This textbook has been written to help teachers and students to pilot their way through the enormous and ever expanding literature on the French Revolution. The author makes a conscious effort to combine social and political interpretations of the origins of the Revolution and offers a synthesis which takes full account of current debates. He also seeks to restore the Revolution to its domestic environment. Notwithstanding the powerful contemporary myth of rupture, the author argues that the dramatic events of 1789 need to be considered alongside the reform achievements of Bourbon absolute monarchy. The result is a new account of the gestation of the Revolution which is both up-to-date and satisfying in its range of vision.
Author(s): Peter Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 1995
Language: English
Pages: 275
City: Cambridge
Tags: France, 18th century, French Revolution
Introduction 1
1 Government 12
Defining France 12
Institutions 2 4
A well-ordered state? 4 5
2 Society 50
Privilege 58
Towards a unified elite? 66
The challenge of public opinion 7 2
3 Economy 80
Agriculture 8 3
Industry 8 8
Trade 9 6
Downturn 100
4 Reformers and the reform constituency 107
Reform ministers 109
Bureaucrats 120
The reform constituency 127
5 Towards 'a truly national representation', 1787-1789 139
Assemblies versus estates 142
Necker and the preparations for the Estates General 156
Representation by riot 166
6 The National Assembly, 1789-1791 175
Redefining the nation 176
Rebuilding the nation 191
The search for consensus 2 0 7
Published online by Cambridge University Press
x Contents
7 The political culture of revolution 215
Language and symbols 217
Elections 222
Enlarging the public sphere 226
Conclusion 237
Notes 247
Bibliography 261
Index 272
