Event

Assembly of Notables of 1787

Advisory assembly of nobles, clergy and officials that Louis XVI called in 1787 to back his finance minister's reforms.

5 links, 0 backed by primary records

How each side tells it

Connections 5

Charles Alexandre de Calonne opened it with a plan for one land tax Scholarship & press 1
Louis XVI called it, then dismissed it when it asked to see the accounts (by the textbook's account) Scholarship & press 1 2

Timeline 1 date

Proof 3 sources

Calonne, "Programs of Reform," Address to Assembly of Notables (1787), Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) and American Social History Project (CUNY), 22 Feb 1787. Scholarship & press
At the opening session, on 22 February 1787, Calonne addressed the assembly and proposed a uniform tax across the kingdom
To obtain the support of regional nobles for such changes, the King called an Assembly of Notables.
By 1786, however, the deficit had become so huge—one–sixth of the total royal budget—that Calonne knew that reforms—meaning more taxes, or at least more loans—could no longer be put off.
Cambridge International AS Level History: Modern Europe, 1750-1921 Coursebook, Chapter 1, France, 1774-1814 (excerpt), Cambridge University Press. Scholarship & press
When the Notables demanded an accurate account of the royal finances, the king refused and instead dismissed the Assembly.
Many of those in a position of influence chose to believe Necker’s earlier statement that all was well with the royal finances.
Assembly of Notables (glossary), Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) and American Social History Project (CUNY). Scholarship & press
the first Assembly refused to endorse many reforms and, with the backing of public opinion, forced the monarchy to call for the Estates-General. This move precipitated the outbreak of the Revolution.

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