THE REVOLUTION AND THE RURAL COMMUNITY IN EIGHTEENTH–CENTURY BRITTANY

• Published in: Past & present Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 96 - 119
• Main Authors: Le Goff, T. J. A., Sutherland, D. M. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-02-1974
• Subjects: Bourgeois/Bourgeoisie/ Bourgeoisification; Brittany, France; Church/Churches; Govern/Governing/Government/ Governmental/ Governments; Revolution/Revolutions/ Revolutionary
• DOI: 10.1093/past/62.1.96
• EISSN: 1477-464X
• ISSN: 0031-2746

Contrary to popular belief, the change of administration from the old regime (ancien regime) to that following the Revolution did not alleviate but substantially increased the central government's repressive activity in the countryside. This is particularly evident from the court records of 2 regions in Brittany. Under the ancien regime, the initiative & most of the responsibility for dealing with crime was left up to local government. Furthermore, for the most part the court was seen by the local populace only as a last resort: disputes were usually settled out of court, either by direct retribution or by arbitrated payment. On the other hand, when the central government chose to impose its will in matters of taxation, etc, which it succeeded in doing in the case of Brittany comparatively rarely, it relied upon the support of the clergy, which lent ecclesiastical legitimacy to the moral obligation to submit to monarchical authority. This situation changed drastically under the centralized government following the bourgeois revolution. The moral authority of the church was undermined & the populace was expected to serve the abstract authority of the Nation without any ecclesiatical legitimacy. Instead of leaving most matters up to the local government, most aspects of government heretofore simply overlooked were taken in hand by the recently-empowered bourgeoisie. Furthermore, local power became corrupt & was often abused, giving the populace little ethical or material incentive to submit to its authority. Although France may well have progressed as a result of the 1879 revolution, evidence indicates that in Brittany at least, the power structure on the local level was drastically altered for the worse. E. Holland.