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<p>The Salic law, written and reformed under Clovis, had as its subject the overall policing of the State. It was written in <i>parlement</i> and in concert with the Frankish people, and the preamble of the law mentions that "Clovis agreed with the Franks to add several amendments to the Salic law," [<i>Clodoveus unà cum Francis pertractavit, ui ad titulos aliquid ampliùs adderet</i>]. This agreement thus became known as the "Conventions of Salic Law" [<i>pactus Legis Salicoe</i>]. . . .</p> <p>[In these edicts] one finds our fundamental maxim: that no edict has the force of law in the kingdom until it has been examined and registered in<i> parlement</i> since it is the custom of France, as Louis XI himself said, and whatever laws are not published in that way will have no value.</p> <p>It is again evident that our kings took great care in their laws and edicts to make it clear that everyone had been involved in the deliberations and that there had been consensus: We assembled, from all stations in life, have decided; it is the resolution of the King, the Princes, and the People. The combination of royal authority, together with the consideration and free consent of <i>parlement</i>, gave power to the edict that no force could break. Consequently, the Prince had unshakable proof that his commands were just, and the People knew that the obedience required of them was reasonable. The Monarch was reassured that he himself had not erred, or that a favorite counselor, himself possibly mistaken, had not misled him, and the People were reassured that they had only fair laws to obey. It was, in brief, mutual assurance—reciprocal confidence that bound the Prince and his subjects.</p> <p>As I have already mentioned, if under the second Race [dynasty] it was no longer possible to seek everyone's approval, in that not everyone was [represented] in <i>Parlement</i> this constitutive law of the Monarchy become no less solid because it continued to require the approval of all the members of the <i>parlement</i>. Besides, the deliberation of all Frenchmen was presumed by the deliberation of their representatives. Charlemagne, that greatest and most powerful of all our kings, was himself so aware of the importance of this general approval by the People and of the mutual confidence that resulted from equitable laws, that, in a remarkable arrangement, he worked in concert with his <i>Parlement</i> on laws so that it would be known that he had received universal approval. He ordered that the People's opinion be polled, no doubt each in his own jurisdiction, and that if they consented to the newly amended law, each private individual put his mark or seal upon it. [<i>Ut populus interrogetur de capitulis quoe in Lege noviter addita sunt, & postquam omnes consenserint, suscriptiones vel manu firmationes suas in ipfis capitulis faciant</i>.] This order was inserted into the Salic law itself, where it can still be read; and Charles the Bald made sure to renew its authorization by having it inserted into the preface that he wrote for it.</p> <p>But this arrangement became impractical, and those making up <i>parlement</i> in succeeding periods, in this respect, became entirely the representatives of past General Assemblies. It is in their collectivity that the fundamental law is concentrated, established by those same royal edicts which, during every period of monarchical rule, required the opinion and the approval of <i>parlement</i> as an essential condition. They would refuse the title of Public Law to any edicts that they had not verified nor agreed to register.</p> <p>The end result is that in our new Government the <i>parlement's </i>consent continued to be as totally free as it was in the earliest <i>parlements</i>. . . .</p> <p>On the important point [of usurping the<i> parlement's</i> power], the King's laws [must] conform with the conscience, and in all cases he must be forbidden from doing otherwise.</p> <p>Consequently we should not think that the consent of <i>parlement</i> and the required registration of national law was ever merely a simple formality or empty ritual. In all periods, it has been a serious examination, an act of persuasion and of conscience which always required full and complete freedom.</p> <p>This right [of approval by the <i>parlement</i>] was born at the same time as the Monarchy and seemed to our kings to be so wise, so proper, that it made their thrones unshakable. By preventing all unjust use of their authority, when colonizing the Gauls, not only did the kings maintain the <i>parlement's</i> role as essential, the keystone upon which the rest depended, but they, in fact, commanded it. The kings themselves enjoined <i>parlement</i> to refuse them, even ordering that they be resisted if need be, and to pay no heed to any order contrary to Justice and the Law.</p> <p>And so, Sir, the <i>parlement</i> obeyed in appearing disobedient, since in their defiance, they were carrying out the orders of the kings themselves, and in disobeying they were fulfilling the law that he had ordered: that is . . . to disobey. Besides, the <i>parlement</i> said to Henry IV: "If it is disobedience to serve well, the <i>parlement</i> commits this misdeed regularly. When conflict exists between the absolute power of the King and the good of his service, [the <i>parlement</i>] judges one to be preferable to the other, not through disobedience but because it is the duty of <i>parlement</i> to discharge its office according to its conscience."</p> <p>Thus, when you ask me what the <i>parlement's</i> authority consisted of previously on the question of Edicts and the law, and what it consists of today, the answer is easy. It is today, Sire, all that it was in Clovis's time. Today, as then, the <i>parlement's</i> authority is but to do its duty in an unassailable way and to never do anything, nor register anything, contrary to the Law of the Kingdom and which is not in the true interest of the Monarch and the Monarchy, lest it receive a warning from its conscience. <i>Parlement</i> must know how to courageously say: "SIRE, that is not just, you cannot do that, nor should you."</p>
Sortable Date
1753-00-00
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Louis-Adrien Le Paige, <i>Lettres historiques sur les fonctions essentielles du Parlement</i> (Amsterdam, 1753), 82–83, 87–93, 96–97.
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Louis–Adrien Le Paige was the leading theoretician of Parlementary claims against the crown in the 1750s. His <i>Historical Letters on the Essential Functions of the Parlement</i> (1753) traced the history of the <i>parlements</i> from what he claimed to be their medieval origins—assemblies held by Frankish warriors to elect kings. Criticizing what he perceived to be the inadequate attention being paid by Louis XV to his <i>parlements</i>, Le Paige makes the historical case that far from being creations of the crown to which they remained subordinate, the <i>parlements</i> had actually created the monarchy—and thus should have the final say on all royal decrees. In this passage, Le Paige argues that because of this history, the <i>parlements</i> were not being "disobedient" to the King in asserting their sovereignty.
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248
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Legislation and Public Police Powers (1753)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/248/
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1753
Enlightenment
Laws
Monarchy
Nobility
Public Opinion
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<p>The desire to ease the burdens placed on the people is too praiseworthy in a sovereign and conforms so much with the wishes of your <i>parlement,</i> that the latter could never conceive of dissuading Your Majesty from such a noble and legitimate goal.</p> <p>But when projects, with such pleasant prospects, lead to real and increased injustices and even imperil the constitution and the tranquility of the state, it is our faithful duty, without seeking to place obstacles in the way of your beneficence, to establish laws against the imprudent efforts being made to commit Your Majesty to a course of action whose pitfalls and dangers have been concealed from you. . . .</p> <p>Your <i>parlement</i> understood that the edict substituting a universal, indefinite, and perpetual land tax for the <i>corvée</i>, under the guise of the apparent relief it offers the people, could at first glance have seemed a beneficent act inspired by love of humanity. But at the same time, Sire, your <i>parlement</i> was sure that a more careful examination of the edict would reveal to Your Majesty that it represents a policy burdensome even for those whom you wish to help, and contrary to the sense of justice that motivates you.</p> <p>Justice, Sire, is the first duty of kings. Without it, the rarest of virtue can produce the most unfortunate of results. It is justice that determines the true value of royal actions, and once it has left its mark on a reign, that monarch will forever be revered.</p> <p>The first rule of justice is to preserve for every man that which belongs to him. This is the fundamental rule of natural law, as well as of the law of nations and of civil government. It is a rule that consists not only of maintaining property rights, but also of preserving personal rights, in addition to those which derive from the prerogatives of birth and Estate.</p> <p>From this rule of law and equity it follows that any system designed to create an equality of duties between men, even under the guise of humanity and benevolence, would tend to destroy those distinctions that are necessary to a well-ordered monarchy, and quickly result in disorder. The inevitable result of absolute equality would be the overthrow of civil society, which is maintained in harmony only through the hierarchy of power, authority, precedence, and distinction which keeps each man in his place and protects all states of being from confusion.</p> <p>This social order is not only essential to the practice of every sound governmentÑit has its origin in divine law. The infinite and immutable wisdom obvious in the universe established an unequal distribution of strength and character, necessarily resulting in inequality in the conditions of men within the social order. Despite the best efforts of the human mind, this 'universal law' is found in every realm, in turn maintaining the order that preserves it. . . .</p> <p>In the assembly created by these different orders, <i>all the people of your kingdom are your subjects</i>, and all must contribute to the needs of the state. But general order and harmony must be upheld even in this contribution. The personal responsibility of the clergy is to fulfill all the functions relating to education and religion and to aid the unfortunate through alms. The noble devotes his life to the defense of the state and assists the sovereign by providing council. The last class of the nation, which cannot render such distinguished service to the state, fulfills its obligation through taxes, industry and physical labor. . . .</p> <p>These institutions were not formed by chance, and time cannot change them. To abolish them, the whole French constitution would have to be overturned. . . .</p> <p>In freeing the last class of citizens from the <i>corvée</i> that it has been subject to until now, the edict transfers the burden to the two orders of the state which have never had to pay it. There will no longer be any difference between your subjects. The noble and the cleric become subject to the <i>corvée</i> or the tax that replaces the <i>corvée</i>, which amounts to the same thing.</p> <p>Sire, this is not a struggle between rich and poor, as some have tried to convince you. It is a governmental question, and a most important one, since it is a matter of knowing whether all your subjects can or should be treated identically, and whether differences in conditions, ranks, titles and precedence should cease to be acknowledged. . . .</p> <p>It was the descendants of those ancient knights who placed or kept the crown on the head of Your Majesty's forefathers. It was these noble descendents, poor and virtuous, who, for so many centuries shed their blood for the extension and defense of the monarchy, and who, with another kind of magnanimity, have neglected their own fortunes or spent them in order to dedication themselves entirely to the public good. The revenues of these pureblooded nobles are limited to the modest yield of the lands inherited from their fathers which they cultivate with their own hands, often without the help of any servants other than their children. Gentlemen such as these could be exposed to the humiliation of seeing themselves dragged off to the <i>corvée</i>! . . .</p> <p>Consequently, in reflecting on the law and the constitution of this state, Your Majesty will no longer doubt that this plan, against which Your<i> parlement</i> protests only so that it may fulfill its duty, clearly leads to the annihilation of the time-honored exemptions for the nobility and the clergy, to the confusion of Estates, and to the subversion of the monarchy's constitutional principles.</p> <p><i>Parlementary Argument against the Edict Suppressing the Guilds presented to the King at the </i>lit de justice<i> [seat of justice] of 12 March 1776</i></p> <p>Liberty is without doubt the principle of all actions, it lies at the core of each Estate, and, above all, it is the life force and primary impetus of commerce. But Sire, this belief, so common today and which is heard from one end of the kingdom to another, must not be understood to mean unlimited liberty that knows no other law than its own vagaries, and acknowledges no rules beyond its own. This kind of liberty is nothing more than a veritable independence which would soon be transformed into unfettered license, opening the door to every abuse. This source of wealth would then become a source of destruction, a source of disorder, an occasion for fraud and plunderÑthe inevitable result being the total annihilation of the arts and of artisans, of confidence and of commerce. . . .</p> <p>Sire, your subjects are divided into as many different bodies as there are Estates in the kingdom: the clergy, the nobility, the high courts and lower tribunals, the officers attached to these tribunals, the universities and academies, the banks and commercial companies. In every part of the state there are bodies that can be seen as links in a great chain, the first link of which is in the hands of Your Majesty as head and sovereign administrator of all that constitutes the body of the nation.</p> <p>The very idea of destroying this precious chain should be appalling. The corporations of merchants and artisans form a necessary part of this indivisible whole which contributes to the general security of the realm. Sire, because independence is a defect in the political constitution and men are always tempted to abuse liberty, the law has instituted corporations, created guilds, and established regulations. The law has wished to prevent fraud of all kinds and to remedy all abuses. The law watches equally over the interest of the buyer and the seller; it maintains mutual confidence between the two; it is, so to speak, under the guarantee of the public trust that allows the merchant to display his merchandise before the customer and for the customer to receive it with confidence from the merchant. Guilds can be considered as so many small republics occupied solely with the general interest of all its members. And if it is true that the general interest results from the merging of the interests of each individual, it is equally true then that each member, in working for his own personal advantage, works necessarily, even without wishing to, for the true benefit of the whole community. To loosen the springs that move this multitude of different bodies, to annihilate the guilds, to abolish the regulations, in a word to disperse the members of all the corporations, is to destroy all the various means which commerce itself must want for its own preservation. Every manufacturer, every artisan, every worker will see himself as an isolated entity, dependent only upon himself and free to indulge his often disordered imagination. All subordination will be destroyed, there will be no more checks and balances, and the desire for profit will drive all the workshops. Since honesty is not always the surest way to wealth, the entire public, native and foreign alike, will be the constant dupes of well-prepared secret schemes designed blind and entice them. Sire, do not believe that in our constant concern with the public welfare we are yielding to foolish terrors. Our resolution has been prompted by the most powerful arguments, and Your Majesty would be within his rights to accuse us one day of prevarication if we tried to hide them. Our principal motivation is the interest of commerce in general, not only in the capital but in the entire kingdom, not only in France, but in all of Europe, in fact, in the entire world. </p>
Sortable Date
1776-00-00
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Jules Flammermont,<i> Remonstrances du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe siècle, </i>vol. 3 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 188898), 27592, 34454.
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In these remonstrances, the magistrates of the <i>Parlement</i> of Paris,recently restored to their position by Louis XVI after having been "exiled" from office by Louis XV in 1771, voice their opposition to reforms proposed by the finance minister, Anne–Robert–Jacques Turgot. In the first, they argue against Turgot’s idea of raising money by taxing lands owned by nobles. The magistrates (themselves all noble landowners) cite the tradition whereby only those subject to the obligatory labor of the <i>corvée </i>(that is, only peasants) should have to pay taxes to the crown. Note their emphasis on "justice" over rational reform of royal fiscal policy. In the second, they oppose Turgot’s attempt to suppress the guilds in order to promote commerce and thus enhance royal revenues. The magistrates draw on the traditional argument that society is made up not of individuals, but of groups of people bound into corporations.
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250
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Remonstrances of <i>Parlement</i> of Paris against Turgot’s Six Edicts (1776)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/250/
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1776
Enlightenment
Laws
Nobility
Public Opinion
Text
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Text
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<p>One owes this much justice to public men who have benefited their own age, to consider the point from which they started in order to perceive more clearly the changes they wrought in their country. Posterity owes them eternal gratitude for the examples they gave, even though such examples have been surpassed. Such lawful glory is their only reward. It is certain that the love of such glory inspired Louis XIV, at the time of his taking the government into his own hands, in his desire to improve his kingdom, beautify his court and perfect the arts.</p> <p>Not only did he impose upon himself the duty of regularly transacting affairs with each of his ministers, but any well-known man could obtain a private audience with him and any citizen was free to present petitions and projects to him. The petitions were first received by a master of requests who wrote his recommendations in the margin; and they were then dispatched to the ministerial offices. Projects were examined in council if they were thought worthy of such attention, and their authors were on more than one occasion admitted to discuss their proposals with the ministers in the king's presence. There was thus a channel between the throne and the nation which existed notwithstanding the absolute power of the monarch.</p> <p>The city of Paris was very far from being what it is today. The streets were unlighted, unsafe and dirty. It was necessary to find money for the constant cleaning of the streets, for lighting them every night with five thousand lamps, completely paving the whole city, building two new gates and repairing the old ones, keeping the permanent guard, both foot and mounted, to ensure the safety of the citizens. The king charged himself with everything, drawing upon funds for such necessary expenses. In 1667 he appointed a magistrate whose sole duty was to superintend the police. Most of the large cities of Europe have imitated these examples long afterwards, but none has equaled them. There is no city paved like Paris, and Rome is not even illuminated.</p> <p>From 1661 the king was ceaseless in his building at the Louvre, Saint-Germain and the Versailles. Following his example private individuals erected thousands of dwellings in Paris as magnificent as they were comfortable. Their number increased to such an extent that in the environs of the Palais-Royal and St. Sulpice two new towns sprang up in Paris, both vastly superior to the old. It was about this time that those magnificent spring carriages with mirrors were invented, so that a citizen of Paris could ride through the streets of that great city in greater luxury than the first Roman triumvirs along the road to the Capitol. Inaugurated in Paris, the custom soon spread throughout the whole of Europe, and, become general, it is no longer a luxury.</p> <p>The suppression of dueling was one of the greatest services rendered to the country. Formerly such duels had been sanctioned by kings, even by parliament and by the Church, and though forbidden since the days of Henry IV, the pernicious practice was more prevalent than ever. The famous combat of 1663, when eight combatants were engaged, determined Louis XIV to pardon such duels no longer. His well-timed severity gradually reformed the nation and even neighboring nations who conformed to our wise customs after having copied our bad ones.</p> <p>Legislator of his people, he was no less so of his armies. It is astonishing that before his time the troops had no uniform dress. It was he who in the first year of his administration decreed that each regiment should be distinguished by the color of their uniform, or by different badges—a regulation which was soon adopted by all other nations. It was he who organized the brigadiers and gave the king's household troops the status they hold at the present day. He formed a company of musketeers and fixed the number of men for the two companies at five hundred.</p> <p>It will be seen by this cursory glance what great changes Louis XIV brought about in the state; and that such changes were useful since they are still in force. His ministers vied with each other in their eagerness to assist him. The details, indeed the whole execution of such schemes was doubtless due to them, but his was the general organization. There can be no shadow of doubt that the magistrates would never have reformed the laws, the finances of the country would not have been put on a sound basis, nor discipline introduced into the army, nor a regular police force instituted throughout the kingdom; there would have been no fleets, no encouragement accorded to the arts; all these things would never have been peacefully and steadily accomplished in such a short period and under so many different ministers, had there not been a ruler to conceive of such great schemes, and with a will strong enough to carry them out.</p> <p>Every king who loves glory loves the public weal; about 1698 he commanded each comptroller to present a detailed description of his province for the instruction of the Duke of Burgundy. By this means it was possible to have an exact record of the whole kingdom and a correct census of the population.</p>
Sortable Date
1756-00-00
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Voltaire, <i>The Age of Louis XIV,</i> translated by W. F. Flemming, 2 vols. (London: E. R. Dumont, [1756] 1901), 2:320–33.
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François–Marie Arouet, who wrote under the name Voltaire, was both the best–known and most tireless advocate of the Enlightenment and also a close associate of several European kings and many French aristocrats. In his widely read history, <i>The Age of Louis XIV</i>, he exalted the achievements of the Bourbon monarchy, which had brought such glory and honor to France. In this passage, Voltaire lauds the reforms Louis XIV made in the royal government, implying that such reforms might again be useful in advancing France’s greatness.
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253
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Voltaire, "Internal Government" (1756)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/253/
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1756
Economic Conditions
Enlightenment
Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie
Monarchy
Nobility
Public Opinion
Text
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Text
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<p>The main fruit you will get from the study of our History will not be to convince you that your authority is absolute. Instead, it will be to know its purpose, its measure and its rule. You will also learn—through the experience of centuries—that . . . the most independent Sovereignty is like all human matters. It is conserved through good use, changed by abuse and destroyed if used wrongly. . . .</p> <p>Indeed, to reign does not mean to be delighted, it rather means to delight others; it means to provide them with the benefits of Nature and to defend society against its own injustice as well as against its neighbors. . . . To govern a State implies to ensure men with all the advantages the Author of Nature attributed to the establishment of Societies, and this through steady and regular rules. The choice and the enforcement of these rules is what we call Public Administration, and we refer to Public Law as the science that teaches the principles of this administration and the Laws that are responsible for guiding it. . . .</p> <p>Through comparisons, you will be convinced of the inalienable rights of humanity, these same rights are the true and fundamental principles of all societies and represent the dedicated outlines of all human Laws. After examining the nature of the Government throughout our history, you will then look for the one that should always exist so that Kings are powerful and Peoples free and happy. You will notice that the Public Law of a Nation can never be arbitrary, because natural Law is the base of it. Art can always improve its tools, but can never change its principles or invert its end.</p>
Sortable Date
1773-00-00
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Jacob-Nicolas Moreau, <i>Leçons de Morale, de politique et de droit public </i>(Versailles: De l'imprimerie du Département des affaires étrangères, 1773), 15–16, 21–26, 49, 76–80, 139–48.
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Jacob–Nicolas Moreau wrote his "lessons of morality, politics and law" for the instruction of the Dauphin. Throughout the 200–page book, Moreau defends the power of the King to rule France without opposition. In this passage, he emphasized that the current King must be actively involved in governing and could no longer inspire respect from his subjects merely by occupying the throne, as had monarchs in earlier times. Furthermore, Moreau wrote, only an active King could defend order and thus preserve the liberty of his people.
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254
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Moreau, "Principles of Monarchy" (1773)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/254/
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1773
Enlightenment
Monarchy
Nobility
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
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<p>Abuses</p> <p>Abuses [in tax payment] . . . are defended by self-interest, influence, wealth and ancient prejudices which seem to be hallowed by time; but what are all these together compared with the common good and the necessity of the state?</p> <p>These abuses oppress the wealth-producing, laboring class: the abuses of pecuniary privilege; exceptions to the general rule, and so many unjust; exemptions which only relieve one section of taxpayers by aggravating the condition of the others. . . .</p> <p>The projects which the King intends to impart to you . . . . are neither doctrinaire nor novelties. They represent a summary of . . . the plans for the public good long contemplated by experienced statesmen and by the government itself. Some have been attempted in part and all seem to have the backing of the nation, but hitherto their complete implementation appeared impracticable because of the difficulty of reconciling a host of local customs, claims, privileges and conflicting interests.</p> <p>To this end, His Majesty has first of all considered the various forms of administration which occur in those provinces without [local] Estates. In order that the distribution of taxation may cease to be unequal and arbitrary, He has decided to confide the task to the landowners and he has derived from the first principles of the monarchy the general plan of a graduated series of deliberative assemblies whereby the expression of the taxpayers' wishes and their observations on everything which concerns them will be transmitted from parish to district assemblies, thence to provincial assemblies and through them to the throne.</p> <p>Next His Majesty brought all his personal attention to bear on establishing the same principle of uniformity . . . . in the distribution of the land tax. . . . He recognized that . . . the <i>vingtièmes </i>[one-twentieth], instead of being assessed as they should be on all the land in his kingdom in true proportion to the value of the crop, suffer an infinity of exceptions which are tolerated rather than regarded as legitimate. . . . The revenue of this general tax, instead of providing the government with vital information about the produce of the kingdom and the relative wealth of each province, serve only to demonstrate the offensive inequality between their various contributions. . . .</p> <p>His Majesty has decided to remedy these defects by applying the rules of a strictly distributive justice, by restoring the original intention behind the tax, and by raising it to its true value without increasing anyone's contribution (indeed granting some relief to the people), and finally by making every kind of privilege incompatible. The <i>vingtièmes</i> will be replaced by a general land tax covering the whole area of the kingdom on a proportion of all produce, payable in kind where feasible, otherwise in money, and admitting of no exception, even the crown lands other than those resulting from the varying fertility of the soil and the varying harvests.</p> <p>The lands of the [Roman Catholic] Church would necessarily be included in this general assessment which, to be fair, must include all land as does the protection for which it is the price. But in order that these lands should not be overburdened by continuing to pay the taxes collected to fund the debt of the clergy, the King, sovereign protector of the churches of his kingdom, has decided to provide for the repayment of this debt by granting the clergy the necessary authorization to make the repayment [by selling off feudal rights, etc.] . . . .</p> <p>Complete freedom of the grain trade . . . with the one exception of deferring to the wishes of the provinces when any of them think it necessary temporarily to suspend export abroad. . . .</p> <p>The King also proposes the abolition of the <i>corvée</i> [forced labor on public highways] and the conversion of this excessively harsh exaction to a monetary contribution distributed more justly and spent in such a way that it can never be diverted to other purposes.</p> <p>Internal free trade, customs houses removed to the frontiers, the establishment of a uniform tariff taking the needs of commerce into consideration, the suppression of several taxes which are harmful to industry or lead too easily to harassment and the alleviation of the burden of the <i>gabelle</i> [the obligation to purchase salt from the state] (which I have never mentioned to His Majesty without his being deeply grieved that he cannot rid his subjects of it altogether). These, gentlemen, are so many salutary measures which enter into the plan upon which His Majesty will enlarge and which all conform to the principles of order and uniformity which are its basis.</p>
Sortable Date
1787-02-22
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Jules Flammermont, <i>Remonstrances du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe siècle,</i> vol. 1 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1888–98), 189–98.
Description
An account of the resource
In 1783 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a provincial noble, became royal finance minister. At first, he, like Vergennes, saw no need to rationalize the royal treasury or to appease the <i>Parlements</i>. By 1786, however, the deficit had become so huge—one–sixth of the total royal budget—that Calonne knew that reforms—meaning more taxes, or at least more loans—could no longer be put off. To obtain the support of regional nobles for such changes, the King called an Assembly of Notables. At the opening session, on 22 February 1787, Calonne addressed the assembly and proposed a uniform tax across the kingdom, to be administered by provincial assemblies of nobles and other elites. In other words, a royal minister was now suggesting that taxation privileges should be replaced by a fiscal policy that would apply to all equally.
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258
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Calonne, "Programs of Reform," Address to Assembly of Notables (1787)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/258/
Date
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February 22, 1787
Economic Conditions
Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie
Monarchy
Nobility
Text
-
Text
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<p>A kind of dialogue was printed . . . it is a text that needs to be studied. "The King could manage without you, said the Marshal of France. The Gentleman replies: What do you mean by that? WHAT WOULD THE KING BE WITHOUT THE NOBILITY?" People admired this passage . . . [but] it is considered as a real insult to the rest of the Nation.</p> <p>What! Some Gentlemen from Dauphiné dared to ask what the King of France would do at the end of the eighteenth century without the Nobility? What would He be? He would be what He is: a Sovereign; the venerated Chief of a brave, industrious, polite, and faithful people. The Nobility probably constitutes a distinguished part [of that people], but if this part was eliminated, would everyone else be wiped out? . . .</p> <p>The Nobility were hardly bearable in the times when they constituted with the Clergy the Political Body. If you wanted to be a renowned citizen, you had to be a Baron or a Priest. Then these Barons personally took care of the soldiers based on their domains. They could then call themselves the true supports of the throne and it was worthy to allow them so many privileges. At that time, this active class was legitimated by the real services given to the State.</p>
Sortable Date
1789-00-00
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Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet, <i>Annales politiques, civiles et littéraires du dix-huitième siècle</i>, 19 vols. (London and Paris, 1777–92), 19:98–99.
Description
An account of the resource
Simon–Henri Linguet was one of the most active and irascible old regime figures. Among his many careers, he was a lawyer (who was disbarred in 1775) and a journalist (who was forced to give up his newspaper and flee to England in 1776). Throughout his life, he remained both a resolute monarchist and an intemperate critic of the excesses of royal ministers, Parlementary magistrates, lawyers—anyone he considered to be exercising too much power. In this passage, from early 1789, he attacks the old regime nobility on behalf of the French "nation," by which he meant those who truly wanted to help their fellow countrymen, not merely to serve themselves (of which he accused the nobles).
Identifier
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259
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Linguet, "Attack on the Nobility" from <i>Annales politiques</i> (1789)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/259/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1789
Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie
Nobility
Text
-
Text
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<p>THE party, Sir, which twelve months ago raised you to the administration, amused us with the most lofty presages of your future operations. They said, it is not intrigue, and it is not chance, which has raised this man to office, it is his personal merit. Far different from those who have gone before him, he will dedicate his attention to doing what the duties of his position require not to keeping his place as long as he can. The system of his predecessor will not be his. He is a man of genius, who will find his own agents while developing a plan based on his principles, which will alleviate oppression, diminish the taxes, and revive agriculture and commerce.</p> <p>The public has now patiently waited for a whole year, expecting the execution of these promises. I could, however, if I pleased, compose an interesting and instructive volume of the faults you have committed; first against the French financial well-being; and second, against the principles of a sound statesman and a good politician.</p> <p>More fortunate at your accession to office than I was, I left you nothing but good deeds to perform; the ill was completed before you took office. I had established an equilibrium between receipts and expenditures. I left the royal coffers amply replenished. You had nothing to do but to receive. All then that remained for you was to invent the best means of relieving the public burdens, which you decided that I had increased beyond all just proportion to the ability of the subject or the necessities of the King. When you came into office, you found the state without a system, and your predecessors shifting at random from day to day as they could.</p> <p>What is it you have done? Given yourself over body and soul to a sect which has elected you their chief. You act only as they dictate, and you see only with their eyes. Their doctrines of administration are a tissue of ignorance, narrow views, and sophistry. The principles of their system are groundless and mistaken; the injury, therefore, that they do in office, and the mischiefs they inflict on the people of France, are continually growing more formidable. You have weakened the love of his subjects towards the best of kings. You have involved your sovereign, without his being aware of it, in a chaos of errors, from which you can never extricate him.</p>
Sortable Date
1781-00-00
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Jean-Louis Soulavie,<i> Historical and Political Memoirs of the Reign of Lewis XVI from His Marriage to His Death, Translated from the French...in Six Volumes...,</i> vol. 3 (London: G. and J. Robinson, 1802), 431-438.
Description
An account of the resource
In the 1780s, following the fall of the reform–minded Turgot and Necker ministries, traditionalists felt certain that they had seen the last of the crass, pro–commerce ideas that these men and their supporters had promoted. In this pamphlet, Turgot personally is mocked by an author writing as if he were the abbé Terray, who had preceded Turgot as finance minister; the fictional "Terray" takes Turgot to task for thinking that he was justified in promoting such drastic changes on his own rather than deferring to his social betters, such as the noble magistrates of the <i>Parlements</i> and the aristocrats in the King’s entourage.
Identifier
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260
Title
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Fictional Attack by "Terray" on Turgot (1781[?])
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/260/
Date
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1781
Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie
Monarchy
Nobility
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
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Text
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<p>John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs, reeves, servants, and all bailiffs and his faithful people greeting.</p> <p>In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter confirmed, for us and our heirs forever, that the English church shall be free, and shall hold its rights entire and its liberties uninjured; and we will that it be thus observed; which is shown by this, that the freedom of elections, which is considered to be most important and especially necessary to the English church, we, of our pure and spontaneous will, granted, and by our charter confirmed, before the contest between us and our barons had arisen; and obtained a confirmation of it by the lord Pope Innocent III; which we will observe and which we shall be observed in good faith for our heirs forever.</p> <p>We have granted moreover to all free men of our kingdom for us and our heirs forever all the liberties written below, to be had and holden by themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs.</p> <p>A widow, after the death of her husband, shall have her marriage portion and her inheritance immediately and without obstruction, nor shall she give anything for her dowry or for her marriage portion, or for her inheritance which inheritance her husband and she held on the day of the death of her husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for forty days after his death, within which time her dowry shall be assigned to her.</p> <p>No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she prefers to live without a husband, provided she gives security that she will not marry without our consent, if she holds from us, or without the consent of her lord from whom she holds, if she holds from another.</p> <p>Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent, for any debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient for the payment of the debt; nor shall the pledges of a debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor himself has enough for the payment of the debt; and if the principal debtor fails in the payment of the debt, not having the wherewithal to pay it, the pledges shall be responsible for the debt.</p> <p>No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom except by the common council of our kingdom, except for the ransoming of our body, for the making of our oldest son a knight, and for once marrying our oldest daughter, and for these purposes it shall be only a reasonable aid; in the same way it shall be done concerning the aids of the city of London.</p> <p>And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs, as well by land as by water. Moreover, we will grant that all other cities and boroughs and villages and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.</p> <p>And for holding a common council of the kingdom concerning the assessment of an aid otherwise than in the three cases mentioned above, or concerning the assessment of a scutage, we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons by our letters under seal; and besides we shall cause to be summoned generally, by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all those who hold from us in chief, for a certain day, that is at the end of forty days at least, and for a certain place; and in all the letters of that summons, we will express the cause of the summons, and when the summons has thus been given the business shall proceed on the appointed day, on the advice of those who shall be present, even if not all of those who were summoned have come.</p> <p>We will not grant to any one, moreover, that he should take an aid from his free men, except for ransoming his body, for making his oldest son a knight, and for once marrying his oldest daughter; and for these purposes only a reasonable aid shall be taken.</p> <p>No one shall be compelled to perform any greater service for a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement than is owned from it.</p> <p>The common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some certain place.</p> <p>A free man shall not be fined for a small offence, except in proportion to the measure of the offense; and for a great offense he shall be fined in proportion to the magnitude of the offense, saving his freehold; and a merchant in the same way, saving his merchandise; and the villain shall be fined in the same way, saving his wainage, if he shall be at our mercy; and none of the above fines shall be imposed except by the oaths of honest men of the neighbourhood.</p> <p>Earls and barons shall only be fined by their peers, and only in proportion to their offense.</p> <p>A clergyman shall be fined, like those before mentioned, only in proportion to his lay holding, and not according to the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.</p> <p>No manor or man shall be compelled to make bridges over the rivers except those which ought to do it of old and rightfully.</p> <p>No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other bailiffs of ours shall hold pleas of our crown.</p> <p>All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and tithings shall be at the ancient rents and without any increase, excepting our demesne manors.</p> <p>No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor send upon him, except by the legal judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.</p> <p>To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay right or justice.</p> <p>All merchants shall be safe and secure in going out from England and coming into England and in remaining and going through England, as well by land as by water, for buying and selling, free from all evil tolls, by the ancient and rightful customs, except in time of war, and if they are of a land at war with us; and if such are found in our land at the beginning of war, they shall be attached without injury to their bodies or goods, until it shall be known from us or from our principal justiciar in what way the merchants of our land are treated who shall be then found in the country which is at war with us; and if ours are safe there, the others shall be safe in our land.</p> <p>It is allowed henceforth to anyone to go out from our kingdom, and to return, safely and securely, by land and by water, saving their fidelity to us, except in time of war for some short time, for the common good of the kingdom; excepting persons imprisoned and outlawed according to the law of the realm, and people of a land at war with us, and merchants, of whom it shall be done as is before said.</p> <p>All the bad customs concerning forests and warrens and concerning foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their servants, river banks and their guardians shall be inquired into immediately in each county by twelve sworn knights of the same county, who shall be elected by the honest men of the same county, and within fifty days after the inquisition has been made, they shall be entirely destroyed by them, never to be restored, provided that we be first informed of it, or our justiciar, if we are not in England.</p> <p>We will give back immediately all hostages and charters which have been liberated to us by Englishmen as security for peace or for faithful service.</p> <p>And immediately after the re-establishment of peace we will remove from the kingdom all foreign-born soldiers, cross-bow men, servants, and mercenaries who have come with horses and arms for the injury of the realm.</p> <p>If anyone shall have been dispossessed or removed by us without legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or his right we will restore them to him immediately; and if contention arises about this, then it shall be done according to the judgement of the twenty-five barons, of whom mention is made below concerning the security of the peace.</p> <p>No one shall be seized nor imprisoned on the appeal of a woman concerning the death of anyone except her husband.</p> <p>All fines which have been imposed unjustly and against the law of the land, and all penalties imposed unjustly and against the law of the land are altogether excused.</p> <p>Since, moreover, for the sake of God, and for the improvement of our kingdom, and for the better quieting of the hostility spring up lately between us and our barons, we have made all these concessions; wishing them to enjoy these in a complete and firm stability forever, we make and concede to them the security described below; that is to say, that they shall elect twenty-five barons of the kingdom, whom they will, who ought with all their power to observe, hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties which we have conceded to them, and by this our present charter confirmed to them.</p> <p>Wherefore we will and firmly command that the Church of England shall be free, and that the men of our kingdom shall have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and concessions, well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and completely, for themselves and their heirs, from us and our heirs, in all things and places, forever, as before said. It has been sworn, moreover, as well on our part as on the part of the barons, that all these things spoken of above shall be observed in good faith and without any evil intent. Witness the above named and many others. Given by our hand in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.</p>
Sortable Date
1215-06-15
Dublin Core
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Guy Carleton Lee, <i>Source-Book of English History</i> (New York: Henry Holt, 1901), 169–80.
Description
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King John of England granted the <i>Magna Carta </i>("the great charter") on 15 June 1215. Leading nobles had demanded confirmation of their liberties and had threatened war if their demands were not met. The King agreed not to confiscate his subjects’ lands unfairly, not to raise taxes without consent, not to imprison a subject without due process and not to employ foreign mercenaries. The Great Charter quickly became the cornerstone of English constitutional government.
Identifier
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265
Title
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The <i>Magna Carta</i>
Relation
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/265/
Date
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June 15, 1215
Laws
Monarchy
Nobility
Text
The US and Great Britain in Revolution
-
Text
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Text
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<p>THE PETITION EXHIBITED TO HIS MAJESTY BY THE LORDS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL, AND COMMONS IN THIS PRESENT PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED, CONCERNING DIVERS RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJECTS, WITH THE KING'S MAJESTY'S ROYAL ANSWER THEREUNTO IN FULL PARLIAMENT.</p> <p>To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.</p> <p>Humbly show unto our Sovereign Lord the King, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament assembled, that whereas it is declared and enacted by a statute made in the time of the reign of King Edward the First, commonly called <i>Statutum de Tallagio non concedendo,</i> that no tallage or aid shall be laid or levied by the King or his heirs in this realm, without the goodwill and assent of the Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, Knights, Burgesses, and other the freemen of the commonality of this realm: and by authority of Parliament holden in the five and twentieth year of the reign of King Edward the Third, it is declared and enacted, that from thenceforth no person shall be compelled to make any loans to the King against his will, because such loans were against reason and the franchise of the land; and by other laws of this realm it is provided, that none should be charged by any charge or imposition, called a Benevolence, or by such like charge, by which the statutes before-mentioned, and other the good laws and statutes of this realm, your subjects have inherited this freedom, that they should not be compelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, or other like charge, not set by common consent in Parliament:</p> <p>Yet nevertheless, of late divers commissions directed to sundry Commissioners in several counties with instructions have issued, by means whereof your people have been in divers places assembled, and required to lend certain sums of money unto your Majesty, and many of them upon their refusal so to do, have had an oath administered unto them, not warrantable by the laws or statutes of this realm, and have been constrained to become bound to make appearance and give attendance before your Privy Council, and in other places, and others of them have been therefore imprisoned, confined, and sundry other ways molested and disquieted: and divers other charges have been laid and levied upon your people in several counties, by Lords Lieutenants, Deputy Lieutenants, Commissioners for Musters, Justices of Peace and others, by command or direction from your Majesty or your Privy Council, against the laws and free customs of this realm:</p> <p>And where also by the statute called, "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England," it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned or be dispossessed of his freeholds or liberties, or his free customs, or be outlawed or exiled; or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land:</p> <p>And in the eight and twentieth year of the reign of King Edward the Third, it was declared and enacted by authority of Parliament, that no man of what estate or condition that he be, should be put out of his land or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor put to death, without being brought to answer by due process of law:</p> <p>Nevertheless, against the tenor of the said statutes, and other the good laws and statutes of your realm, to that end provided, divers of your subjects have of late been imprisoned without any cause showed, and when for their deliverance they were brought before your Justices, by your Majesty's writs of Habeas Corpus, there to undergo and receive as the Court should order, and their keepers commanded to certify the causes of their detainer; no cause was certified, but that they were detained by your Majesty's special command, signified by the Lords of your Privy Council, and yet were returned back to several prisons, without being charged with anything to which they might make answer according to the law:</p> <p>And whereas of late great companies of soldiers and mariners have been dispersed into divers counties of the realm, and the inhabitants against their wills have been compelled to receive them into their houses, and there to suffer them to sojourn, against the laws and customs of this realm, and to the great grievance and vexation of the people:</p> <p>And whereas also by authority of Parliament, in the five and twentieth year of the reign of King Edward the Third, it is declared and enacted, that no man shall be forejudged of life or limb against the form of the Great Charter, and the law of the land: and by the said Great Charter and other the laws and statutes of this your realm, no man ought to be adjudged to death; but by the laws established in this your realm, either by the customs of the same realm or by Acts of Parliament: and whereas no offender of what kind soever is exempted from the proceedings to be used, and punishments to be inflicted by the laws and statutes of this your realm: nevertheless of late time divers commissions under your Majesty's Great Seal have issued forth, by which certain persons have been assigned and appointed Commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land according to the justice of martial law against such soldiers or mariners, or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanour whatsoever, and by such summary course and order, as is agreeable to marital law, and is used in armies in time of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnation of such offenders, and them to cause to be executed and put to death, according to the law martial:</p> <p>By pretext whereof, some of your Majesty's subjects have been by some of the said Commissioners put to death, when and where, if by the laws and statutes of the land they had deserved death, by the same laws and statutes also they might, and by no other ought to have been, judged and executed:</p> <p>And also sundry grievous offenders by colour thereof, claiming an exemption, have escaped the punishments due to them by the laws and statutes of this your realm, by reason that divers of your officers and ministers of justice have unjustly refused, or forborne to proceed against such offenders according to the same laws and statutes, upon pretence that the said offenders were punishable only by martial law, and by authority of such commissions as aforesaid, which commissions, and all other of like nature, are wholly and directly contrary to the said laws and statutes of this your realm:</p> <p>They do therefore humbly pray, your Most Excellent Majesty, that no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by Act of Parliament; and that none be called to make answer, or take such oath, or give attendance, or be confined, or otherwise molested or disquieted concerning the same, or for refusal thereof; and that no freeman, in any such manner as is before-mentioned, be imprisoned or detained; and that your Majesty will be pleased to remove the said soldiers and mariners, and that your people may not be so burdened in time to come; and that the aforesaid commissions for proceeding by marital law, may be revoked and annulled; and that hereafter no commissions of like nature may issue forth to any person or persons whatsoever, to be executed as aforesaid, lest by colour of them any of your Majesty's subjects be destroyed or put to death, contrary to the laws and franchise of the land.</p> <p>All which they most humbly pray of your Most Excellent Majesty, as their rights and liberties according to the laws and statutes of this realm: and that your Majesty would also vouchsafe to declare, that the awards, doings, and proceedings to the prejudice of your people, in any of the premises, shall not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example: and that your Majesty would be also graciously pleased, for the further comfort and safety of your people, to declare your royal will and pleasure, that in the things aforesaid all your officers and ministers shall serve you, according to the laws and statutes of this realm, as they tender the honour of your Majesty, and the prosperity of this kingdom.</p>
Sortable Date
1628-00-00
Dublin Core
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Source
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Guy Carleton Lee, <i>Source-Book of English History</i> (New York: Henry Holt, 1901), 348–52.
Description
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In 1628, the position of Charles I of England had gone from bad to worse. Rash enterprises, lavish and illegal expenditure, and broken promises of better government had almost ruptured relations between the monarch and his subjects. The King offered to grant a "Confirmation of the Great Charter," such as had often been issued and then disregarded by former monarchs. The Commons refused this offer, and under the leadership of Sir Edward Coke, the members drew up and passed the <i>Petition of Right</i>. Charles made repeated attempts to avoid ratifying it in a legal manner. He was finally compelled to give his assent in due form.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
266
Title
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The <i>Petition of Right</i>
Relation
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/266/
Date
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1628
Laws
Monarchy
Nobility
Text
The US and Great Britain in Revolution
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
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<p>Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, assembled at Westminster, lawfully, fully, and freely representing all the estates of the people of this realm, did, upon the thirteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-eight, present unto their Majesties, then called and known by the names and style of William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, being present in their proper persons, a certain declaration in writing, made by the said Lords and Commons, in the words following; viz:—</p> <p>Whereas the late King James II., by the assistance of diverse evil counsellors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom:—</p> <p>1. By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws, and the execution of laws, without consent of Parliament.</p> <p>2. By committing and prosecuting divers worthy prelates, for humbly petitioning to be excused form concurring to the same assumed power.</p> <p>3. By issuing and causing to be executed a commission under the Great Seal for erecting a court, called the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes.</p> <p>4. By levying money for and to the use of the Crown, by pretence of prerogative, for other time, and in other manner than the same was granted by Parliament.</p> <p>5. By raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time of peace, without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law.</p> <p>6. By causing several good subjects, being Protestants, to be disarmed, at the same time when Papists were both armed and employed contrary to law.</p> <p>7. By violating the freedom of election of members to serve in Parliament.</p> <p>8. By prosecutions in the Court of King's Bench, for matters and causes cognizable only in Parliament; and by diverse other arbitrary and illegal courses.</p> <p>9. And whereas of late years, partial, corrupt, and unqualified persons have been returned and served on juries in trials; and particularly diverse jurors in trials for high treason, which were not freeholders.</p> <p>10. And excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in criminal cases, to elude the benefit of the laws made for the liberty of the subjects.</p> <p>11. And excessive fines have been imposed.</p> <p>12. And illegal and cruel punishments inflicted.</p> <p>13. And several grants and promises made of fines and forfeitures, before any conviction or judgment against the persons upon whom the same were to be levied.</p> <p>All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes, and freedom of this realm.</p> <p>And whereas the said late King James II. having abdicated the government, and the throne being thereby vacant, his Highness the Prince of Orange, whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power did (by the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and diverse Principal persons of the Commons) cause letters to be written to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, being Protestants, and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs, and cinque ports, for the choosing of such persons to represent them, as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the two-and-twentieth day of January, in this year one thousand six hundred eighty and eight, in order to such an establishment, as that their religion, laws and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted; upon which letters, elections have been accordingly made.</p> <p>And, thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representation of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done), for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare:—</p> <p>1. That the pretended power of suspending of laws, or the execution of laws, by regal authority, without consent of Parliament, is illegal.</p> <p>2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal.</p> <p>3. That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious.</p> <p>4. That levying money for or to the use of the Crown, by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal.</p> <p>5. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the King, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal.</p> <p>6. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law.</p> <p>7. That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law.</p> <p>8. That election of members of Parliament ought to be free.</p> <p>9. That the freedom of speech, and debates or proceedings in Parliament, ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament.</p> <p>10. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed; nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.</p> <p>11. That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders.</p> <p>12. That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction, are illegal and void.</p> <p>13. And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening, and preserving of laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.</p> <p>I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear, That I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary:</p> <p>So help me God.</p> <p>I, A. B., do swear, That I do from my heart, abhor, detest, and abjure as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that Princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare, that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm:</p> <p>So help me God.</p> <p>IV. Upon which their said Majesties did accept the Crown and royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the resolution and desire of the said Lords and Commons contained in the said declaration.</p> <p>V. And thereupon their Majesties were pleased, that the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, being the two Houses of Parliament, should continue to sit, and with their Majesties' royal concurrence make effectual provision for the settlement of the religion, laws, and liberties of this kingdom, so that the same for the future might not be in danger again of being subverted; to which the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, did agree and proceed to act accordingly.</p> <p>VI. Now in pursuance of the premises, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in Parliament assembled, for the ratifying, confirming, and establishing the said declaration, and the articles, clauses, matters, and things therein contained, by the force of a law made in due form by authority of Parliament, do pray that it may be declared and enacted, That all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and claimed in the said declaration, are the true, ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties of the people of this kingdom, and so shall be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, and taken to be, and that all and every the particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and strictly holden and observed, as they are expressed in the said declaration; and all officers and ministers whatsoever shall serve their Majesties and their successors according to the same in all times to come.</p> <p>VII. And the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, seriously considering how it hath pleased Almighty God, in his marvellous providence, and merciful goodness to this nation, to provide and preserve their said Majesties' royal persons most happily to reign over us upon the throne of their ancestors, for which they render unto Him from the bottom of their hearts their humblest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, assuredly, and in the sincerity of their hearts, think, and do hereby recognize, acknowledge, and declare, that King James II. having abdicated the government, and their Majesties having accepted the Crown and royal dignity aforesaid, their said Majesties did become, were, are, and of right ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our sovereign liege Lord and Lady, King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, in and to whose princely persons the royal State, Crown, and dignity of the same realms, with all honours, styles, titles, regalities, prerogatives, powers, jurisdictions and authorities to the same belonging and appertaining, are most fully, rightfully, and entirely invested and incorporated, united and annexed.</p> <p>VIII. And for preventing all questions and divisions in this realm, by reason of any pretended titles to the Crown, and for preserving a certainty in the succession thereof, in and upon which the unity, peace, tranquillity, and safety of this nation doth, under God, wholly consist and depend the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do beseech their Majesties that it may he enacted, established, and declared, that the Crown and regal government of the said kingdoms and dominions, with all and singular the premises thereunto belonging and appertaining, shall be and continue to their said Majesties, and the survivor of them, during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them. And that the entire, perfect, and full exercise of the regal power and government be only in, and executed by, his Majesty, in the names of both their Majesties during their joint lives; and after their deceases the said Crown and premises shall be and remain to the heirs of the body of her Majesty: and for default of such issue, to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body; And for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of his said Majesty: and thereunto the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do, in the name of all the people aforesaid, most humbly and faithfully submit themselves, their heirs and posterities, for ever: and do faithfully promise that they will stand to, maintain, and defend their said Majesties, and also the limitation and succession of the Crown herein specified and contained, to the utmost of their powers, with their lives and estates, against all persons whatsoever that shall attempt anything to the contrary.</p> <p>IX. And whereas it hath been found by experience, that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom, to be governd by a Popish prince, or by any king or queen marrying a Papist, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do further pray that it may be enacted, That all and every person and persons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a Papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same; and in all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be and are hereby absolved of their allegiance; and the said Crown and Government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by, such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons so reconciled, holding communion, or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead.</p> <p>X. And that every king and queen of this realm, who at any time hereafter shall come to succeed in the Imperial Crown of this kingdom, shall, on the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament, next after his or her coming to the Crown, sitting in his or her throne in the House of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and Commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her, at the time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirtieth year of the reign of King Charles II., intituled "An Act for the more effectual preserving the King's person and government, by disabling Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament." But if it shall happen, that such king or queen, upon his or her succession to the Crown of this realm, shall be under the age of twelve years, then every such king or queen shall make, subscribe and audibly repeat the said declaration at his or her coronation, or the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament as aforesaid, which shall first happen after such king or queen shall have attained the said age of twelve years.</p> <p>XI. All which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted, and established by authority of this present Parliament, and shall stand, remain, and be the law of this realm for ever; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted, and established accordingly.</p> <p>XII. And be it further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after this present session of Parliament, no dispensation by non obstante of or to any statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed, but that the same shall be held void and of no effect, except a dispensation be allowed of in such statute, and except in such cases as shall be specially provided for by one or more bill or bills to be passed during this present session of Parliament.</p> <p>XIII. Provided that no charter, or grant, or pardon granted before the three-and-twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-nine, shall be any ways impeached or invalidated by this act, but that the same shall be and remain of the same force and effect in law, and no other, than as if this act had never been made.</p>
Sortable Date
1689-00-00
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Guy Carleton Lee, <i>Source-Book of English History</i> (London: Henry Holt, 1901), 424–31.
Description
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In response to policies that threatened to restore Catholicism in England, Parliament deposed King James II and called William of Orange from the Dutch Republic and his wife Mary, who was James’s Protestant daughter, to replace him. William and Mary agreed to the <i>Bill of Rights</i> presented to them by Parliament, thereby acknowledging that their power came from the legislature rather than from any concept of the "divine right of kings." The <i>Bill of Rights</i> confirmed traditional English liberties, especially the power of Parliament to make laws and consent to taxation. It also confirmed and guaranteed freedom of speech and denied the legitimacy of cruel and unusual punishments. The <i>Bill of Rights</i> quickly took its place as a foundation of English constitutionalism and exercised great influence in the British North American colonies during their war for independence.
Identifier
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267
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The <i>Bill of Rights</i>, 1689
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/267/
Date
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1689
Enlightenment
Laws
Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie
Monarchy
Nobility
Popular Politics
Public Opinion
Text
The US and Great Britain in Revolution