Ancien Regimè (1:1)

Question 1

Who was the monarch and what were his privileges?

Answer 1

King Louie XVI
He was an absolute monarch which meant he had, theoretically, total power over France. But took a lot of advice from ministers

Question 2

What was controversial about Marie Antoinette marrying into the monarchy?

Answer 2

She was daughter of the Austrian emperor and Austria was blamed for France’s loss in the ‘7 years war’

Question 3

What did the king do for fun and what was he like?

Answer 3

He was introverted and inexperienced , he enjoyed locksmithing and playing with clocks.
Weak willed and indecisive

Question 4

Who did the king need support from?

Answer 4

He needed the consent and the support of the nobility to rule to not seem despotic

Question 5

What was the clergy in charge of? 5

Answer 5

Religious life, charity, education, healthcare, record keeping.

Question 6

What privileges did the clergy have?

Answer 6

Exempt from conscription to military
Exempt from all tax because the church paid an annual grant

Question 7

Who were the Hobereax (old birds)?

Answer 7

Fran - cocky with nothing to be cocky about

They were part of the nobility and lived rurally in small estates. They had lost most of their land and wealth but still had the nobility privileges.
Resented the rising Bourgeoisie who outstripped them of land.
Some were landless and lived off pensions or sponsorships from other nobles

Question 8

What was venality?

Answer 8

Venality is when a wealthy member of a third estate can pay for a title and be in the nobility

Question 9

What privileges did the nobility get?

Answer 9

Exempt from conscription
Exempt from the largest tax, land tax (taille)
Their other taxes were often avoided

Question 10

Marquis de Lafayette

Answer 10

He was a noblesse d’epee who saw American liberal systems when he worked with George Washington. Him along with a lot of other high end nobles witnessed the same things and they themselves were very liberal.
He died after the French revolution at someone else’s funeral lol

Question 11

Who were the third estate?

Answer 11

The third estate was everyone else essentially. They were very widely diverse from beggars and peasants to successful businessmen.
98% of the population

Question 12

What jobs would the third estate have who live in the city?

Answer 12

Bourgeoise, wage labourers, seigneurs ( land lords) and general unskilled workers such as servants, cleaners, washerwomen.

Question 13

What was life like for the third estate who lived in the countryside?

Answer 13

The conditions were unhygienic to live in
Many lived as peasants who worked the land.

Question 14

Who were the bourgeoisie?

Answer 14

The were the capitalist middle class members of the third estate.
They were independently wealthy, ambitious and well educated
little power in society.

Question 15

When did Louis XVI become king?

Answer 15

1774, when he was 20. He was the unexpected ‘douphin’

Question 16

What finances did Versailles factions count on to uphold their lavish lifestyle?

Answer 16

Pensions and sinecures

Question 17

How many parliaments in France?

Answer 17

13

Question 18

What was lettre de cache?

Answer 18

Kings power to arrest anyone

Question 19

What was lettre de justice?

Answer 19

King power to pass any law without government

Question 20

How many generalities?

Answer 20

33-36 - each had intendants and different laws

Question 21

What was pays d’etat?

Answer 21

Areas later added to France - special privileges

Question 22

Why was the parlements and generalities confusing?

Answer 22

They overlapped

Question 23

What were the three councils that advised the king?

Answer 23

Counsel d’etat (state and foreign affairs)
Counsel des depeches (church and generalities)
Counsel royal des finances (state finances)

Question 24

What was a major weakness of central government?

Answer 24

Chosen because of profile - not skill

Question 25

What jobs did intendants do?

Answer 25

Finance, law and order, ensure taxes paid, raise troops. Roles overlapped and overlooked

Question 26

what were the two kind of courts?

Answer 26

Seigneurial - local level justice Church - clergy only, less harsh

Question 27

When did Louis XVI try and abolish parlement and why?

Answer 27

1771, regular tensions

Question 28

What was the French population 1780?

Answer 28

27 million

Question 29

How many people approximately in the 1st estate?

Answer 29

150,000 (0.5% population)

Question 30

How many people approximately in the 2nd estate?

Answer 30

200-400,000

Question 31

What was the tithe?

Answer 31

Compulsory grant to the church

Question 32

What’s the don graduit?

Answer 32

Clergy Paid sum to the king instead of direct tax, taille

Question 33

How much French land did the nobility own?

Answer 33

1/5-1/4

Question 34

What were the two types of nobility?

Answer 34

Noblesse d’epee - hereditary Noblesse de robe - acquired title, using venality/marriage

Question 35

What were journeliers?

Answer 35

Bottom of the 3rd estate, day labourers. Prostitutes and beggars

Question 36

What does it mean that the king ruled by Devine right?

Answer 36

Picked by god -swore oath to god not the people in his coronation

Question 37

How much annual grant did the clergy give?

Answer 37

5% income (16million livres)

Question 38

What percentage of the third estate lived in the countryside? How many were beggars or prostitutes

Answer 38

80% 80,000

Question 39

Why was there a growing ,ack of trust of the clergy in the 1700s?

Answer 39

Corrupt - less went into priesthood

Question 40

How much did venality cost?

Answer 40

20,000 - over 50,000