French Revolution

Judicial procedures are accelerated in all accusations against enemies of the revolution.

This law, passed on 17 September 1793, authorized the creation of revolutionary tribunals to try those suspected of treason against the Republic and to punish those convicted with death.

Apr 1793 The Terror starts

Jan 1793 Execution of the king

learn why the attempt to bring financial reform to France in 1789 developed into a radical revolution

There were only three good harvests between 1770 and 1789, and this resulted in rural poverty and hunger.

The tension and unrest was made worse by a series of hailstorms that summer which destroyed much of the harvest.

they had a major influence on the whole revolutionary process in France.

It can be difficult to assess the importance of abstract ideas on actual events

When the Notables demanded an accurate account of the royal finances, the king refused and instead dismissed the Assembly. This caused great anxiety and protest among the educated public, and marked the start of the financial and political crisis that eventually led to the revolution itself.

A hungry, highly taxed lower class who were not represented by politicians, in both town and countryside, was an important factor in the events that followed.

While the collapse of the monarchy has been attributed to persistent peacetime deficits, these did not appear until the mid-1780s

While the collapse of the monarchy has been attributed to persistent peacetime deficits, these did not appear until the mid-1780s when earlier reforms and successful budget policies were abandoned by reactionary finance ministers.

Had the earlier policies been continued, it is unlikely that a severe crisis would have occurred in 1788/89.

The fiscal crisis inherited from the monarchy defied solution because of the war of attrition fought by economic interest groups.

Although largely neglected in most histories of the French Revolution, the central government’s persistent budget deficit was a factor of paramount importance.

The struggle produced radical changes in macroeconomic policy to shift the burden of adjustment, altering the course of and prolonging the Revolution.

The monarchy was a persistent default risk because of institutional obstacles to raising taxes.

Taking issue with Tocqueville, for whom French institutions were themselves intrinsically incapable of solving the regime's fiscal problems

When the monarchy’s fiscal problems left it with almost no other choices, Louis XVI called for the convening of the Estates-General in May 1789.

the Third Estate would always be outvoted by the two privileged orders that paid few taxes.