Provincial Power and Absolute Monarchy
The Estates General of Burgundy, 1661–1790

The first book in English to study the history of the Estates General of Burgundy.

Julian Swann (Author)

9780521827676, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 August 2003

478 pages, 4 b/w illus. 1 map
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.91 kg

'Based on careful archival research, gracefully written, and cogently argued, Swann's book is a welcome addition to the literature on the role of institutions in the old regime and the coming of the French Revolution. Those who wish to gain a better understanding of the often obscure mechanisms of power in eighteenth-century France will find this book well worth reading.' European History Quarterly

This is the first book in English to study the history of the Estates General of Burgundy during the classic period of absolute monarchy. Although not a representative institution in any modern sense, the Estates were constantly engaged in a process of bargaining with the French crown, and this book examines that relationship under the Ancien Régime. Julian Swann analyses the organization, membership and powers of the Estates and explores their administration, their struggles for power with rival institutions and their relationship with the crown and with the Burgundian people. The Estates proved remarkably resilient when confronted by the challenges posed by the Bourbon monarchy, and by the reign of Louis XVI they were seemingly more powerful than ever. However the desire to protect their privileges and to extend their authority had not been accompanied by an attempt to forge a meaningful relationship with the people they claimed to serve.

List of illustrations
List of figures
List of appendices
List of map
Preface
List of abbreviations
Map: the duchy of Burgundy in the eighteenth century
1. Historians, absolute monarchy and the provincial estates
2. Ancien régime Burgundy
3. The Estates General of Burgundy
4. Nosseigneurs les élus and the officers of the Estates
5. The provincial administration: authority and enforcement
6. 'It's raining taxes': paying for the Sun King, 1661–1715
7. Provincial administration in an age of iron, 1661–1715
8. The limits of absolutism: crown, governor and the Estates in the eighteenth century
9. Provincial rivalries: the Estates and the Parlement of Dijon in the eighteenth century
10. Tax, borrow and lend: crown, Estates and finance, 1715–89
11. An enlightened administration?
12. The coming of the French revolution in Burgundy, 1787–9
Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]