This study analyzes the political and fiscal origins of the French Revolution by looking at the relationship between the royal government and privileged, corporate bodies at local level. Utilizing a neo-Tocquevillian approach, it argues that the monarchy undermined its own attempts at reform by extending central authority, while at the same time it continued to rely upon corporate structures and monopolies to finance the state. The unresolvable, institutional conflicts had the effect of politicising members of the privileged elite and eventually led many of them to embrace a rhetoric of citizenship, accountability, and civic equality that had far-reaching and unanticipated consequences. When Lille's bourgeoisie consolidated a municipal revolution in 1789, they followed a programme that was politically liberal, but economically conservative. Arranged as a series of case-studies, the book illuminates the structure of political power in the Flemish provincial estates, the growth of royal taxation, the problem of municipal credit, the role of venal officeholders, and the relationship of the revolutionary bourgeoisie to monopolies of the guilds.
Industry Reviews
"Bossenga has made a major contribution to our understanding of the development of the modern state in a volume that combines detailed archival investigation with bold general claims. Her exploration of institutional relationships is profound and thought provoking..." Journal of Urban History "This is an impressive, well-researched, and well-argued study that will force us, or allow us, to reevaluate our understanding of the collapse of corporate privilege during the revolution." American Historical Review "Heavily based on archival sources, this fascinating and sphisticated study will interest all students of the Revolution." D.C. Baxter, Choice "This is one of the most important books to appear for some years on the spirit (in Montesque's sense) of the Old Regime and how it collapsed into Revolution." William Doyle, Times Literary Supplement "Gail Bossenga's penetrating examination of politics in Lille, France, offers the reader a unique insight into the eighteenth century world of urban privilege." History "Bossenga greatly advances our understanding of the origins of the French Revolution by providing a sophisticated analysis of the relationship between the royal government and privileged corporate bodies in the town of Lille." Steven G. Reinhardt, Journal of Interdisciplinary History "...the range of subjects in addition to the real depth of knowledge displayed makes her study immensely revelatory...Bossenga's impressive arguments give far more enphasis to fiscality; they force scholars to pay serious attention to these matters in any reconsideration of the revolution." Jack R. Censer, Journal of Modern History "Bossenga illuminates the essential nature of the 1789 Revolution as a vital stage in the growth of the power of the state. Her basic thesis is that the revolution was essentially about institutional and not social change. The complexities of the relationship between the central government and the provinces are brilliantly dissected in seminal and minutely traced case studies of significant corporate bodies in Lille." Pamela M. Pilbeam, Journal of Urban History
