FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION
State educational institution of higher professional education
"Moscow Institute of Economics, Management and Law"
abstract
By discipline: History of the state and law of foreign countries
Related: States General in France
Completed by: student of the group SWVDs+v 7.1/0-10
Rassakhatsky I.S.
Checked: Rev. Chemnitz Vadim Ernestovich
Introduction 3
Period of the Hundred Years War 5
During the Huguenot wars
8
Dominance of absolutism 9
References 12
Introduction
General states in France (fr. Etats Generaux) - in France, the highest estate-representative institution in 1302-1789, which had the character of an advisory body. Estates General were convened by the king at critical moments in French history and were supposed to provide the royal will with the support of society. In its classic form, the French Estates-General consisted of three chambers: representatives of the nobility, the clergy, and the third taxable estate. Each estate sat separately in the Estates General and issued a dissenting opinion on the issue under discussion. Most often, the Estates General approved decisions on the collection of taxes.
The emergence of the States General was associated with the growth of cities, the aggravation of social contradictions and class struggle, which necessitated the strengthening of the feudal state.
The forerunners of the Estates General were extended meetings of the royal council (with the involvement of the city leaders), as well as provincial assemblies of the estates (which laid the foundation for the provincial states). The first Estates-General were convened in 1302, during the conflict between Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII.
Wanting to prevent confusion, Philip IV convened a meeting to which he invited not only church and secular feudal lords, but also two deputies from each city. The meeting took place in the main church of Paris - Notre Dame Cathedral. According to eyewitnesses, the king "asked as a friend and demanded as a master" the help of the estates in his struggle against the claims of the pope. City deputies spoke for him. They declared that they were ready to die for the king's cause.
The convocation of the States General defused the situation in the country and prevented a possible open rebellion against the central government. But there was no agreement between the estates. Unlike the English feudal lords, the French nobility not only did not engage in farming and trade, but also did not allow townspeople into their midst.
Meeting of the Estates General.
Only the king could give the title of nobleman, and he did this not so much for money as rewarding for service. The nobility and the townspeople were very far from each other, and it is no coincidence that the townspeople more often preferred to negotiate with the king.
The absence of an alliance between nobles and townspeople was reflected in the structure of the Estates General. Unlike parliament, they were divided into three chambers (according to the number of estates). In the first, the highest churchmen sat - archbishops, bishops, abbots. In the second - representatives of the nobility. The third chamber was made up of messengers from the cities.
The strife of the estates in the Estates-General deprived them of the influence that the English Parliament had acquired. States-General were convened irregularly, they could not approve laws.
The States General were an advisory body convened at the initiative of the royal power at critical moments to assist the government. Each estate sat in the States General separately from the others and had one vote (regardless of the number of representatives).
Period of the Hundred Years War
The forerunners of the French General States were extended meetings of the royal council with the involvement of the city leaders, as well as assemblies of representatives from various estates in the provinces, which laid the foundation for the provincial states. The emergence of the institution of the States General was due to the situation that developed after the creation of the French centralized state. In addition to the royal domain, the state included vast lands of secular and spiritual feudal lords, as well as cities that had numerous and traditional liberties and rights. For all his power, the king did not yet have sufficient rights and authority to single-handedly make decisions affecting these traditional liberties. In addition, the still fragile royal power on a number of issues, including foreign policy, needed the visible support of the entire French society.
The first Estates-General on a national scale were convened in April 1302, during the conflict between Philip IV the Handsome and the pope. Boniface VIII. This assembly rejected the claims of the pope to the role of the supreme arbiter, stating that the king in secular affairs depends only on God. In 1308, preparing to massacre the Templars, the king again considered it necessary to rely on the support of the Estates General. On August 1, 1314, Philip IV the Handsome convened the States General to approve the decision to collect taxes to finance a military campaign in Flanders. Then the nobility made an attempt to unite with the townspeople to repel the king's excessive monetary demands.
During the years of the decline of the Capetian dynasty, the importance of the Estates General increases. It was they who decided to remove the daughter of King Louis X from the throne in 1317, and after the death of Charles IV the Handsome and the suppression of the Capetian dynasty, they transferred the crown to Philip VI of Valois.
Under the first Valois, and especially during the years of the Hundred Years' War of 1337-1453, when the royal power needed emergency financial support and the consolidation of all the forces of France, the Estates General achieved the greatest influence. Using the right to approve taxes, they tried to initiate the adoption of new laws. In 1355, under King John II the Brave, the States General agreed to allocate funds to the king only if a number of conditions were met. In an effort to avoid abuse, the States General themselves began to allocate trustees to collect taxes.
After the Battle of Poitiers (1356), King John II the Brave was captured by the British. Taking advantage of the situation, the Estates General, led by the Prevost of Paris, Etienne Marcel and the Llan Bishop Robert Lecoq, launched a program of reforms. They demanded that the Dauphin Charles of Valois (the future Charles V the Wise) who took over the administration of France replaced his advisers with representatives from the three estates and did not dare to make independent decisions. These demands were supported by the provincial states. The States General expressed their claims to power in the Great Ordinance of March 1357. According to according to its provisions, only those taxes and fees that were approved by the States General were recognized as legal.The ordinance proclaimed the rigor of the principle of class courts (according to feudal norms, everyone could be convicted only of equal status), which narrowed the prerogatives of royal power in the judicial sphere.
Dauphin Charles was forced to accept the terms of the Great Ordinance of March, but immediately began to fight for its abolition. A cunning and dodgy politician, he managed to win over the majority of the nobles and the clergy. Already in 1358, the dauphin announced the abolition of the ordinance, which caused indignation among the Parisian citizens, led by Etienne Marcel and the Parisian uprising was put down.
Having achieved the obedience of the estates, the Dauphin Charles, who from 1364 became the king of France, preferred to solve financial problems with meetings of notables, leaving only the problems of consolidating the forces of France in the fight against the British to the share of the Estates General. His successors followed a similar policy. However, during the period of rivalry between the Bourguignons and Armagnacs, it was the States General who supported Charles VII of Valois in strengthening royal power. In the 1420s and 1430s they again played an active political role. Of particular importance were the states of 1439, assembled in Orleans. They forbade the lords to have their own army, recognizing such a right only for the king; established a talyu tax on the maintenance of the standing army of the king.
At the same time, the enmity of the townspeople with the nobles, the disunity of the cities did not allow the States General to achieve the expansion of their rights, like the English Parliament. Moreover, by the middle of the 15th century, most of French society agreed that the king had the right to introduce new taxes and fees without asking the permission of the Estates General. The widespread introduction of talya (permanent direct tax) provided the treasury with a solid source of income and relieved the kings of the need to coordinate financial policies with representatives of the estates. Charles VII did not fail to take advantage of this. Having strengthened himself on the throne, from 1439 until the very end of his reign in 1461, he never collected the Estates General.
During the Huguenot wars
Having lost the right to vote taxes, the Estates General lose their real political significance, and enter into a period of decline. During the years of his reign, King Louis XI of Valois convened the General States only once in 1467, and then only in order to receive formal authority to make any decisions for the good of France without convening the States General. In 1484 the States were convened because of the infancy of King Charles VIII of Valois. They are interesting in that for the first time, not only the urban, but also the rural taxable population was represented in the composition of the deputies of the third estate. These Estates-General made a number of decisions about the control of royal power, but they all remained good wishes. Subsequently, Charles VIII never convened the Estates General until the end of his reign.
From the end of the 15th century, the system of absolute monarchy finally took shape in France, and the very idea of limiting the prerogatives of royal power became blasphemous. Accordingly, the institution of the Estates-General fell into complete decline. Louis XII of Valois gathered them only once in 1506, Francis I of Valois - never at all, Henry II of Valois - also once in 1548, and then he appointed many deputies by his own will.
The importance of the States General increases again during the years of the Huguenot wars. Both the weakened royal power, and both hostile religious camps, and the estates themselves were interested in using the authority of the states in their own interests. But the split in the country was so deep that it did not allow to assemble a composition of deputies whose decisions would be legitimate for the warring parties. However, Chancellor Lopital in 1560 gathers the Estates General in Orleans. The following year they continued their work at Pontoise, but without the deputies of the clergy, who sat separately at Poissy in a religious dispute between Catholics and Huguenots. As a result of the work of the deputies, the "Orleans Ordinance" was developed, based on which L'Hopital tried to start reforms in France. In general, the deputies spoke in favor of turning the Estates General into a permanent body of state power, supervising the activities of the king.
It is not surprising that the royal power avoided the convening of new states. But, nevertheless, in 1576 King Henry III of Valois was forced to gather the Estates General again in Blois. Most of the deputies supported the Catholic League, formed in May 1574, which sought to limit royal power. In the legislative sphere, the Estates General demanded that the laws of the realm be placed above the decrees of the king; the decrees of the States General could only be repealed by the States General themselves, and if the law received the unanimous support of all estates, then it entered into force without royal approval. The deputies also demanded participation in the appointment of ministers. Representatives of the third estate demanded the restoration of traditional municipal rights and liberties, constrained by the royal administration in previous decades. With the Ordinance of Blois, Henry III expressed solidarity with the demands of the Estates General, but this step had no real significance due to the general chaos in France during the Huguenot wars.
In 1588 the Catholic League regained its strength and succeeded in convoking the new Estates-General in Blois. And this time the majority of deputies belonged to the Catholic camp. Under the slogans of limiting royal power and recognizing the supreme sovereignty of the States General, they sought to take power away from Henry III and transfer it to the leader of the Catholics, Henry of Giese. This rivalry ended in the tragic death of both Henrys, and the former leader of the Huguenot camp, Henry IV of Bourbon, became king. In 1593, in Paris, the opponents of the new king convened the Estates General, but his deputies did not represent the political forces of all of France and could not prevent Henry IV from taking all power into his own hands.
Dominance of absolutism
The coming to power of Henry IV was largely the result of a compromise between the warring sections of French society. Having taken an openly pro-Catholic position during the years of the Huguenot wars, the States General found themselves out of work in the new political situation. Henry IV ruled as an absolute monarch. Only at the beginning of his reign did he convene a meeting of notables, whose deputies he appointed himself. Notables approved taxes for three years in advance and later asked the king to rule on his own.
During the infancy of King Louis XIII of Bourbon, in 1614, the penultimate Estates General in the history of France took place. They revealed serious contradictions between the interests of the third estate and the upper classes. Representatives of the clergy and the nobility insisted on exemption from taxes, granting new and securing old privileges, that is, they defended not national, but narrow class interests. They refused to see the deputies of the third estate as equal partners, treating them like servants. The humiliated position of the third estate was also supported by the court. If the nobles and the clergy could sit in hats in the presence of the king, then the representatives of the third estate were obliged to stand before the monarch on their knees and with their heads uncovered. Complaints of the third estate about the severity of taxes, legal insecurity did not find understanding. As a result, the states did not make a single significant decision. The only thing that the estates could agree on was a wish for the king to convene the Estates General once every ten years. At the beginning of 1615 the states were dissolved.
Meetings of notables were convened in 1617 and 1626, and in the future, right up to the French Revolution, the state dispensed with a nationwide representative institution. Nevertheless, representative institutions continued to operate on the ground - the provincial states and parliaments, although not in all provinces. And the very idea of the States General was not forgotten and was revived in the conditions of a deep crisis of royal power at the end of the 18th century.
Only the most acute political crisis forced King Louis XVI of Bourbon to convene a new General States. They began their work on May 5, 1789. And already on June 17, the deputies of the third estate declared themselves the National Assembly, responsible for the formation of the legislative power in the country. At the request of King Louis XVI of Bourbon, deputies from the nobility and clergy also joined the National Assembly. On July 9, 1789, the National Assembly proclaimed itself the Constituent Assembly with the aim of developing new legislative foundations for the French state. The events of the first stage of the French Revolution are closely connected with the activities of the Estates General in 1789.
etc.................
Nobles and the so-called third estate, which was the only one who paid taxes. They met very irregularly, out of necessity, in connection with certain events in the country and abroad. More about this institution, its goals related to it interesting facts, about when the convocation of the first States General in France took place, will be discussed in today's review.
Appearance conditions
Let us consider the events that preceded the convocation of the first Estates General and to a large extent were the prerequisites for the creation of this powerful institution. The states had forerunners in the form of extended meetings of the royal council, where the city leaders were involved, and meetings of representatives of the estates in the provinces, which laid the foundation for provincial bodies.
The emergence of the first States General in France was associated with the situation that developed after the formation of a centralized state in France, which needed to be strengthened. At this time, the growth of cities, the aggravation of social contradictions and the struggle of classes, were observed, until the rights of feudal lords, city corporations, and the Catholic Church were finally won back.
The royal power had to gradually break the existing political structure, in the process of which she needed additional funds to fight the powerful opposition, which was the feudal oligarchy. Therefore, it was at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century that the union of the king and members of various social groups, among which was the third estate, was formed. Though far from rugged, built on compromise.
Reasons for convocation
The expression of this political compromise, where each of the parties had its own specific interests, was the Estates General, as well as the states of the provinces. The formation of these institutions was the beginning of the transformation of the French state from a feudal to a class-representative monarchy.
The main reasons for the convening of the first Estates-General in 1302 by Philip IV, nicknamed "the Handsome", include the following:
- Failures in the war with Flanders.
- Great difficulty in economic development country.
- The king's conflict with Boniface VIII, the pope.
To be completely accurate, these events were, rather, reasons, and true reason- these are the prerequisites described above for the creation of a class-representative institution of a national scale, explained by the objective laws of the development of the French monarchical state.
At the first congress of the States General, the claims of the pope to the role of the supreme arbiter in secular affairs were rejected. Here it was stated that in this area the king can only depend on God himself. What were the functions and structure of this body?
Structure and functions
At its core, the Estates General was an advisory body, which was convened at the initiative of the king at those moments that were critical for the government, in order to assist him. At the same time, their main function was to vote taxation, that is, they voted on questions about what taxes could be introduced in the state.
The States General is a body in which representatives of the propertied strata of the French kingdom met. It consisted of three divisions:
- representatives of the clergy.
- Delegates from the nobility.
- Messengers from the population of cities.
The clergy in the newly created parliament meant its highest ranks, such as:
- Archbishopric.
- Bishopric.
- Abbey.
As for the nobles, at the first stage there were representatives of large and medium feudal lords in the states, and delegates from the petty nobility appeared a little later.
The third estate in parliament consisted of deputies:
- churches;
- monasteries;
- top citizens - from two to three deputies from each city.
It included lawyers, whose composition was approximately equal to 1/7 of all the States General.
Meeting order
Each of the estates met quite separately from the other two. Joint meetings were held only on two occasions - in 1468 and 1484. If there were disagreements in the position of the estates, then the voting was carried out according to the estates. Each had only one vote, regardless of how many representatives were present. In such cases, the first two estates, as a rule, had an advantage over the third.
The deputies to the parliament were elected in bailages and seneschals. Baliages in France were called administrative districts, which were introduced under King Philip II Augustus, who ruled from 1180 to 1223. Then all the possessions of the king were divided into 20 ballages. Seneschalties were districts in the south of France.
The frequency of the convocation of the Estates General in France was not established. This question was decided by the king, guided by political considerations and other circumstances. He also determined the duration of the meetings and issues for discussion. Let's take a look at what they were.
Issues to Consider
As mentioned above, the king proceeded to convene the States General when he needed the support of the estates on various occasions. Examples include discussions on issues such as:
- 1038 - conflicts with the Knights Templar.
- 1359 - the conclusion of an agreement with the English crown.
- 1560, 1576, 1588 years - waging wars of a religious nature.
However, the most common reason was the king's need for money. At the same time, he appealed to the estates, expressing either a request for financial assistance or a tax sanction, which was valid for one year.
Strengthening the role
The strengthening of the importance of the Estates General occurred during the Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453. At that moment, the royal power experienced a special need for finances.
Soon they began to claim an active role in the government during the period when uprisings broke out in the 14th century - the Parisian 1357-1358 and the Jacquerie in 1358.
The reason that the States General failed to achieve the rights that the Parliament of England was able to win was the lack of agreement both between the cities and between the estates, sometimes developing into enmity.
Conflict with royalty
One of the most acute conflicts with the authorities happened in 1357, when an uprising of the townspeople broke out in Paris, and the French king John was captured by the British.
At that time delegates from the third estate took part in the work of the Estates General. They put forward a reform program, which was given the name of the Great March Ordinance. Instead of providing royal subsidies, they demanded that funds be collected and spent directly by the representatives of the states. And for this they had to meet three times a year and without the king's instructions.
In this regard, general reformers were elected, who were given the authority to control the work of the royal administration, remove the guilty officials and punish them, up to and including deprivation of life. But the attempt of the States General to appropriate financial, control, legislative powers failed. After the uprisings were suppressed, the demands put forward, indicated in the indicated ordinance, were rejected by the royal authorities.
Further fate
From 1614 until 1789 there was no state meeting. Its meeting took place only under extraordinary conditions - when there was an acute political crisis that resulted in the Great French Revolution. It was at this moment that the King called the Estates General again on May 5, 1789. And already on June 17, 1789, the delegates of the third estate proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. Then on July 9, 1789, it declared itself Constituent - the highest legislative and representative body of the new revolutionary France.
The States General were established by the French king Philip IV in 1302. This was done in order to gain support in the face of influential estates to fight against Pope Boniface VIII. The States General consisted of three chambers, in which the townspeople, the clergy and the nobility sat. At first, the last two were recruited by the king. However, by the end of the 15th century, they became elective.
Decision-making principle
The history of France says that each question was considered by each of the houses of the assembly separately. The decision was made by majority vote. It was finally approved at a joint meeting of the three chambers. And each of them had only one vote. Under such conditions, the privileged classes (the nobility, the clergy) always received the majority. They didn't have to agree with each other.
Convening frequency
The Estates General in France was not a permanent body, like Parliament in Britain. The frequency of their convocation has not been established. The king assembled the states at his own discretion. The convocation of the Estates-General most often occurred at times of various upheavals and political instability. The list of issues to be discussed and the duration of the meetings were determined by the king.
Main reasons for convocation
States-General were convened in order to express the opinion of the estates on such issues as declaring war, making peace, and other important topics. The king sometimes consulted, found out the position of the assembly on various bills. However, the decisions of the States General were not binding and were advisory in nature. The most common reason for calling meetings was the urgent need of the Crown for money. French kings often turned to the estates for financial assistance. The meetings discussed the next taxes, which at that time were introduced only for one year. Only in 1439 did the king receive the go-ahead to collect a permanent fee - the royal talis. However, if it came to any additional taxes, it was necessary to collect the Estates General again.
Relationship between the Crown and the Assembly
The estates-general often turned to the kings with complaints, protests and requests. It was customary for them to make various proposals, to criticize the actions of royal officials and the administration. But since there was a direct connection between the requests of the States General and the results of their votes on the funding requested by the king, the latter often yielded to them.
The assembly as a whole was not the usual tool of royal power, although it helped her to strengthen her position in the country and strengthen herself. The states often opposed the Crown, not wanting to make the decisions it needed. When the class assembly showed character, the monarchs stopped its convocation for a long time. For example, for the period 1468-1560. the states were assembled only once, in 1484.
Conflict between royalty and the Estates General
Royal power almost always sought the right decisions from the Estates General. But this does not mean that the assembly has always unconditionally submitted to the kings. The most serious conflict between royalty and states dates back to 1357. It happened during the urban uprising in Paris, when King Johann was a prisoner of the British.
The work of the Estates General was attended mainly by representatives of the townspeople. They developed a program of reforms, which was called the "Great March Ordinance". In exchange for the funding provided to the authorities, they demanded that the collection of taxes and spending of funds be controlled by an assembly that was supposed to discuss these issues three times a year without the permission of the king. Reformers were elected from the participants, who were endowed with extraordinary powers: the right to control the activities of royal officials, dismiss them and punish them (up to death penalty). But the attempt of the States General to subjugate the finances was not successful. After the suppression of the uprising in Paris and the peasant uprisings of Jacquerie, the crown rejected all reformist demands.
Powers of deputies
Elected deputies had their position on all issues was clearly regulated by the instructions of the voters. After the deputy returned from this or that meeting, he was obliged to report to his electorate.
local meetings
In certain regions of the country (Flanders, Provence) at the end of the XIII century. local class meetings. At first they were called councils, parliaments, or simply representatives of the three estates. However, in the 15th century, the term "states" was firmly entrenched in them. By this time they were already available in almost all provinces. And in the 16th century, the word “provincial” began to be added to the term “states”. The peasant class was not allowed in the meetings. It was not uncommon for kings to oppose certain regional states when they were over-influenced by local feudal nobility. For example, in Languedoc, Normandy, etc.
Reasons for the loss of importance by the Estates General
States-General were created in conditions when the powers of the great feudal lords were not much less than the power of the king himself. The assembly was a convenient counterbalance to local rulers. At that time, they had their own armies, minted their own coins and depended little on the Crown. However, royal power grew stronger over time. The French monarchs gradually increased their influence, building a centralized vertical.
In the 15th century, on the basis of the royal curia, Big advice, which included legalists, as well as 24 highest representatives of the spiritual and secular nobility. It met every month, but the decisions were advisory in nature. In the same century, the post of lieutenant general appeared. They were appointed by the king from among the representatives of the highest nobility to govern provinces or groups of bailjas. Centralization also affected cities. The kings were given the opportunity to restrict citizens in various rights, to change previously issued charters.
The crown also unified the judiciary. This made it possible to reduce the influence of the clergy. The right to collect a permanent tax further strengthened the royal power. Charles VII organized regular army with a clear hierarchy of subordination and centralized leadership. And this led to the fact that medieval France became less dependent on large feudal lords.
Permanent garrisons and military formations appeared in all regions. They were supposed to stop any disobedience and speeches of local feudal lords. Significantly increased the influence on public affairs of the Paris Parliament. The crown also established the Council of Notables, in which only the highest representatives of the estates (except the peasantry) sat. With his consent, new taxes could be introduced. As a result of the strengthening of royal power, the States General in France gradually lost their importance.
States General in France (fr. Etats Genéraux) - the highest estate-representative institution in the years 1302-1789.
The emergence of the States General was associated with the growth of cities, the aggravation of social contradictions and class struggle, which necessitated the strengthening of the feudal state.
The forerunners of the Estates General were extended meetings of the royal council (with the involvement of the city leaders), as well as provincial assemblies of the estates (which laid the foundation for the provincial states). The first Estates-General were convened in 1302, during the conflict between Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII.
The States General were an advisory body convened at the initiative of the royal power at critical moments to assist the government. Their main function was the quota of taxes. Each estate - the nobility, the clergy, the third estate - sat in the States General separately from the others and had one vote (regardless of the number of representatives). The third estate was represented by the top of the townspeople.
The importance of the Estates General increased during the Hundred Years' War of 1337-1453, when the king's power was especially in need of money. During the period of popular uprisings of the XIV century (the Parisian uprising of 1357-1358, Jacquerie 1358), the States General claimed to be actively involved in the government of the country (the States General of 1357 expressed similar requirements in the “Great Ordinance of March”). However, the lack of unity between the cities and their irreconcilable enmity with the nobility made fruitless the attempts by the French States-General to achieve the rights that the English Parliament managed to win.
At the end of the 14th century, the Estates General were convened less and less often and were often replaced by assemblies of notables. From the end of the 15th century, the institution of the States General fell into decline due to the beginning of the development of absolutism, during the years 1484-1560 they did not convene at all (a certain revival of their activity was observed during the Religious Wars - the States General were convened in 1560, 1576, 1588, and 1593 years).
From 1614 to 1789 the Estates General never met again. Only on May 5, 1789, in the conditions of an acute political crisis on the eve of the French Revolution, did the king convene the Estates General. On June 17, 1789, the deputies of the third estate declared themselves the National Assembly; on July 9, the National Assembly proclaimed itself Constituent Assembly, which became the highest representative and legislative body of revolutionary France.
In the 20th century, the name States General was adopted by some representative meetings that considered current political issues and expressed broad public opinion (for example, the Assembly of the States General for Disarmament, May 1963).
XXXIV. The first months of the revolution
(continuation)
Opening of the States General. - Verification of authority. - Proclamation of the National Assembly. - Royal session.
(addition)
if you need BRIEF information on this topic, read the chapters "The States General and the National Assembly" from the Study Book new history N. I. Kareeva. Before starting to get acquainted with this lecture by Kareev, it is recommended to read the supplement to it -
The Estates General met at Versailles at the beginning of May 1789. On the 4th there was a church service, on the 5th the solemn opening of the meetings took place. If the government did not have a definite program of action, then the masters of ceremonies, on the contrary, considered everything related to the external side of the assembly, and at court it was decided that the states of 1789 would adhere to the forms of the states of 1614. Deputies of the privileged estates had to be present at both ceremonies in magnificent suits, the deputies of the third estate in simple black cloaks, and when the keeper of the seal of Barentin was asked if the deputies of the third estate should speak on their knees, he answered: "yes, if it pleases the king." The bishop of Nancy in a church speech asked Louis XVI to accept assurances of devotion (les hommages) from the clergy and respect (les respects) from the nobility, and from the third estate - the humblest requests (les humbles supplications). When, at the solemn meeting on May 5, the king, having taken the throne, put on his hat, the ecclesiastics and nobles also put on their hats, the members of the third estate did the same, but the privileged expressed their displeasure with noise, and Louis XVI immediately took off his hat in order to force everyone bare their heads.
Poll or Possession Voting?
The States General proclaim themselves the National Assembly
When (June 15) the verification of credentials was completed, Sieyès pointed out that there were representatives of at least 96% of the nation in the assembly, who could act without deputies from some bailiffs or ranks of citizens who did not appear, and invited the deputies to declare themselves "an assembly of well-known and authenticated representatives of the French nation." Mirabeau also joined this, who, however, found it better to be called "representatives of the French people." For three days there was a debate about these proposals, until the name was adopted - "national assembly" (assemblée nationale), which was not completely new, since we already find it in the orders of 1789; this time it was prompted by the representatives of the third estate and the deputies of the upper estates who joined them - by one deputy, almost completely unknown to anyone.
The solemn proclamation of the national assembly took place on 17 June; on this day the old class division of French subjects into three ranks (ordres) disappeared, and all the French formed a politically homogeneous nation. This decision was accepted with enthusiasm by the Parisian population and influenced the majority of the deputies of the clergy, who decided to join the third estate; the yard, on the contrary, was terribly annoyed. Louis XVI hesitated for some time between the councils, on the one hand, of Necker, on the other, of his wife, younger brother, princes of the blood, and in general the privileged, but in the end decided to arrange a solemn meeting in order to cancel what had happened with his power. Meanwhile, the National Assembly decreed: 1) an end to the collection of taxes, if the assembly was dissolved, 2) the acceptance of the state debt under the guarantee of the nation, and 3) the formation of a special food committee.
Oath in the ballroom
On June 20, the President of the National Assembly, Bailly, received notice from Barentin that the meetings were adjourned; the deputies and the large public, who had gathered to watch the majority of the clergy go to the hall of the national assembly, found this hall locked and guarded by sentries, and learned that preparations were being made for the royal session in the hall. The deputies then proceeded to the arena of the Jeu de paume [ball-game], where the famous oath of the members of the national assembly, in the presence of a large audience, was made not to disperse, and to assemble wherever possible, until France had a firm constitution. The next day was Sunday. When on Monday (June 22) the representatives of the people wanted to gather again in the Jeu de paume, they were no longer given this room, since c. d "Artois was supposed to play ball there. At that time, a significant part of the lower clergy joined the national assembly, which was invited to sit in the church of St. Louis, "the temple of religion, which became the temple of the fatherland," in the words of one speaker who spoke there. About 150 people from the lower clergy here solemnly joined the national assembly.
Royal meeting 23 June 1789
The announced royal meeting took place on 23 June. From the side of the court and the privileged it was to be the beginning of a reaction against everything that had been done in the name of the new idea of the nation, and for this purpose the form of the former parliamentary lits de justice was applied to the assembly of the representatives of the people. An imperious speech was composed for Louis XVI, which he delivered in a solemn assembly, in the presence of all the deputies, but delivered in an uncertain voice of a man acting not on his own initiative. The decisions of the third estate, as contrary to the laws and the state system, were declared destroyed; it was ordered to keep the old division into estates in full inviolability, it was forbidden to affect any rights belonging to the privileged and royal power; some minor reforms were announced, and it was added that if the states general did not support the good intentions of the government, then the king alone would work for the good of his subjects and consider himself their only representative. “I order you, gentlemen,” said Louis XVI in conclusion, to disperse immediately, and tomorrow morning to gather each estate in the chamber allotted for it.
The clergy and nobles obeyed and left after the monarch, but the third estate remained in their places. Then the master of ceremonies, Dreux-Brese, returned to the hall and said to the president: “Gentlemen! - you heard the order of the king, ”to which he received the following answer from Bayi:“ It seems to me that orders should not be given to the assembled nation. Mirabeau, who, before the arrival of Dreux-Brezet, had made a speech against the insulting dictatorship of the king, who is only a representative (mandataire) of the nation, and recalled the oath not to disperse until a constitution was given to France, now rose from his seat and uttered the famous words: “yes, we have heard the intentions inspired by the king, and you, who cannot be his organ before the estates general, having no place here, no voice, no right to speak, you are not created to remind us of his speech. However, in order to avoid any misunderstanding and any delay, I announce to you (the legend has reduced all the previous into one phrase: "go tell your master") that if you have been authorized to make us leave here, you must demand orders to use force, for we let us leave our places only under the pressure of bayonets.
Dreux-Brezet retired from the hall, backing away, as if in the presence of the king, and one Breton deputy exclaimed: “What is this? the king speaks to us like a master when he should ask us for advice.” “Gentlemen! Sieyes addressed the assembly: “Today you remain the same as you were yesterday: let’s get down to the debate.” And the National Assembly declared that the decisions adopted by it retained all their force, and decreed the inviolability of the person of the deputy, under the threat of accusing anyone who would encroach on this inviolability with a state crime.
At court, such an outcome of the royal meeting was not expected, Marie Antoinette was glad at first that everything turned out well, and introducing the Dauphin to the deputies of the nobility, she said that she entrusted him to their protection, but news came of the resistance of the third estate, and the mood changed. The coup d'état conceived by the court against the revolution that had taken place had to be recognized as a failure, and the bewildered Louis XVI declared that if they (i.e., the deputies of the third estate) did not want to disperse, then let them stay. Necker was thought to be dismissed, but now the king begged him not to leave his post, and the popularity of this minister, whose absence from the royal meeting was noticed by all, greatly increased after that. The next day, the majority of the clergy appeared in the hall of the national assembly, and then this example was soon followed by a small minority of the nobility, headed by the Duke of Orleans. Finally, on the advice of Necker, the king himself ordered other representatives of the privileged to come to the meeting in the common room. On June 27, the deputies of the clergy and nobility finally merged with the third estate.
Reaction attempts
The court party, with Marie Antoinette at the head, did not want to come to terms with the victory of the third estate. The first attempt at counter-revolution, made on June 23, was to be followed by another - this time with the same bayonets that Mirabeau pointed out. That conservative opposition, which had previously hindered the necessary reforms, was now most resolutely preparing a new reaction, but if previously this opposition had been strengthened to a certain extent by support from the people, who had ceased to trust the authorities, then under the new circumstances that came after June 17, in no way there could not be the slightest solidarity between the privileged and the popular masses. Now, on the contrary, reactionary attempts directed against the national assembly were only supposed to kindle the passions of the people, to direct them in defense of this very national assembly. If on June 23 the deputies of the third estate, recognizing themselves as representatives of a sovereign nation, disobeyed the royal will, which was not supported by physical force, then in mid-July an attempt to restore the old political system by force, with the help of the army, provoked a violent rebuff from the Parisian people. This rebuff saved the national assembly, but at the same time brought to the political stage the population of the capital, which was then destined to play such a prominent role in the events of the revolution. This is the meaning of the July events, which were followed by the October events, which, as we shall see, were already less favorable not only for the royal power, but also for the national assembly itself.
In the history of the summer and autumn months of 1789, the reactionary attempts of the court and the revolutionary movement among the people go hand in hand. Some historians are inclined to explain the popular uprisings of that time solely by the feeling of self-preservation of the masses of the people in the face of the menacing situation of the court and are therefore ready to blame one court for the anarchy that began then in France, while others, on the contrary, sometimes try to explain the repressive measures solely by this anarchy, to which the court party considered it necessary to resort to. Neither one nor the other can be recognized as true in itself: both are true together, but again with a caveat, since both popular revolts and court reaction had a deeper origin. Of course, the reaction greatly added fuel to the fire, and it caused the grandiose July and October uprisings, and these events, in turn, forced the reactionary party to think about more energetic repression, but popular unrest long preceded the revolution, having its reasons in the then state of France , in the poor economic situation of the masses of the people, in general social disorganization, in an anxious and excited mood of minds, and on the other hand, the court opposition against all sorts of political and social innovations was not a new phenomenon, since again it was rooted in the general state of France , in the meaning that the court received in the life of the country, in its alliance with the conservative elements of society, in its influence on the royal power. Both forces now entered into an open struggle: the suspicious behavior of the court caused popular uprisings, and popular uprisings served as an excuse for the court to think about repression. In this struggle between the court and the people, which was aggravated mainly due to the reactionary direction of the court party, The position of the National Assembly was, as we shall see, very difficult, and the court party, which did not want to recognize the events that had taken place, by its behavior itself prepared a new coup, even more formidable for it and at the same time turned out to be unfavorable for the national assembly. If on June 23 power passed from the hands of the king into the hands of the representatives of the nation, then there was still a seizure of power directly by the Parisian population, who thought that by doing so they were saving freedom from the intrigues of the court party.
After the failure of the royal meeting on June 23, at the beginning of the next month, troops began to be drawn to Paris and Versailles, consisting mainly of foreign mercenaries. of different nationalities; at their head were Breteuil and Marshal Broglie (Broglie), who decided on the most extreme measures against the national assembly and the Parisian population. On July 9, the national assembly, which on that day adopted the name of the constituent assembly or constituents (constituante), asked the king to remove the troops - and in this matter again Mirabeau had to play one of the very first roles - but the king replied that the troops were necessary to protect himself National Assembly, and that if it is disturbed, then it can be transferred to Noyon or Soissons. Meanwhile, the court decided to act again. On July 11, it became known that Necker had received his resignation and with it the order to leave France immediately and without publicity, and that a new ministry was formed from Broglie, Breteuil, the cleric Voguyon and Foulon, to whom the rumor [falsely] attributed these words about the famine: “ if the people want to eat, let them eat hay.” The National Assembly sent a deputation to the king with a request to return Necker and send the troops to their former camps, but this deputation was not accepted. Then the assembly decreed that the nation would admonish Necker and his comrades with an expression of confidence and regret, that the new ministers and advisers to the king, whatever their rank and position, would be responsible for their actions, and that eternal disgrace would cover whoever proposed state bankruptcy.
