3 Bourgeois liberalism and revolutionary politics
-
Stephen Miller
Abstract
Historians have written about the growth of manufacturing in Lyonnais but have not explored the concrete ways it affected politics in the decades before the Revolution. I demonstrate that the political culture of the province promoted free trade as the means of furthering the expansion of local workshops. Immersed in this culture, the members of the provincial assembly publicly criticized the royal monopolies and tax farms inhibiting commerce. Yet when it came to actually reforming these institutions, they recoiled before the vested interests of local investors, court nobles, and royal finances. The discrepancy between the assembly’s liberal declarations and lack of action focused the gaze of commoners on the enduring privileges which, by all accounts, restricted opportunities and perpetuated poverty. People were thus motivated to join violent and fatal revolts in the summer of 1789 against the offices and personnel of the monopoly companies and tax farmers in St.-Étienne and Lyon.
Abstract
Historians have written about the growth of manufacturing in Lyonnais but have not explored the concrete ways it affected politics in the decades before the Revolution. I demonstrate that the political culture of the province promoted free trade as the means of furthering the expansion of local workshops. Immersed in this culture, the members of the provincial assembly publicly criticized the royal monopolies and tax farms inhibiting commerce. Yet when it came to actually reforming these institutions, they recoiled before the vested interests of local investors, court nobles, and royal finances. The discrepancy between the assembly’s liberal declarations and lack of action focused the gaze of commoners on the enduring privileges which, by all accounts, restricted opportunities and perpetuated poverty. People were thus motivated to join violent and fatal revolts in the summer of 1789 against the offices and personnel of the monopoly companies and tax farmers in St.-Étienne and Lyon.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgments vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 The king’s entourage and public clashes over provincial assemblies 14
- 2 The emergence of anti-noble politics and the provincial assembly of Berry 49
- 3 Bourgeois liberalism and revolutionary politics 75
- 4 Poitou and the question of feudalism, from the Old Regime to revolution and counterrevolution 105
- 5 Provincial assemblies and the revolutionary challenge to patrimonialism 138
- 6 Village elections and the development of liberal perspectives on government 161
- Conclusion 185
- Bibliography 194
- Index 217
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgments vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 The king’s entourage and public clashes over provincial assemblies 14
- 2 The emergence of anti-noble politics and the provincial assembly of Berry 49
- 3 Bourgeois liberalism and revolutionary politics 75
- 4 Poitou and the question of feudalism, from the Old Regime to revolution and counterrevolution 105
- 5 Provincial assemblies and the revolutionary challenge to patrimonialism 138
- 6 Village elections and the development of liberal perspectives on government 161
- Conclusion 185
- Bibliography 194
- Index 217
