The Summoning of the Estates-General

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how King Louis XVI, like the other Kings of France before him, governed an absolute monarchy, by his "divine right" where he was allegedly in sole charge of his sovereign state. It discusses how by 1778, with an increasing pressure from the aristocracy and a worsening financial situation, the King was forced to summon the Estates-General, a representative group of the three orders of French society. It attempts to determine exactly why King Louis decided to allow the Estates-General to be re-called by focusing on the current financial crisis, the aristocratic revolt and the King himself.

From the Paper:

"However, the French aristocracy strongly opposed any attempted reforms. They were unwilling to welcome any strengthening of the royal government as they strongly objected to absolutism (for fear of reducing their power and privileges). As much of the money lent to the government came from the French elite, the royal government had always tried to please them. In 1789, Calonne decided to produce a new government body in an effort to show some sort of national agreement in France, and by doing so attempted to win the aristocracy's support. He chose not to summon the Estates-General as he felt they were too temperamental, but picked 144 members from the higher estates to form the Assembly of Notables."

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