[In progress . . . ]
How the revolution has made possible in a good old France?
King was given many years before the storm (1774-1788), 2 more years for the constitution that gave him full veto power (1789 – Oct 1, 1791), 8 more month till crowd first attempt to storm the palace (Jun 20, 1792), 50 more days till final storm of the Tuileries Palace (August 10, 1792), and even few more months after that. Let’s see how all this played out.
The idea was . . .
to show how internal logic of events brought about the 1789 and beyond. Irresponsible fiscal policies plus prolonged war with England in America brought royal finances into a sharp deficit. Under a popular prime minister Jacques Necker a first royal budget was published but the report was misleading. Everything appeared in order, but most war expenses were hidden from the report. Nice report did not solve an actual money shortage. Under next finance ministers, attempts to raise more taxes would run into objection referencing to a nice budget report from Necker times. Influentials (or Notables) would demand another report to prove that situation is dare, but King wouldn’t want this to be a standard practice. He wanted to get more tax money unconditionally.
After that, a series of very small tentative steps towards getting popular support to raise more taxes led to public realization that only wide representative body could authorize the new fiscal policy for the future. But King was constantly behind the reality, only slowly catching and agreeing to move forward, when a decision was already made on the streets. He was constantly conceding and loosing small political battles, instead of leading and winning (just like Gorbachev was lagging behind the reality 200 years later in 1987 – 1991).
This table below would be a collection of dates and events to try to understand what was pre-determined and inevitable, and what were the mistakes, blunders and accidents.
Chronology of French Revolution
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1756 – 1763 | Seven Years’ War exhausted the country without bringing any benefits – 17 May 1756 – 15 February 1763 |
| 1774-05-10 | Louis XV dies in Versailles. His 59-year old reign ends. Louis XVI of France at the age of 19 becomes the new king of France |
| 1774-08-24 | **01** Anne Robert Jacques Turgot appointed first Controller-General of Finances of the new king. Turgot warns the king to save money and not go into another war to bring back financial health. |
| 1775-06-11 | On Sunday, June 11th, around seven o’clock, His Majesty—with the greatest pomp—went back to the Cathedral of Rheims and was crowned in the usual ways |
| 1776 | Let’s start 13 years before the French revolution, when France saw a convenient moment to intervene into Anglo-American conflict on the side of United States to weaken British Empire and regain prominence for French colonies. |
| 1776 Spring | Foreign Secretary Vergennes persuades the king to interfere and start financing the war with England, and in April secret supplies begin trickling into America. |
| 1776-06-29 | Turgot – can’t find ways to finance this new war and falls from power |
| 1777-06 | **02** Jacques Necker appointed Director-General of Finance. He finds the way to finance aid to America and war with Britain by 520 million livres in new loans and without new taxes between 1777 and 1781. A noose continues to tighten. |
| 1778-02-06 | A Treaty of Alliance with United States signed and another unnecessary 5-years war with Britain |
| 1781-02 | To boost public confidence in crown loans, Necker publishes falsified incomes and expenditures on royal budget – Compte rendu au roi. The records show a peachy 10 million surplus. |
| 1781-05-19 | Necker resigns as king do not include him in his inner circle as a protestant |
| 1781-05-21 | **03** Joseph Omer Joly de Fleury appointed Controller-General. He issues another 252 mil in loans to pay interest on all previous loans. |
| 1783-11-03 | **04** Charles Alexandre de Calonne becomes Controller-General of Finances has to continue borrowing because outstanding debt is 110 mil livres. Popular with other ministers and the king himself he did not impose are restrictions on royal spending and was able to borrow additional 653 mil. |
| 1785-12-19 | Parlement of Paris (central seat of French court system) refused to register another loan for 80 mil as it was rumored that Calonne will be be soon replaced. First taste of opposing to the kings minister and indirectly the king himself. |
| Start of chain reaction leading to revolution | Somewhere here, 3 full years before the revolution we can trace the earliest traces of events that almost inevitable lead to more and more discussion, opposition, doubt, resistance and finally open revolt. How amazingly intricate is the net of causes and consequences. |
| 1786-08-20 | Calonne: it is impossible to tax further. Something needs to be done to combat the budget deficit of 112 million livres. Besides, the war tax exemption is expiring by the end of the year (three years after the war with Britain was over). After working on the plan for two years, prime minister Calonne proposes to King a comprehensive plan of financial reform: — value land tax that would eliminate all tax exemptions and privileges, — collect tax through local authorities, — removing internal customs and barriers, — free trade in grain, — usual streamlining and rationalizing. However, to start the reform and enjoy the additional income further loans are needed in the meantime. |
| Towards the end of 1786 | To avoid hostile (at this point) Parlements, Calonne proposes to call a hand-pickled body of influential people – an Assembly of Notables. For the first time a sentiment is voiced that royal will alone is not enough to push legislature through. |
| 1786-12-29 | After several month of convincing, King finally agrees to convene Assembly of Notables on January 29, 1787. No one yet realizes that French history just entered into a new stage – closing of a Monarchy. |
| 1787-02-13 | Opening of Assembly of Notables delayed many times due to illness of the most trusted adviser and minister Vergennes. But he dies anyway. |
| 1787-02-14 | Calonne invites 33-year-young Talleyrand (among others) to Versailles (“Memoirs of the Prince de Talleyrand”, Volume 1, page 80) to participate in preparation of presentation for Assembly of Notables to deliver proposed reforms and new taxes in a favorable light. He is given a heap of documents and one week to finish his task. It means that Government had plenty of bureaucratic and thinking talent to come up with a plan of reforms, but they (Government) had no people who can prepare, present, and deliver the message. All this was too new. It turns out, if you are looking for an approval of your plans from an board of people, you need to have a professional staff to prepare your presentation. All this have to be improvised one week before already delayed Assembly of Notables. Even the most glorious plans and project will drawn in deliberations without proper presentation and skills to run a meeting with finesse. Calonne needed the whole new PR department. This was a completely new modus operandi for a royal minister. |
| 1787-02-22 | Assembly of Notables finally opens with 144 members hand picked by King himself and his advisers. Secret proceeding begin. King only wants an approval, but Notables want to deliberate in earnest and understand the problem. |
| 1787-03-02 | Assembly of Notables wants to see the whole picture of financial situation. Why do we need to approve all these new drastic measures? Show us the numbers, so that we do not make our decision with closed eyes. Prime minister did not expect all this resistance and debate. He only needed an outright approval. Finally Calonne timidly opens up the books and records. That shows a huge deficit inherited from the times of Necker, and confuses things even more due to incompleteness. |
| 1787-04-08 | Politician in a shaky times can’t stay if public convinced that he act not as a patriot, but in his own self-interest. Calonne action perceived as self-promotion and gamble. King is frustrated by the luck of progress. Calonne is dismissed. Who would replace him? |
| 1787-05-01 | Several weeks wasted and now King appoints Brienne – Archbishop of Toulouse – as the next prime minister – a very talented member of Notables himself (Chief of the Royal Council of Finances). |
| 1787-05-09 | Brienne presents a modified version of Calonne measures, but at this point Assembly of Notables more confused than pacified. Now they want a permanent commission of auditors to monitor King’s finances. King adamantly against it. |
| 1787-05-25 | All constructive activity stopps. Assembly of Notables is dismissed with negative result. There is no approval achieved, and plus everyone knows now how bad the situation really is. And now there is a taste of disobeying the king and not being killed or punished for that. Plus members of nobility achieved a pleasant admiration of the wider public by their actions (or inaction). Now, how to get a popular approval for new taxation? – Let’s push new legislation through existing system of courts (parlements). |
| 1787-07 | Government sends legislation for approval to courts. All crucial pieces are rejected. Mostly by the same Notables that composed Assembly of Notables. As a pre-condition for the approval, they again request a complete picture of the budget, and once again hear a rejection from the King. |
| 1787-08-15 | Members of parlements (courts) exiled to Troyes. For the next several weeks Government seems to get in control of the situation: crowds are dispersing, street are patrolled, booksellers ordered to remove inflammatory pamphlets, discussion clubs are closed. |
| 1787-09-13 | Prussian troops cross into Dutch Republic and by beginning of October they took the entire republic. Good pretext to divert attention and start a small victorious campaign, but . . . |
| 1787-09-28 | French Foreign Secretary Montmorin announces that there is no money for the war. One more blow for Government prestige. |
| 1787-11-19 | It is arranged to have a parlements session with King. Prime minister Brienne prepares everything to cultivate an atmosphere of good will. The plan is to borrow 420 million livre in the next 5 years (1788 – 1792) and convene a legislative assembly some time in 1792. Deliberations are going great and constructive. A clear majority to approve seems to appear. But King authority questioned, some unfortunate words uttered, the atmosphere ruined and legislation rejected. Now Notables learned how to say NO to King himself, not just to his ministers. |
| 1788-07-13 | Record-breaking hail storm kills crops around Paris area. That will contribute to record-breaking bread prices in Paris next year. |
| 1788-08-08 | Treasury is empty and government can’t get short term loans under anticipated incomes. Under bankruptcy pressure and to raise confidence in country future finance minister Brienne [brienn] sets the date for Estates-Général [eta ʒeneʁo] – May 1, 1789 |
| 1788-08-16 | Treasury suspends payments on its obligations. Creditors receive IOU (I owe you) – a type of a forced loan. |
| 1788-08-24 | After a week of deliberations king agrees to offer a top minister position to Necker and return him to power. Necker agrees to serve as a new top minister. |
| Three Estates | There are three estates (classes) in French society: First Estate is a clergy (<0.01%), Second Estate is a land owners (about 1% of the population) and the Third Estate is a business owners and wage earners (about 99% of the population). The proposed composition of new Estates-General will by one third clergy, one third Land owners and one third wage earners. |
| 1788-09 24-25 | Parlement of Paris gathers to discuss forms of future Estates-General on the backdrop of tumult and rising bread prices. Parlement registers Necker verdict to convene Estates-General in January 1789. Parlement doesn’t do anything to answer these questions: 01 how to elect deputies, and 02 how Estates-General should vote. A very strange, and diplomatic, and catastrophic decision is made. Parlement rules that new Estates-General should be convened and operate by the rules of old forgotten Estates-General of 1614. One more ticking bomb is set under the current political order. |
| Days after Parlement decision | Within days wider public learns about archaic rules and procedures that has been long outgrown by many other local elections and proceedings. A huge wave of political activism and mass public indoctrination into politics begins. Points of interest are few and they a very clearly defined for mass consumption. |
| 1788-10-05 | Necker announces that Second Assembly of Notables will be reconvened in November to help King to answer questions about Estates-General procedures. |
| 1788-11-06 | Second Assembly of Notables under immense pressure from Paris public opinion tries to discuss and vote on two burning questions: -01- should Third Estate be doubled in size? and -02- Should Estates General assembly vote by head or by Estate? On both questions no positive decision has been made. Nobles won over king in the first Assembly of Notables (Feb-May 1787) , and just fell behind and lost to the public in the Second Assembly. Before it was Revolution of Notables. Now it was opened up to become a Revolution of the Third Estate. |
| 1788-12-05 | Parlement of Paris tries to save face and narrowly clarifies its previous statement from 09-25. By forms of 1614 it meant only the electoral districts and not the other procedures, like ancient forms of voting by Estate. |
| 1788-12-27 | A document “Results of the King’s Council of State” from Necker’s office appears and addresses (or failed to address) the questions on the agenda about forthcoming : 01 Number of deputies from Third Estate to be doubled; 02 Deputies can be elected from and by other Estates; 03 Head vote or vote by Estate will be decided by Estates General themselves. That last “indecision” allows for 5 more months of brooding and deliberation on the streets and in the press. |
| 1789-01 | One of many, but most eloquent brochure “What is the Third Estate?” appears in Paris (by Emmanuel Sieyès 1748-1836). It states that the Third Estate sustains the Nation by carrying the most difficult and painful tasks that society must perform. The talent and fortitude of the Third Estate allows it alone to form a Nation, and all the customary respects towards the privileged classes are just burdensome chimeras. The Third Estate is everything in terms of toil, and vision and ability. But the Third estate is still shackled by unfair rules. And that prevents the Nation from prospering. And what is the nation? A body of associates, living under a common law, and represented by the same legislature. All the unfair privilege must be eliminated. |
| 1789-05-05 | The Estates-General convened in the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles. The number of delegates elected was about 1,200: the First and Second Estates had 300 each. There were 578 representatives of the Third Estate. However, if you vote by estate (one vote per one estate), each estate will get just one vote, and Third Estate will be outvoted by first two every time regardless of number of representatives who voted. King urged the delegates to focus of approving new loans and new taxes. Instead, all further proceedings stalled trying to resolve how the votes will be counted. King stepped aside in this debate instead of being a moderator. Time and initiative were lost. |
| Delegates of the third estate were much more qualified to be people’s representatives with some training and experience in creating legal documents. | |
| 1789-05-07 | Even the very first question on how to verify the delegates – all together or by the estate caused an immediate split and clergy and nobility proceeded to verify separately. |
| 1789-05-11 | The body of the Third Estate delegates (twice as many as delegates from the first and the second estates) begins to call itself as the Communes. |
| 1789-05-26 | The delegates of the third estate appealed to the clergy to join with them in the general assembly hall |
| 1789-05-28 | The third estate proceed with delegate verification on its own. |
| 1789-05-29 | Royal finances meanwhile require an urgent decision on new taxation. King condemns the inaction of the Estates and urges more conciliatory talks between the estates. |
| 1789-06-03 | Finally, the third estate begins to act unilaterally and Jean-Sylvain Bailly is elected as their president. |
| 1789-06-04 | Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France – the seven-year-old son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette dies and King withdraws even more from public affairs. |
| 1789-06-10 | Motion to proceed anyway if other two order will not join in. In the absence of clear guidance from the King or from the Necker the third estate feels more and more independent and assertive. |
| 1789-06-13 | First three priests from the clergy join the Commons – a new name for the body of delegates. |
| 1789-06-15 | A cautious move from Sieyès to reorganize the gathering into “Assembly of the known and verified representatives of the French Nation” |
| 1789-06-17 | After two days of debate the name National Assembly is adopted (491 by 89 votes). This could be considered as a starting point of the French Revolution. All existing taxes are declared illegal but santoned until a new system could be devised. If Assembly ceased to meet, the authorization will lapse. |
| 1789-06-19 | The first estate (clergy) voted 149 to 137 to join the third and join the National Assembly. |
| 1789-06-20 | Point of irreversible conflict – On Saturday, June 20 the doors of National Assembly are locked and guarded by solders. Posters announced the Royal Session for the following Monday – June 22. 578 delegates of the third estate marched to a nearby building – Salle du Jeu de Paume at 1 Rue du Jeu de Paume, 78000 Versaille (now open to the public as a museum). Tennis Court oath never to |
| 1789-06-23 | The Royal Session Delayed by one day, the Royal Session finally opened on June 23. Whether this confusing, but meaningful 35-point document was introduced at the beginning of the Estates–General it would have been praised and accepted for guidance. But now, after thunderous decisions of June 17, it was holding back the progress already achieved and it didn’t relax the atmosphere of tension and mistrust. |
| King’s 35-point document | King proclaimed that: – the Third Estate decisions of June 17 are illegal and unconstitutional. That opening caused smiles as many delegates were expecting to be seized and arrested on the spot – the preservation of the distinction of the three orders of the state remains and these matters are not subject of discussion by the three chambers – all property rights (tithes, rents, annuities, feudal and seigniorial rights and duties), shall be respected until further notice – Estates–General could determine the tax burden of the Nobility, but King can exempt individuals a reward for services – personal liberty and freedom of press can be discussed to maintain the security of the State and the honor of the citizenry. – The future Provincial Estates should be composed of 2/10 of Clergy, 3/10 of the Nobility and 5/10 of the Third Estate and should mind Hospitals, prisons, municipal funds, and the guardianship and forests. – you can remove customs and Internal duties – you can examine the collection of salt tax – you can examine the excise duties without damage to the budget – you can work to reform civil and criminal justice – Corvée labor is abolished – you can not make changes to the laws and taxes that will take and immediate (during the current session of the Estates) – The matter of the army and police are reserved exclusively to the King |
| Intentions of the King in further 15 articles | – King will not levi new taxes without the consent of the Estates, but existing taxes shall remain in force until the next Estates – King will not contract new loans except in war emergencies not above 100 mil. – The he public finances shall be made public annually and the Estates shall examine the financial accounts – the first and the second orders can formally relinquish their privileges and King shall give his sanction – if the Estates can’t reach a 2/3 majority, he judgment shall be referred to the King – any 100 delegates can request re-examination of any resolution – public can’t attend any sessions of the Estates |
| Re-assertion of power – failed | In conclusion King said that I alone ensure the well-being of my People. I alone will ensure the well-being of my Estates. I am familiar with the lists of your grievances and I stand as guarantor of your respective rights and you owe me your trust. The final words were to to disburse immediately and reconvene the next day in the Chambers of the Orders. However, many delegates decide to stay, and King faced with bad news from Necker quitting, decides not to interfere. No action from the King in that sequence of event was a signal of weakness. That inaction invalidated all the word just said during the The Royal Session. |
| 1789-06-27 | King orders the Clergy and the Nobles to join the National Assembly. |
| 1789-07-01 | Military presence around Paris is growing fivefold to 20000. |
| 1789-07-08 | Mirabeau in the Assembly at Versailles petitions King to remove soldiers from Paris. King refuses as troops needed to preserve public order. |
| 1789-07-11 | Necker is dismissed and ordered to leave the country immediately |
| The Paris streets react | |
| 1789-07-14 | What day of the week was it? – Tuesday Crowd invades and searches military veterans hospital – Invalides. One canon and small arms are found and dragged to a squire in front of Hotel de Ville. Next target to search for arms was state prison of the Bastille. With one cannon from Invalides pointed at the gates the Bastille surrounded. |
| 1789-07-15 | Minister of war Victor-François, Duke of Broglie advises King that he no loner can rely on his army. That marks the end of royal authority. King appears in front of the Assembly and proclaims that he ordered the army units around Paris to disperse. Delegates cheer and carried their King back to the palace. |
| 1789-07-16 | Jacques Necker is reinstated after 5-days dismissal. |
| 1789-07-17 | The first emmigree – Count d’Artois – the younger brother of King Louis XVI – departs Versailles and goes toward north-east frontier to be followed by a steam and then by a torrent of notables who thinks the king’s cause is lost. |
| The explosive expectations from Paris and from Versailles turned provinces upside down. A wave of destruction and non payments spread through out | |
| 1789-08-04 | In a desperate attempt to calm down the provinces and stop the riots, pillage and arsons, National Assembly denounces the entire L’Ancien Régime was demolished. In a competitive chace clergy and nobility denonce the privileges of each other and by the small hours of night the whole system of privileges and special property rights is denounced. |
| 1789-08-11 | Decree of August 11 – formal decree codifying decisions of August 4. Assembly declares that it entirely destroy the feudal regime, but all the current dues would still to be paid or compensated. – all real or personal serfdom to be abolished immediately without compensation – all other dues will be removed eventually but compensated by the rules established by the National Assembly – for some reason, the next most pressing issue after personal freedoms were abolition of exclusive rights to maintain pigeon-houses and unenclosed warrens (article 2 and 3). The president of the assembly should ask the King to recall those sent to the galleys or exiled, simply for violations of the hunting regulations. – Manorial courts (or seigneurial courts served to secure the lord’s income and enforce feudal obligations ) suppressed immediately, but magistrates (people who administers the law) shall continue to perform their functions until establishment of a new judicial system – all tithes (one tenth of annual produce or earnings) are abolished, but shall continue until some other method is devised. – all exiting perpetual ground rents and new ground rents should be redeemable – the sale of judicial and municipal offices shall be suppressed. Justice shall be dispensed for free – The fees of the priests are abolished but the minimum salary of the priests and the curates should be increased – Pecuniary privileges (exemption by order, title, region, corporation) are abolished forever. All taxes shall be paid proportionally by all, even for the last six months of the current year (1789). – all citizens are eligible to any office or dignity, whether ecclesiastical, civil or military – no remittances shall be made to the court of Rome, the vice-legation at Avignon, or to the nunciature at Lucerne – all other payments and dues established in favor of priestly functions are abolished, but appropriate provision shall be made for those who are not sufficiently endowed – benefit payments from multiple public courses shall exceed the sum of three thousand livres – (very timidly) National Assembly will submit to the King a proposal to reduce various pensions, favors and salaries that are not deserved and the amount shall be fixed – The National Assembly solemnly proclaims the King, Louis XVI., the Restorer of French Liberty |
| August and September | The next big question on legislator’s minds was an approval from the King. But should we give him unconditional right to veto new laws, or temporary and suspensive only veto. Debates about this topic too almost a month to conclude. Democracy is a slow process. |
| 1789-08-26 | National assembly approves an addition to abolition of feudalism – Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. – Men are born and remain free and equal in rights – King may not exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation – free communication of ideas and opinions – all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty – the weakest right defined (almost timid) was a religious freedom – no one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law. – public military forces established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be entrusted. – all citizens have a right to decide the necessity of the public contribution (collection and the duration of the taxes) – every public agent accountable to society |
| 1789-09-15 | In an under the table bargain a suspensive or temporary veto for the King was approved by the National Assembly by the vote of 673 to 352. An understanding was that King will approve the new August laws in exchange for Assembly giving him a right to veto for future bills. As it happened, this decision was taken too late. The Paris was again far ahead of the legislators, mistrusted the King and had a strong anti-veto sentiment. |
| 1789-09-18 | With veto option available, King is now indicating that he is ready to approve some August 11 decision, but not the others. The back and force begins, but both sides didn’t understand that they are nor longer in control of the situation. |
| It took another 17 days of agitations, pumphletiring and pressuring until a next explosion. | |
| 1789-10-05 | Agitated Paris public realized that they are losing their control over National Assembly and King when they are sitting in Versalles. A mostly women crowd of 7000 reached Versalles by the evening of October 5. No one risked to use force. Under pressure from the crowd, both King and the assembly had to move to Paris. |
| 1792-08-10 | Storm of Tuileries Palace |
| 1794-07-29 | Execution of Robespierre. The circumstances of his arrest, his escape, his Jaw injury and even the exact date of his execution are vague. All sources quote each other and stating he was executed the next afternoon making it July 28 . Robespierre dies along with many real or possible supporters. The numbers given are from 34 to 80 people executed on that day. |
| 1794-08 | The terror comes to a sudden end. Only 6 people are executed in August in Paris and only 40 for the rest of the year. |
Terminology
| French | English |
| Ancien Régime | the old regime – the political and social system of France from the late Middle Ages until the 1789 Revolution |
| Avis aux provinces | Notice to provinces |
| Llettre de cachet | a “letter of the seal” – a sealed royal document that commanded the detention, exile, or confinement of an individual without any formal trial or legal proceedings |
| Lit de justice | a “bed of justice” – a formal session of the Parlement of Paris (courts), under the presidency of the King of France, for the compulsory registration of the royal edicts |
| Corvée labor | unpaid, forced labor required by a state or landowner, typically for a limited number of days each year, often used for public works or monumental projects |
| Cahiers de doléances | the lists of grievances drawn up by each of the three Estates |
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