French national assembly abolishes exemptions from taxes

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.04: French Writing and Culture: Eighteenth-Century and the Enlightenment, 1700-1800.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Jenny Mander (University of Cambridge), Síofra Pierse (University College Dublin), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Domains

Taxation

Dates

Date of occurrence 1789-08-04

Places

France (Location)

Resources

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Following days of rioting and popular action throughout France, mainly targeting the nobility, the National Assembly, encouraged by aristocrats as well as commoners, abolishes all exemptions from taxation and personal servitude, clerical tithe and the purchase of administrative offices. When the agreements were ratified on 11th August, distinctions were made between feudal rules based on coercion, and seigneurial dues based upon contract, which were seen as rights of free markets and contracts and therefore preserved. The bourgeois mentality succeeded; the rural poor lost out.

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84 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "French national assembly abolishes exemptions from taxes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4232, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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