Sully and Finance

Mind map on the Duke of Sully who reformed France after the Wars of Religion in France. AQA AS History

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  • Created by: Clodagh
  • Created on: 05-04-13 13:43
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  • Sully and finance
    • Problems
      • Inbuilt problems and corruption
        • 1559: The crown was near bankruptcy due to expenditure of court and the cost of Italian wars
        • Only the third estate paid the taille (income tax) and the Pays d'etats only paid 1/10 of tax despite making up a third of the country
      • Henry III
        • When forced to present a financial statement to the Estates General in 1558, he made up figures . He declared a capital debt of 138 million livres. He owed money to Europe and so mortgaged the crown jewels
      • Impact of the Wars of Religion
        • The wars were intermittent from 1563-98. The third estate paid the bulk of the taille but were less able to because of the grande guerre (fighting on land, destroying crops) and the petite guerre (lawlessness) in Normandy
        • There were interrupted systems for tax collection - nobles diverted funds for their own use
      • Henry had inherited debt of between 200 and 300 million livres in 1589
        • "A king without a kingdom, a husband without a wife and a warrior without money"
    • Why did reform take place?
      • The timing wasn't right until 1598
        • The Edict of Nantes was published in 1598, giving more rights to the Huguenots
        • The Treaty of Vervins was signed between Spain and France in May 1598. Spanish troops withdrew troops from French soil and all land was returned in 1599
        • Philip II of Spain died in the same year. He was a major Catholic power and so they were no longer backing the Catholic League
        • The Wars of Religion ended in 1598 after more than 3 decades of fighting
      • The skills of Duc de Sully
        • He was a Huguenot in office. This was only allowed after the Edict of Nantes was published in 1598
        • He had first hand experience of the Wars of Religion after rising through the ranks of the army
        • He had served Henri de Navarre since the age of 16 in 1572
      • There was fear of rebellion
        • The peasantry had the burden of taxation and the King's demands. The taille had been increased
        • There had already been peasant revolts in Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy and Dordogne
    • Assessment of financial reform
      • Under Sully the royal budget achieved a surplus by 1610 standing between 15 and 16 million livres
      • Sully maintained tight control on expenditure. He kept a strict budget for roads and bridges and Marie de Medici's expenditure was closely monitored
      • Centralisation improved the collection of taxation
  • The past was liquidated, but 1/16 of the king's income was devoted to paying for the Wars of Religion devastation

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