Privilege and the Politics of Taxation in Eighteenth-Century France: Liberté, Egalité, Fiscalité (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521771498)

This book offers a lucid new interpretation of the Ancien R gime and the origins of the French Revolution. It examines what was arguably the most ambitious project of the eighteenth-century French monarchy: the attempt to impose direct taxes on formerly tax-exempt privileged elites. Drawing on impressive archival research, Michael Kwass demonstrates that the levy of these taxes, which struck elites with some force, not only altered the relationship between monarchy and social hierarchy, but also transformed political language and attitudes; attitudes that ultimately led to revolution.

Author: Michael Kwass
ISBN-10: 0521771498
ISBN-13: 9780521771498
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/17/2000
Pages: 372
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.47lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.88d

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2000 pg. 104