Provincial power and absolute monarchy : the Estates General of Burgundy, 1661-1790 / Julian Swann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swann, Julian, author.

Series:

New studies in European history.

New studies in European history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

France. États généraux.

France.

Burgundy (France)--Politics and government--17th century.

Burgundy (France).

Burgundy (France)--Politics and government--18th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 460 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Provincial Power & Absolute Monarchy

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Map: The duchy of Burgundy in the eighteenth century

1. Historians, absolute monarchy and the provincial estates

2. Ancien regime Burgundy

3. The Estates General of Burgundy

4. Nosseigneurs les elus 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.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 430-446) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-13831-0

1-280-16150-7

0-511-12150-4

0-511-06273-7

0-511-20496-5

0-511-30782-9

0-511-49664-8

0-511-07119-1

OCLC:

57256341