Ancien Régime

The political and social order of France before the French Revolution, built around monarchy, legally distinct estates, and corporate privileges. Its conventional endpoint is 1789, though the monarchy survived until 1792.

Estates of the realm: The legally defined social orders of clergy, nobility, and commoners in pre-revolutionary France. They organized political representation and divided French society into unequal orders.
Estates-General of 1789: An assembly of France’s three estates convened by Louis XVI in 1789 to address the fiscal crisis. Its disputes over voting and representation helped end the old political order.
Capetian dynasty: The French royal dynasty founded by Hugh Capet in 987 and continued through its branches until 1328. Capetian kings began the long consolidation of royal authority that shaped later France.
French Revolution: A political and social upheaval beginning in 1789 that overthrew the French monarchy and reshaped France. The Revolution dismantled the institutions and privileges of the Ancien Régime.
Absolute monarchy: A form of monarchy in which a ruler claims broad authority not constitutionally shared with representative institutions. The Ancien Régime included strong royal claims, but French power remained constrained by institutions and custom.
Three Estates: The clergy, nobility, and Third Estate, the three orders represented in the Estates-General. Their unequal status shaped disputes over representation and political authority.
French fiscal system: The institutions and taxes through which the French monarchy raised revenue. Unequal taxation and chronic fiscal strain weakened royal authority.
Bourbon dynasty: A royal house that ruled France from 1589 until the Revolution, apart from interruptions. Bourbon rule defined the monarchy’s final centuries before 1789.
Night of 4 August 1789: A session of the National Constituent Assembly in which deputies renounced many feudal privileges and dues. It marked a decisive legislative attack on inherited privilege.
Constitutional monarchy: A monarchy whose powers are limited by a constitution or established legal framework. The constitutional settlement of 1791 replaced the old monarchy’s political framework.

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