2. Changing Times
But as the rural areas and smaller towns lay slumbering in their mediaeval torpor, change was about to burst upon them, with unforeseen and tragic consequences. Two cultures, the one, rural, harmonious and introverted, the other, urban, educated and forward thinking, eager for new ideas, were about the clash headlong.
By 1789, the growing prosperity that France had known since 1730 had disappeared, as abundant harvests forced down the prices of produce. In 1785, drought and a subsequent lack of winter feed caused the slaughter of huge amounts of livestock. The wheat crop of 1788 was destroyed by hail, and the winter that same year was exceptionally hard, freezing the rivers so that the mills could not turn, causing a shortage of flour. Famine stalked the land.
In addition, foreign competition and trade practices were overwhelming French industry, throwing thousands out of their jobs. Unemployed workers wandered the country, part beggars, part thieves, creating panics by their presence, causing the peasants to take up arms to protect themselves. In Paris alone there were well over a 100,000 paupers in a population of just over half a million, many close to starvation.
And the coffers of the State were almost empty, drained, amongst other things, by the long war in America against the British, which is said to have cost the staggering sum of £125,000,000.
This unique combination of events together with the restlessness of the middle classes was to lead directly to the explosion that shook Europe to the core and to the tragedy south of the Loire.
By 1788 King Louis XVI, having all but bankrupted the nation, needed to raise money urgently. His credit with French bankers and international moneylenders was fast drying up and he did not dare raise taxes further for fear of civil unrest.
His attempts to spread the tax burden and force the nobility and large landowners to pay their fair share (many were almost exempt) through reform of the tax system were defeated by an alliance of the aristocracy and bourgeois. This led to recrimination and violence.
Finally, in May 1789 the reluctant King was forced to agree to summon the Etats-Généraux, (a kind of national parliament) to obtain consent for his reform plans. It had not been called for 150 years.
Traditionally, this was divided into three 'orders', which were supposed to represent the orders of society in France: the Nobility, the Clergy and the Tiers Etat. This was obviously an out-of- date picture of French society as 90% of the population fell into the Tiers Etat.
The elected representatives of the Nobility gathered, determined to force the King to share his absolute power with them and to reinforce and protect their own feudal rights. Whilst many were prepared to pay a greater share of taxes they were unwilling to share their political power with the other orders.
The representatives of the Clergy gathered, sharply divided in their aims. Some wanted to obtain a share of power for the Church or share it with the nobility. Others, the so-called lower clergy - the priests who ministered daily to their flocks in town and country and who lived in relative poverty, wanted not just a fair wage for themselves, but change for the people, to give them a better life.
The Tiers Etat, elected throughout the country came to Paris. The majority of these representatives, called, as they are still today, députés, were drawn from the bourgeois class. Two thirds were either lawyers or had legal qualifications of some sort.
They were determined to seize this chance to finally obtain the hold on political power so long denied them and which they saw as their due, as well as institute reform of the creaking feudal system.
Particularly, there was a determination to achieve a constitutional monarchy and constitutional liberties, as well as sweeping away the bloated powers of the aristocracy. Many too were keen to curb the powers of the Church.
Each group carried with it the cahiers de doléances for their region. These were books of grievances, really petitions to the Monarch, drawn up locally throughout the country, after consultation with the people and were supposed to form the basis for debate in the Etats Généraux. The common thread
running through them was the need for root and branch reform.
The cahiers for the Western Loire (few actual examples have survived, thanks either to the subsequent Civil War or to later wilful destruction) sought major constitutional, social and legal change, having been largely drawn up by those with a strong interest in these changes, bourgeois political activists.
As most of the country folk were illiterate they would have been unable to read or write the petition, though they might have been able to sign it.
There is little evidence that they were interested in constitutional or other major reform, but rather in improving the conditions of their daily lives, particularly in paying less tax.
The list reached every corner of day-to-day life in the country.
Many wished to see the abolition of the milice, a locally constituted military force that took men away from their homes for several months at a time on military duties. The choice of individuals was made by drawing lots, though the wealthy could pay someone else to take their places.
Others sought the abolition or easing of traditional taxes such as la gabelle, a heavy tax levied by the State on salt (a vital commodity for preserving food in the days before refrigeration). Or capitation, a tax levied on individuals, which was not paid by the nobility. Many attacked the dime, a percentage of the harvest paid to the Church. A few wanted the resale of monastic lands as many religious orders had degenerated and no longer served their original charitable purpose.
Most traders wanted the abolition of customs posts on regional boundaries, farmers, the freedom to choose the mills to grind their wheat instead of being tied by their landowner's choice, tenants and small landowners the right to hunt on their own lands. Even though they owned the land, the right to hunt was reserved for the nobility. Other demands included removing the tax on leather, the provision of medical services, teachers in each parish, and the establishment of a fund to help the poor.
Thanks to their larger voting power and an alliance with the representatives of the lower orders of the Clergy, as well as through the King's political ineptitude, the Tiers Etat was able to take over the sitting of the Etats Généraux. This had the effect of marginalising the Nobility, effectively destroying their power.
The Tiers Etat then went on to claim sole authority in matters of taxation.
Exasperated at this usurping of his traditional powers, Louis XVI attempted to dissolve the Etats Généraux, but it refused to disperse, to the famous words of Mirabeau:
"Go tell your master (i. e. the King) we are here at the will of the people and that we will only be driven out at the point of a bayonet"
Though the King did not acknowledge it, effective power was now in the hands of the Tiers Etat representing those who had for so long been excluded from the political process.
Some rich aristocrats and members of the Royal family began to emigrate immediately, unwilling to see their privileges disappear.
Angered by what they saw as Royal intransigence and attempts by the King to regain power, fed up with high prices, shortages of food and unemployment, on 14th July 1789 the people of Paris and the local militia, egged on by the radical bourgeois, stormed the Bastille, a hated symbol of oppression. They freed the seven prisoners it contained and laid their hands on a considerable supply of arms and ammunition. The Paris mob then became the real arbiter of power.
The real French Revolution had begun.

3. Reform
Over the next few years, massive changes took place in all walks of life as the old feudal order was swept away, touching every "citizen" (who were no longer subjects of the King). A Constitution was drawn up, as well the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Amongst other things these documents guaranteed freedom of religion and political thought. They were, alas, to be honoured in the breach.
New administrative areas were created (Départements, divided into Districts, Cantons and Communes) which became the basis for civil administration. The law, taxes and even religion was reformed and reorganised. Elections were held for the new posts of mayor and local civil servants and even judges, frequently pitting supporters of the Revolution against local aristocrats.
In most of bigger cities and small towns, the bourgeois grabbed power from the nobility who continued to emigrate in greater numbers. Some, including those too poor to leave the country, lived quietly on their estates, whilst others embraced the new order or became involved in anti-republican activities. In Vendée, out of 242 nobles whose actions are known, 182 emigrated, 26 served or accepted the Republic whilst only 34 took part in the eventual uprising.
However, simply being born into the nobility became dangerous as the revolutionaries became obsessed with largely imaginary plots by the aristocracy against the Republic. Many nobles had to go into hiding if they were not to be imprisoned or worse. As émigré lands were subject to confiscation, unscrupulous individuals took advantage of their apparent absences from their estates and had the lands declared forfeit - to themselves.
The State coffers however were still empty and the need for money was great, both to reorganise the country and to defend the frontiers against invasion. The old feudal tax system had been abolished and the new one, based, on fairer taxes for all was not functioning well,
To raise money, the Government decided to confiscate and sell most of the land and property owned by the Church and religious orders. Many churches and country chapels, seen by the local fonctionnaires (state and local government employees of various types, largely supporters of the Revolution) as being surplus to need, were added to the sale. Overt opposition from the Pope as well as less openly from the King failed to change the Government's mind.
The lion's share of this giant asset sale was bought not by the nobility (though Queen Marie-Antoinette did buy former Church lands) or the peasant and small farmers, but by the bourgeois, keen to enlarge their land holdings and able to pay for their purchases in cash.
Pushed by more extreme politicians, largely rationalists, who were keen for both practical and ideological reasons, to see the power of the Church substantially reduced, even abolished, the Government decided to create a French Catholic Church, owing loyalty to the French State, and not to the Pope in Rome. In addition, the old religious orders, many of which had fallen into decrepitude, were abolished and their members turned away,
All priests were to be elected by their communities and salaried by the government (which was the least the State could do, having taken away the very lands and taxes which paid their meagre wages). The effect was to turn priests into fonctionnaires
In addition and more contentiously, before being allowed to take up their duties, priests had to take an oath of loyalty to the French Republic, swearing to uphold the new Constitution. For many the clash of loyalties with their duty to Rome was too much.
Those who failed or refused to do so (les refractaires) were not legally able to carry out their functions and had to forfeit their parishes in favour of those who had sworn the new oath, les assermentes, known in Western France, pejoratively, as les truts.
Finally, the old locally-based Civil Guard system for dealing with internal dissent and maintaining law-and-order was replaced by a new National Guard. This force drew its officers largely from the new bourgeois classes and its manpower, at least initially from the towns and cities. Its function was to carry out the Government's bidding.

4. The Rural Reaction
The rural world saw the Revolution as a mixed blessing, welcoming the sweeping away of the frequently onerous feudal taxes and levies as well as duties owed to the landowner. Many also gave a cautious welcome to the sale of Church lands as an opportunity to better their own holdings.
However, by 1790 their enthusiasm had begun to evaporate as it was realised that many of the changes were not for the better. With the disappearance of feudal duties had also gone feudal rights.
Heavy-handed implementation of many reforms by local administrations, often employing the National Guard, caused rapidly growing resentment and anger.
The peasants found themselves governed by new, unfamiliar institutions, and by a tiny minority of petty bourgeois who now formed the bulk of the elected and non-elected officials. Whilst some owed their position and allegiance to the Revolution through conviction, many had also purchased church lands, giving them, a strong vested interest.
The new councils, struggling to implement the masses of new laws emanating from Paris, often made unpopular and contradictory decisions, many of which were blatantly illegal, whilst those controlled by extremists sought to push revolutionary ideas and fervour further and further.
Indeed, the whole Revolution quickly became more extreme and less tolerant of any opposition, particularly after January 1793 when threatened by insurrection in several regions and by the forces of Holland and England on whom France had declared war. The revolutionaries reasoned that war was the one way of uniting the disparate elements of French society into a whole and of forging loyalty to the new concept of the "Nation".
In addition to being generally inexperienced in their new roles, the elected fonctionnaires often spoke only the language of the educated classes, French, whilst the bulk of the rural world spoke only their own local patois. The two were mutually incomprehensible.
These problems were often highlighted at the level of the new District Councils. Frequently several rural parishes were grouped with a small town, which tended to dominate affairs through its bourgeois and revolutionary minority, further alienating the country areas.
Very quickly, the rural majority found they had exchanged a feudal overlord whom they knew well, for new masters who had little understanding of their needs, habits and traditional ways. And who regarded the rural folk and their culture with contempt, seeing them as hangovers from the past, ripe for imposed education and change.
In addition, already angry that they had not been able to purchase more than a very small share of the ecclesiastical lands, many farmers now found their new secular landlords to be much more demanding than their predecessors as rents increased sharply or their leases were terminated.
With the abolition of feudal tithes payable to the landowners, most peasant farmers believed they would no longer be taxed at all. But the new tax burden was heavier than before and kept increasing. The ceiling for land taxes for example which had been set at a maximum of one sixth of income increased to half whilst that for personal taxes increased from an eighteenth to a quarter.
Taking advantage of the uncertainty of the times, many rural dwellers simply intimidated the tax collectors and refused to pay anything.
Exasperated, peasant farmers began refusing to sell food to government buyers as their prices were too low and the promissory notes used for payment quickly devalued. Many too had no wish to supply a government that was seen as oppressing them, taking away their rights and attacking their rural culture.
The towns and cities began to starve, leading to riots and looting as the food distribution system broke down. The premises of anyone thought to be hoarding flour and food were attacked and even ships on the Loire had their cargoes stolen.
National Guardsmen were sent into the rural areas to requisition food from the reluctant farmers, further exacerbating the situation.
Great opposition too was generated by clumsy attempts to change rural religion. The country folk did not want their rural chapels sold off for barns or factories, nor did they relish seeing their much loved church bells taken away to be melted down for coinage (each parish was allowed to keep one only).
Groups of revolutionaries called La Societe Ambulante des Amis de la Constitution (The Travelling Society of the Friends of the Constitution) criss-crossed the countryside preaching the advantages of the new Reason-based, almost deist, religion over the old, sublime and irrational. Others openly preached atheism. The peasants generally gave them short shrift.
Mysteriously, rural roadside crosses and other traditional religious monuments including the sacred oaks, often the sites of local pilgrimages, were destroyed in the night by revolutionary fanatics or by over-zealous communes anxious
to remove anything to do with the old religion which might become the focal point for agitation.
Real fury however was generated when the Government finally ordered the replacement of revered and respected refractaire parish priests by assermentes, many of whom came from the abolished religious orders and did not even speak the local patois or understand the rural "way of religion".
In western France, 70 - 90% of priests had refused to swear the new loyalty oath and in the country as a whole 46,000 out of 70,000. In addition, 153 out of 160 bishops also refused.
The National Guard was employed to search out and imprison (generally in hideous conditions) the refractaires, many of whom were subsequently banished (over 200 left the Vendée alone) or killed. In turn the rural population resisted the installation of the new priests, both actively and passively.
The greatest number of these banished priests went to England, which sheltered 10,000. Spain received 8,160, including most of the contingent from the Vendée Militaire, whilst others went to Switzerland, Germany and even Canada.
Those who stayed behind were essentially outlaws, hidden by their loyal parishioners who refused to acknowledge the truts, to attend their services, to be baptised or married by them, largely because they doubted the authority of their offices. Many preferred to attend clandestine services held deep in the woods at night by the refractaires, word of whose presence was passed by word of mouth and who were protected by armed peasants.
The bourgeois on the other hand seem to have been quite at ease with the new priests.
Anxious to ensure the purity of the Revolution, to ensure the implementation of its laws and to counter any opposition, the Government, now led effectively by Robespierre sent representants en mission (the equivalent of parliamentary commissioners) into the regions. They were given unlimited powers to oversee local authorities and the military, and to report back to Paris on problems in the regions.
Most had little or no contact with the rural majority, listening instead to local patriotes (supporters of the Revolution). Often fanatics, these men fed back to Paris the most one-sided and lurid tales of the state of the country. Later, particularly when accompanying military units into action they were frequently responsible for overriding the authority of military commanders in the field and ordering the most violent and shameful incidents.
Their reports spoke in very alarmist terms of insurrection and counter-revolution, of plots by the aristocracy and by priests to overthrow the new Republic. Particularly they imagined British and émigrés involvement, with the English Navy landing arms and spies along the coast.
In reality there was almost no evidence of this. The country people were opposing the imposition of change for which they saw no need and in which they had no part. Too much was being done too quickly without preparing the people for it or explaining the reasons.
As a result of these reports and appeals from the largely republican local administrations, National Guard units were stationed in the villages, further exacerbating the already strained relationship between the rural folk and their "rulers".