Economic Change: France
The base of the French economy in the 17th and 18th centuries was their agriculture. This large scale farming operation shown on the left helps depict the importance of agriculture for France and other nations. How else can a nation’s economy thrive when, “The most immediate concern of the majority of the king’s subjects was to have enough to eat, whether by producing food themselves, or, as was increasingly the case, by earning enough to buy all or a part of their daily bread,” (Félix 9). Whether people participated in the production of crops or not, the largest concern in the economy was being able to acquire food. Even people who did not actively participate in the production of agriculture had a part in farmland ownership. The nobility and the clergy owned between 26% and 40% of the farmland. The middle class owned between 20% and 30%, and the peasants had the last 40% to 45%. Without modern machinery to help increase the production of agriculture, France struggled to produce large quantities of crops. France also lacked significant amounts of livestock which easily exhausted the nutrients in the soil which, “Required leaving the land to lie fallow one year out of three in the north, and one year out of two in the south,” (Félix, 9). This one year off allowed the nutrients in the soil to replentish naturally, but it still had large impacts on the French economy. “Growth in a rural economy depended above all on the fluctuation of prices, which in turn depended principally on the supply of and the demand for bread,” (Félix 11). Farmers would have to schedule which fields would grow crops each year in order to optimize their profits. Factors such as these helped keep the base of the French economy afloat, but because of the inefficiency in their agriculture, the French economy did not thrive during this time period.
Slave trading first appeared in France in 1635. Once it began, the French slave owners found that the enslaved people gave less of a fight than the French indentured servants. Because of this, slavery in France and the French Colonies picked up by 1648. It increased even more in the 18th century. Before 1700, it was estimated that at least 150,000 enslaved people were brought to French controlled lands. From 1703 to 1710 there were at least 30,000 enslaved people taken, and from 1710 to 1720 there were about 45,000 more. This trend is also seen in the French colony of Saint Domingue where in 1690 there were 4 non-enslaved people for every 3 enslaved people. In 1700 there were 4 non-enslaved people for 9 enslaved people. By 1713 for every non-enslaved person on the island there were 4 enslaved people. Enslaved people had harsh living conditions on top of everything else. Some slave owners would practice a method where the slaves would have one day a week where they could take care of their own food for the week. This along with many other factors caused the population of enslaved people to decrease every year with a life expectancy of only 34 years. In order to keep up with the demand for sugar, tobacco, coffee and other products, France relied on transatlantic trade. They continued to capture and enslave people from Africa to the French colonies in the ‘New World’ and ship the goods back to France. This system of enslaving people from Africa into the French colonies and trading the goods across Europe helped improve the French economy throughout this time period, but this harsh social hierarchy will crumble when the French economy finds hardship.
King Louis XIV inherited the throne at age 5 in 1643, but he personally ruled France from 1661 until he died in 1715. There were many aspects of Louis XIV’s policies that impacted the economy especially with the help he received from his First Minister of State, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Colbert, a mercantilist known for his efforts in regulating the French economy, helped in the first half of the king’s reign. In this time period, the French economy focused on decreasing the amount of goods they were importing into the country. They specifically focused on decreasing the amount of luxury goods imported to France. This was encouraged through high tariffs for goods imported from abroad. To offset the decrease in imported goods, he tried to encourage developing the goods within France. This would also increase the amount of goods France could export, also bringing money into the country. Louis XIV is also known for passing the Code Noir in 1685. One aspect the Code Noir impacted was slavery in France. Every enslaved person in France was to be converted to Catholicism under this decree. This code stood until the French Revolution in 1789 under Louis XVI. Louis XVI had extravagant spending habits. This combined with France's aid to the American Revolution led to a near bankrupt French Economy. Due to corruption and economic hardship across France, there were many events during the 10 year span (1789-99) in which we refer to today as the French Revolution. In June of 1789 the people of France challenged the King's authority by campaigning for constitutional reform. There were many other acts of rebelion from French authority including the arresting the King and the Reign of Terror. Both of these events caused casulties to anybody who was suspected of not supporting the rebellion, including king Louis XVI in January of 1793. The death of Louis XVI sparked lots of changes in French political, social and economical structure in the years following.