User:Aemilius Adolphin/Sandbox2

Causes
The French Revolution was the result of multiple long-term and short term factors which culminated in a social, economic, financial and political crisis in the late 1780s. Combined with resistance to reform by the ruling elite, and indecisive policy by Louis XVI and his ministers, the state was unable to manage the crisis. Between 1715 and 1789, the French population grew from an estimated 21 to 28 million. The proportion of the population living in towns increased to 20%, and Paris alone had over 600,000 inhabitants. Peasants comprised about 80% of the population, but the middle classes tripled over the century, reaching almost 10% of the population by 1789. Although the 18th century was a period of increasing prosperity, the benefits were distributed unevenly across regions and social groups. Those whose income derived from agriculture, rents, interest and trade in goods from France's slave colonies benefited most, while the living standards of wage labourers and farmers on rented land fell. Increasing inequality led to more social conflict as the century progressed. Economic recession from 1785 and bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 led to high unemployment and food prices which coincided with a financial and political crisis for the monarchy.

Enlightenment critiques of social institutions were widely discussed among the educated French elite, while the American Revolution and the European revolts of the 1780s inspired public debate on issues such as patriotism, liberty, equality and the participation of the people in making laws. These debates helped shape the response of the educated public to the crisis facing the state. A series of public scandals such as the Diamond Necklace Affair also fuelled popular anger at the court, nobility and church officials.

Financial and political crisis
The monarchy faced a series of budgetary crises during the 18th century, as revenues failed to keep pace with expenditure on the military and state pensions. Although the French economy grew solidly, the tax system didn't capture the new wealth. Tax collection was contracted to tax farmers and receivers who often kept much of the tax collected as personal profit. As the nobility and Church benefited from many exemptions, the tax burden fell mainly on peasants, workers and the middle classes. Reform was difficult because new tax laws had to be registered with regional judicial bodies known as parlements that could deny registration if the laws conflicted with existing rights and privileges. The king could impose laws by decree but this risked open conflict with the parlements, the nobility and those subject to new taxes.

France mostly funded the Anglo-French War of 1778-1783 through loans. Following the peace, the monarchy continued to borrow heavily, culminating in a debt crisis. By 1788, half of state revenue was required to service its debt. In 1786 the French finance minister, Calonne, proposed a package of reforms including a universal land tax, the abolition of grain controls and internal tariffs, and new provincial assemblies appointed by the king. The new taxes, however, were rejected, first by a hand-picked Assembly of Notables dominated by the nobility, then by the parlements when submitted by Calonne's successor Brienne. The notables and parlements argued that the proposed taxes could only be approved by an Estates-General, a representative body that had last met in 1614.

The conflict between the crown and the parlements became a national political crisis. Both sides issued a series of public statements, the government arguing that it was combating privilege, the parlements that it was defending the ancient rights of the nation. Public opinion was firmly on the side of the parlements and rioting broke out in several towns. Brienne's attempts to raise new loans failed, and on 8 August 1788 he announced that the king would summon an Estates-General to convene the following May. Brienne resigned and was replaced by Necker.

In September 1788, the parlement of Paris ruled that the Estates-General should convene in the same form as in 1614, meaning that the three estates (the clergy, nobility and Third Estate or "commons") would meet and vote separately and votes would be counted by estate rather than by head. As a result, the clergy and nobility could combine to outvote the Third Estate despite representing less than 5% of the population.

Following the relaxation of censorship and laws against political clubs, a group of liberal nobles and middle class activists, known as the Society of Thirty, launched a campaign for the doubling of Third Estate representation and voting by head. The public debate saw an average of 25 new political pamphlets published a week from September 1788 to May 1789. The Abbé Sieyès issued influential pamphlets denouncing the privilege of the clergy and nobility and arguing that the Third Estate represented the nation and should sit alone as a National Assembly. Activists such as Mounier, Barnave and Robespierre organised meetings, petitions and literature on behalf of the Third Estate in regional towns. In December, the king agreed to double the representation of the Third Estate but left the question of counting votes by head for the Estates-General to decide.

Estates-General of 1789
Voting for the Estates-General commenced in early 1789, with each order electing two to four representatives in 234 constituencies. For the Third Estate, all male taxpayers over 25 were entitled to vote. To assist delegates, each region completed a list of grievances, known as Cahiers de doléances. Doyle calls the elections, "the most democratic spectacle ever seen in the history of Europe, and nothing comparable occurred again until far into the next century."

Three-quarters of the 303 clergy elected were parish priests, many of whom earned less than unskilled labourers and had more in common with their poor parishioners than with the Bishops of the first estate. Of the 322 representatives of the nobility, most were town-dwelling members of the noblesse d'épée, or traditional aristocracy. Courtiers and representatives of the noblesse de robe (those who derived rank from judicial or administrative posts) were underrepresented.

Of the 610 deputies of the Third Estate, about two-thirds held legal qualifications and almost half were venal office holders. Less than 100 were in trade or industry and none were peasants or artisans. Tax inequality and seigneurial dues (feudal payments owed to landowners) headed the grievances in the cahiers de doleances for the estate.

On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General convened at Versailles. Necker outlined the state budget and reiterated the king's decision that each estate should decide on which matters it would agree to meet and vote in common with the other estates. On the following day, each estate was to separately verify the credentials of their representatives. The Third Estate, however, voted to invite the other estates to join them in verifying all the representatives of the Estates-General in common and to agree that votes should be counted by head. Fruitless negotiations lasted to 12 June when the Third Estate began verifying its own members. On 17 June, the Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly of France and that all existing taxes were illegal. Within two days, more than 100 members of the clergy had joined them.

Shaken by this challenge to his authority, the king agreed to a reform package that he would announce at a Royal Session of the Estates-General. The Salle des États was closed to prepare for the joint session, but the members of the Estates-General were not informed in advance. On 20 June, when the members of the Third Estate found their meeting place closed, they moved to a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until a new constitution had been agreed.

At the Royal Session the king announced a series of tax and other reforms and stated that no new taxes or loans would be implemented without the consent of the Estates-General. However, he stated that the three estates were sacrosanct and it was up to each estate to agree to end their privileges and decide on which matters they would vote in common with the other estates. At the end of the session the Third Estate refused to leave the hall and reiterated their oath not to disperse until a constitution had been agreed. Over the next days more members of the clergy joined the National Assembly. On 27 June, faced with popular demonstrations and mutinies in his French Guards, Louis XVI capitulated. He commanded the members of the first and second estates to join the third in the National Assembly.

Napoleon references
only 140pp; by a scholar