revolution was neither foreseen nor planned in France in 1788–89. The royal state may
have been under critical financial pressures and foundering in a crisis of public confidence, but its overthrow
was the outcome of a contingent political crisis that the government failed to manage.

The debate on the origin of the French Revolution shows little sign of abating. Historians continue to examine in
detail the period before 1789 in an attempt to seek a definitive response as to why the revolution occurred. The
analysis is evolving continually.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
The origins of the French Revolution can be examined from the perspective of long- and short-term
causes. Different interpretations of these origins are considered in the key debate.
The structure of French society during the ancien régime, with its divisions into three estates, created
resentments among the least privileged Third Estate. There were tensions within French society before
1789, particularly among the bourgeoisie who were denied any role in government. Ideas of the
philosophes started to emerge during the middle of the eighteenth century, which helped to undermine
the cohesiveness of the absolute State. These can be considered long-term causes of the French
Revolution.
The precarious financial position of the Crown deteriorated rapidly following its involvement in the
American War of Independence, which hastened the onset of bankruptcy. The Crown’s attempt to
introduce reforms was mishandled, and resulted in a revolt of the privileged classes that precipitated the
summoning of the Estates-General. The escalating crisis resulted in the Crown being forced to make
concessions and agree to the creation of a constitutional monarchy. These can be considered short-
term causes of the French Revolution.

Refresher questions
Use these questions to remind yourself of the key material covered in this chapter.
1 What was the nature of royal power?
2 Why was the taxation system an issue?
3 Why was the First Estate unpopular?
4 What were the benefits of belonging to the Second Estate?
5 How could an individual enter the nobility?
6 Why did the Third Estate consider itself to be disadvantaged?
7 What role did the Enlightenment play in bringing about the Revolution?
8 How did foreign policy contribute to the outbreak of the Revolution?
9 How significant was the financial crisis in bringing about the collapse of the monarchy?
10 Why did the reform process fail and with what consequences?
11 What was the significance of the political crisis?
12 How did the economic crisis contribute to the outbreak of the Revolution?

Question practice: AQA

Essay question
1 ‘The financial problems of the ancien régime were responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution.’
Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. [AS level]

EXAM HINT Analyse the contribution of financial problems and then explain two or three other
factors. The highest marks will be for essays that contain a well-supported judgement.

Source questions
1 With reference to Sources A (page 8) and C (page 19), and your understanding of the historical
context, which of these two sources is more valuable in explaining why the French Revolution
occurred? [AS level]

EXAM HINT Analyse the content and evaluate the provenance for both sources but make sure that
you explain fully your overall judgement.

2 With reference to Sources A (page 8), C (page 19) and D (page 20), and your understanding of the
historical context, assess the value of these sources to a historian studying the origins of the French
Revolution. [A level]

EXAM HINT Analyse the content and evaluate the provenance of each source in turn. There is no
need to compare or reach an overall judgement.

Question practice: OCR

Essay questions
1 How significant a factor was the personality of Louis XVI in the fall of the ancien régime? [A level]

EXAM HINT Consider the role of the personality of Louis XVI in the fall of the ancien régime and
compare its importance with other factors in order to reach a balanced judgement as to the
importance of the named factor.

2 How important were the ideas of the philosophes in contributing to the outbreak of the French
Revolution in 1789? [A level]

EXAM HINT Analyse the ideas of the philosophes and reach a judgement as to their importance. The
named factor should then be compared with other factors, such as the financial and political crisis,
and an overall judgement reached as to the relative importance of the named factor.

Interpretation question
1 Read the interpretation and then answer the question that follows. ‘In 1789 French society remained
fundamentally aristocratic.’ (From Albert Soboul, The French Revolution 1787–1799, Methuen,
 1989.) Evaluate the strengths and limitations of this interpretation, making reference to other
interpretations that you have studied. [AS level]

EXAM HINT Place the interpretation in the context of the debate about the nature of French society.
Then use contextual knowledge to support the interpretation and assess the limitations.

Question practice: Pearson Edexcel

Essay question
1 To what extent was the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 primarily due to the poor
leadership of Louis XVI? [A level]

EXAM HINT Examine Louis’ failures of leadership before 1789. Set these against other relevant
factors before reaching an overall judgement.

Source questions
1 Why is Source A (page 8) valuable to the historian studying the role of Louis XVI in the outbreak of
the Revolution? Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your own
knowledge of the historical context. [AS level]

EXAM HINT Value might include the comments in the source, with positive points set against Louis’
weak political skills. Note the significance of the source as a contemporary and private diary. Context
should include Louis’ indecision and lack of leadership skills.

2 How much weight do you give the evidence of Source D (page 20) in helping to explain why the
Revolution broke out? Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context. [AS level]

EXAM HINT Note that de Tocqueville is reflecting on events which took place 60 years earlier, and,
as a historian, is commenting on revolutions in general. Context should include Calonne’s reforms
and the failure of the reform programme before 1789.

3 How far could the historian make use of Sources A (page 8) and C (page 19) together to investigate
the governmental problems facing France in the years 1774–89? Explain your answer using both
sources, the information given about them and your own knowledge of the historical context. [A
level]

EXAM HINT Discuss the origin and nature of each source, the weight given to the information they
offer, and your own knowledge of historical context. Make sure you conclude by considering the two
sources as a set.