The aristocratic revolution was the first stage of the French revolution. In 1787, the country had the largest population in Europe. Feeding and supporting this population, along with extravagant spending by the noble or aristocratic class, resulted in a large deficit. In order to address this issue, the controller of finances at the time, Charles Alexander de Colonne, proposed raising taxes on the rich, also known as the bourgeoisie or aristocrats. The idea is similar to...
The aristocratic revolution was the first stage of the French revolution. In 1787, the country had the largest population in Europe. Feeding and supporting this population, along with extravagant spending by the noble or aristocratic class, resulted in a large deficit. In order to address this issue, the controller of finances at the time, Charles Alexander de Colonne, proposed raising taxes on the rich, also known as the bourgeoisie or aristocrats. The idea is similar to current debates surrounding taxation of the rich in American society today. Some argue that the wealthier classes should pay more taxes in order to support the growing population of the underclass and to lessen the burden of the deficit. You can think of the 1% as the aristocracy and the 99% as the third estate.
The aristocrats refused to pay higher taxes and this led to the aristocratic revolt. The aristocracy included members of the parliament and of the courts, so the country came to a standstill. This was in 1788, also the year of a terrible harvest, so the country was going hungry. Again, we can see parallels in the current state of affairs in the United States. The wealthy are refusing to pay higher taxes, the ruling officials have come to a standstill, and the poor masses of people are seeing their situation decline.
In response to this aristocratic refusal to pay higher taxes, an assembly was convened which included this group along with the clergy and the common people, known as the third estate. This convention was to determine the future of the country, but the aristocracy wanted to have their votes count as equal to those of the common people that outnumbered them. This was denied and the aristocratic revolt crystallized.
The new assembly was formed at the same that the food shortage was getting worse and the peasants were pressing for reforms. The reforms that resulted from the revolution included the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the dissolution of the feudal system that created such great divisions between the aristocracy and the rest of the population in the first place.
So the importance of the aristocratic revolution is that it led the peasants, in combination with the food shortage and the spread of Enlightenment ideals, to revolt against the upper classes. The refusal of the aristocrats to pay higher taxes or recognize the voice of the lower classes in the National Assembly is what is considered as the aristocratic revolt. This sparked the revolt of the peasants and the French Revolution, resulting in the reforms that shaped the trajectory of European governance for the following centuries.
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