511 Estates-General

In the Ancien Régime in France, the Estates-General (?tatsgénéraux) were meetings of representatives of the people of France at the convocation of the king. Participants www.biquge.info Pen Fun Pavilion are divided into three levels: the first level is for the clergy, the second level is for the nobles, and the commoners are for everyone except the first two ranks. Meetings are usually convened by the king to ask for assistance when the country is in trouble, so it is not scheduled. In 1302, Philip IV clashed with Pope Boniface VIII over a tax increase on the Church. In order to confront the Holy See, Philip IV convened the First Estates-General on May 10, 1302, and for the first time summoned two representatives of the citizens from each city, in addition to representatives of the Church and the nobility[1]. Later, the provinces also imitated the national Estates-General and convened their own Estates-General. In the 487 years since, the Estates-General have been convened 21 times, each time in special meetings when the state is in financial or political difficulty, with the purpose of asking the people for their views on major issues or passing certain major resolutions.

During the Hundred Years' War between England and France, the power of the Estates-General was strengthened by the precarious royal power and the awakening of national consciousness. The Estates-General were held frequently during this period, and were held annually from 1355 to 1359. As the royal family in the war was in dire need of popular support, the Estates-General took the opportunity to expand their influence. The most typical was in 1357, when King John II was captured by the English army and demanded a huge ransom. In March, the Estates-General of the Crown Prince Charles (later Charles V) convened. The Estates-General seized the opportunity to assert their rights and put forward a series of conditions: the Estates-General delegates would be allowed to participate in the King's Council and the administration would be reorganized. Oust unpopular officials. The Estates-General have the power to meet on their own every three months without the king's approval. inviolability of conference delegates, etc. Charles V issued the "Great Edict of March", promising to expand the powers of the Council. But the edict was never implemented.

The Estates-General later played a role in the Throne Consultation and the Wars of Religion. In 1614, the Estates-General convened to resolve the political conflict between the Prince of Condé and the Queen Mother Marie. But due to strife, the three classes had their own needs, and in the end they got nothing. Since then, the influence of the Estates-General has gradually waned.

The Estates-General in France are advisory bodies with a certain democratic character, not permanent, and are very different from a true representative parliament. In essence, the Estates-General are a supplement to the monarchy. Serve the king's power, be summoned by the king, communicate with his subjects, and solve real-world problems. As the power of the French feudal crown continued to be centralized, eventually the Estates-General also lost their value in existence.

In France, which fell into a financial crisis again, coupled with the contradictions and conflicts between the emerging bourgeoisie and the old feudal forces in China, the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie demanded that France carry out fiscal reforms, imitate the Tang Dynasty and open up more systems and policies conducive to the development of industry and commerce, and at the same time demand that it follow the example of the Tang Dynasty and the United States to obtain more political rights. The aristocracy was also troubled by France's growing financial problems. They want to reform the tax system to serve their own interests. At the same time, they resisted the reform of the land and other economic systems by the new bourgeoisie.

Elections to the Estates-General were held in the spring of 1789, and the eligibility of the Third Estate was required to be male citizens of French origin or who had become French citizens, and were required to vote at their place of residence and to pay taxes. A total of 1,201 delegates were elected, including 291 nobles, 300 clergy, and 610 members of the Third Estate. Prior to the discussions, the Estates-General prepared a "position paper" describing the content of the discussions to be presented. Some ideas that would have been considered very radical a few months ago were clearly expressed in the submission, but the majority of the submissions were in favor of the monarch. Much of the content assumes that the Third Estate will support future tax reforms, with little mention of Enlightenment ideas. Pamphlets written by liberal aristocrats and clergy sprung up and spread widely after the suspension of press control. In January of that year, Sières published a pamphlet entitled "What is the Third Estate?" "What is the third level? It's everything, it's the whole country; What is the place of the Third Estate in the political order? Nothing; What does Level 3 require? Asking for some kind of status. ”

In particular, many books on the design of new social ideas imported from the Tang Dynasty began to form an influence after being packaged by well-intentioned people, and slowly fermented among the French.

On May 5, the day before the Estates-General meeting, a liberal cleric, Siaishi secretly visited the Tang embassy in Paris, dressed in a black cloak, with his head bowed and unable to see who it was, and was led in by a staff member at the back door of the embassy.

Chu Bai, who was the plenipotentiary of the Tang Dynasty for European affairs, personally greeted the priest with no status in the corridor of the embassy, with a smile that did not have the same smile as Godoy, a favorite of Spain. Obviously, the Western Mourners also understand the Tang Dynasty, and some Tang etiquette has also been circulated in Paris over the years. Xi Aishi bowed slightly, then shook hands with Chu Bai and said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Ambassador." ”

"Hello Father Sière, I am honored to meet you."

The two exchanged pleasantries, entered a small meeting room, and then went straight to the point.

"Mr. Ambassador, the Estates-General will be convened soon, and it is obvious that relying on the platform of the Estates-General, it is difficult for us in the Third Level to achieve our demands, especially since our Third Level has a direct conflict of interest with the First and Second Levels, and they will not agree to any of our requests. Therefore, our third estate has begun to brew, leaving aside the first and second estates, and following the system of your country, to form a national assembly and coerce the king to delinquish power. ”

Of course, Chu Bai knew what the third-tier Frenchmen would do, but on the surface, he still made a particularly surprised expression and said, "But in this way, this is a revolution from below, a rebellion." ”

Siaishi nodded, with a sense of righteousness, and said: "Yes, just as the revolutionaries of South America are doing now, for the sake of the well-being of our people, for the sake of the future of our country, and for the sake of the system that hinders the development of society, we must do this. Now, we hope to enlist Datang's support for us. After all, as the leader of the republican world, Datang has given us great guidance in terms of democracy. ”

Chu Bai expressed his attitude and said: "We, the Datang Republic, have long supported the development of friendly countries and the progress of the social system, and we highly understand and support your demands, but Datang will not openly support or provide any material assistance, which is inconsistent with our consistent policy." (To be continued.) )