What factors influenced the rural peasantry in Western France to become hostile to the revolution and participate in counterrevolutionary action after 1792?
Introduction
John Markoff’s work, “Peasants Protest: The Claims of Lord, Church, and State in the Cahiers de Doleances of 1789,” provides an in-depth analysis of the grievances put forward in the Cahiers de Doleances (ledger of complaints)—specifically those from rural parishes which were representative of the peasantry. Markoff drew on 748 of these documents to formulate a full picture of the some 40,000 parish-based cahiers drafted in 1789 which he described as “authentically rural documents” (Markoff, 417). These works painted a burdensome life for peasants full of hardship and unfair practices (several grievances are outlined below). Noelle Plack authored a chapter for The Oxford Handbook of the French Revolution which examined key actions taken by the peasantry between 1790 and 1792 to fight for their own revolutionary interests. Generally, these actions sought to further radicalize policies regarding previous feudal structures--running parallel with deputies' aims. However, on matters of religion the peasantry split with the revolution that they had previously supported and participated in enthusiastically. Based on Markoff's own conclusions and other supporting research (Plack), the peasantry played an essential role in shaping and radicalizing the terms of the French Revolution from 1789 through 1792. Despite this role and the prevailing victory that the peasants experienced when they did experience tangible reforms (see fig. 2), many peasants participated in contradictory and counterrevolutionary actions. This exhibit will show how the peasantry en masse was of a separate identity than the majority of the upper-bourgeoisie deputies and the French people in Paris. Moreover, the peasantry represented a complex combination of cultures who had the knowledge and capacity to think and act for themselves.
Although rural peasants were actively responsible for radicalizing the National Assembly on matters such as feudal structures and taxation during the early revolutionary period from 1789-1792, the complex nature of the peasantry and the influence of religious belief in tandem with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the Obligatory Oath ultimately lead to counterrevolutionary actions being taken by peasants.
Early Revolutionary Motivations (cahiers)
Markoff’s analysis of the Cahiers specifically found that rural peasants were concerned most with unfair taxation, feudal structures and farming practices, and much less concerned with political structures that defined the debates of upper-bourgeoisie deputies and members of the nobility (Markoff, 423). To the peasantry, the revolution revolved around taxes and many specific forms of taxation of both state, clerical and feudal nature. As Markoff put it, the life of a peasant was defined by burdens (425). Below is an image (Fig. 1) depicting the life of a peasant underneath these burdens—the two figures atop the peasant’s shoulders represent the nobility and clergy who were unfairly propped up by feudal structures and taxes levied on the peasants. This image is a good representation of the motivations that fueled the peasantry’s revolutionary insurrection. (Note, it is titled “We must hope that it will soon be over. ”)
Though the August decrees of 1789 “abolished” feudalism it was seen as a “monstrous fraud” to those in rural France because peasants did not actually see the benefits of a decree made in Paris (Plack, NP). In their specific reforms, the National Assembly attempted to compromise to maintain civil peace and also provide the peasantry with reforms that they wanted. However, the Assembly’s decision to tie indemnification to the seigneurial rights or dues—meaning, peasants could compensate Lord’s to no longer be obligated to pay seigneurial taxes—resulted in rural revolt (Markoff, 435). Peasants were unsatisfied with reforms and laws that granted them very little freedom and took matters into their own hands to effect real change in France.
Radicalization and Response
Because of the National Assembly’s 1790 law which established indemnification prices at 20-25 times the amount that seigneurial dues would amount to in a full year period, peasants not only refused to pay (as they were all incapable of such exorbitant prices), but also they responded forcefully. Plack discussed that insurrections were self-fulfilling and pushed peasants to continue radical actions in the future: “peasants destroyed manorial rolls, coats of arms, weathercocks, and much else, radicalized and pushed legislators into proposing more extreme measures. In turn, these legislative acts sent a signal to the rural world that their actions were producing results and presented opportunities for further insurrection” (Plack, NP). During the summer of 1792, roughly 1000 peasants ransacked seigneurial chateaux and burned feudal title deeds. This radicalization and action by peasants also stoked uproarious action within Paris which lead to the storming of the Tuileries and the end of Louis XVI’s reign. Soon thereafter, in late August of 1792, the peasants were rewarded for their actions when the National Assembly effectively ended the collection of feudal due as the unrelenting violent insurrection had forced their hand. (Plack, full paragraph). The success of employing insurrection and uprising to achieve their social and political goals in the early revolution would prime peasants for similar responses taken against the revolution at a later date.
Beyond feudal structure, the peasantry was chiefly concerned with taxation. Plack's article continues to outline similar uprisings made by peasants during the early period of revolution. One of the key tipping points with regard to taxation and its previous arbitrary perception among peasants was the transfer of power from a sovereign king to a sovereign nation--represetned by the National Assembly. Though this perception was important to shaping support for the revolution, among peasants in Western France, the new tax structure established by the National Assembly actually worsened their conditions and primed these citizens for counterrevolution. (Plack).
Depicted in Fig. 2 (above) is an inverse image from Fig. 1 portraying the peasantry (or potentially the Third Estate more broadly) triumphing over the nobility and clergy. Fig. 2 was published sometime before 1792 as the peasant is depicted professing his support for the King and the Nation (before Louis would have lost favor). While Fig. 1 clearly showed the despair of the peasantry, Fig. 2's message is of an empowered and jubilant peasantry rising above the burdens of feudalism and taxation. This is an interesting primary source because it indicates that the revolution has brought about positive change for members of the peasantry. It also prompts a question: if through revolution, radicalization and tangible reforms the peasantry found a much better life, why did may peasants participate in counterrevolutionary actions?
The Religious Struggle and Counterrevolutionary Sentiment
The passage of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the enforcement of the Obligatory Oath served as a radicalizing split between identities in France--including among the peasantry. Although religious reform was one of the peasants' grievances (Markoff), they specifically sought reprieve from tithes and unfair taxation levied by the church. Edward Woell authored another chapter of the Oxford Handbook of the French Revolution titled "Religion and Revolution," and he focused attention on the controversial policies that lead to counterrevolution. "[Peasants] often evaluated revolutionary religious reform on the basis of how it would ostensibly affect their communities’ well-being. On such a basis, some welcomed this reform because it lifted the burden of the tithe and other payments from their communities and enabled some citizens, through the sale of former Church property, to prosper in a manner impossible during the old regime" (Woell, NP). The theme of burdens arises again in Woell's analysis: he goes on to claim that many citizens who were opposed to these sorts of reforms believed that they undercut their communities' faith institutions and actually caused more of a burden. (Woell).
Predominantly among rural peasantry in Western France--specifically Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and parts of Poitui and Normandy--counterrevolutionary sentiment began brewing towards the end of 1792 (Tackett, 715). One reason for the disparate response in the West versus the rest of France found by Tackett in his own analysis of the Cahiers was that western provinces and clerics in them were of the most radical in all of France and they refused to swear the Oath (Tackett, 737). Increasing pressure from peasants in this region against the Civil Constitution and the Oath also arose from their lack of benefit from the revolution to date. The destruction of many clerical positions and parishes was perceived as an attack on the peasantry in this region, and it superseded any political concern over the sovereignty of France apart from the Catholic Church.
Conclusion
Understanding that the peasantry in France was a diverse, free-thinking body with its own concerns is vital for appreciating how they both helped and hurt the revolutionary efforts. Peasants were most concerned with material structures like feudalism and individual taxes and had almost no concern for political matters such as establishing a sovereign authority of the nation and eliminating the influence of the Catholic Church. In the same sentiment, the peasantry judged revolutionary reforms based on how they materially benefited from them. With the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the Obligatory Oath, peasants in the West observed a complete undercut of their religious foundations and the elimination of clerics who performed vital services and pastoral functions (Tackett, 741). Ultimately, counterrevolutionary insurrection appears like it was all too likely to occur. After peasants won favor for their causes through violent insurrection in 1790-1792 and saw success, the stage was set for them to carry out attacks against the revolution they perceived to have let them down.
In many ways the revolution from the perspective of the peasants was completely separate from that of deputies and urban French citizens. Counterrevolutionary actions can be interpreted less as peasants making war against their fellow French citizens, but rather as peasants doing what they had done during the three previous years: fighting for their own interests above all else.
Bibliography
Markoff, John. "Peasants Protest: The Claims of Lord, Church, and State in the Cahiers de Doleances of 1789." Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol. 32 (Jul., 1990): 413-454.
None Identified. I was sure we would have our turn. 1789-1792?. Engraving, 28.5 cm x 22 cm. From: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/155.
None Identified. We must hope that it will soon be over. 1789. Engraving, 18.5 cm x 12.5 cm. From: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/146.
Plack, Noelle. "Challenges in the Countryside, 1790-2." In The Oxford Handbook to the French Revolution, edited by David Andress. First Edition Online (Feb., 2014): NP
Tackett, Timothy. "The West in France in 1789: The Religious Factor in the Origins of the Counterrevolution." The Journal of Modern History Vol. 54, no. 4 (Dec., 1982): 715-745.
Woell, Edward. "Religion and Revolution." In The Oxford Handbook to the French Revolution, edited by David Andress. First Edition Online (Feb., 2014): NP.