Provincial power and absolute monarchy: the Estates General of Burgundy, 1661-1790

478 Pages·2003·2.49 MB·English

by  Julian Swann

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PROVINCIAL POWER AND
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
TheEstatesGeneralofBurgundy,1661–1790
This is the first book in English to study the history of the Estates
GeneralofBurgundyduringtheclassicperiodofabsolutemonarchy.
Although not a representative institution in any modern sense, the
Estates were constantly engaged in a process of bargaining with
theFrenchcrown,andthisbookexaminesthatrelationshipunderthe
ancien r´egime. Julian Swann analyses the organisation, membership
and powers of the Estates and explores their administration, their
strugglesforpowerwithrivalinstitutionsandtheirrelationshipwith
the crown and with the Burgundian people. The Estates proved
remarkablyresilientwhenconfrontedbythechallengesposedbythe
Bourbonmonarchy,andbythereignofLouisXVItheywereseem-
ingly more powerful than ever. However, the desire to protect their
privilegesandtoextendtheirauthorityhadnotbeenaccompaniedby
an attempt to forge a meaningful relationship with the people they
claimedtoserve.
julian swann is Lecturer in Early Modern European History at
BirkbeckCollege,UniversityofLondon.HeistheauthorofPolitics
andtheParlementofParisunderLouisXV,1754–1774(1995).
new studies in european history
Editedby
peter baldwin,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles
christopher clark,UniversityofCambridge
james b. collins,GeorgetownUniversity
mia rodr´ıguez-salgado,LondonSchoolofEconomicsandPolitical
Science
lyndal roper,RoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon
ThisisanewseriesinearlymodernandmodernEuropeanhistory.Itsaimisto
publishoutstandingworksofresearch,addressedtoimportantthemesacrossawide
geographicalrange,fromsouthernandcentralEurope,toScandinaviaandRussia,
and from the time of the Renaissance to the Second World War. As it develops
the series will comprise focused works of wide contextual range and intellectual
ambition.
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CatholicRevivalintheAgeoftheBaroque
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HelmuthvonMoltkeandtheOriginsoftheFirstWorldWar
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paul bushkovitch
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PROVINCIAL POWER AND
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
The Estates General of Burgundy, 1661–1790
JULIAN SWANN
BirkbeckCollege,UniversityofLondon
  
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge  , United Kingdom
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambrigde.org/9780521827676
© Julian Swann 2003
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2003
- 
isbn-13 978-0-511-06273-5 eBook (NetLibrary)
- 
isbn-10 0-511-06273-7 eBook (NetLibrary)
- 
isbn-13 978-0-521-82767-6 hardback
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Contents
Listofillustrations pageix
Listoffigures x
Listofappendices xi
Listofmap xii
Preface xiii
Listofabbreviations xv
Map:The duchyofBurgundyintheeighteenthcentury xvi
1 Historians,absolutemonarchyandtheprovincialestates 1
2 Ancienr´egime Burgundy 26
3 TheEstatesGeneralofBurgundy 41
4 Nosseigneursles´elusandtheofficersoftheEstates 91
5 Theprovincialadministration:authorityandenforcement 126
6 ‘It’srainingtaxes’.PayingfortheSunKing,1661–1715 154
7 Provincialadministrationinanageofiron,1661–1715 194
8 Thelimitsofabsolutism:crown,governorandtheEstates
intheeighteenthcentury 230
9 Provincialrivalries:theEstatesandtheParlementofDijon
intheeighteenthcentury 262
10 Tax,borrowandlend:crown,Estatesandfinance,
1715–1789 295
11 Anenlightenedadministration? 330
vii
viii Contents
12 ThecomingoftheFrenchrevolutioninBurgundy,
1787–1789 365
Conclusion 400
Appendices 413
Bibliography 430
Index 447