Abolition of Feudalism

• The French Revolution began with the formation of the National Assembly.
• The National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
• The National Assembly abolished feudal privileges and rights.
• Laws were enacted to dismantle feudal obligations and privileges.
• The abolition of feudalism was officially confirmed in the August Decrees.

The abolition of feudalism during the French Revolution was a series of significant legislative acts passed by the National Constituent Assembly. On the night of 4 August 1789, noble representatives, in a dramatic session, renounced their own privileges, thereby dismantling the feudal system that had structured French society for centuries. This event is commonly referred to as the “August Decrees.”

Feudalism, prior to its abolition, was a social and economic system in which peasants were bound to the land owned by nobility. Serfs or peasants worked the land in exchange for protection and various feudal dues. These dues included rent, tithes (taxes paid to the church), and various obligations such as corvée labor (unpaid labor required by lords). These obligations severely limited the freedom and economic opportunities of the peasantry, reinforcing a rigid class structure.

The decision to abolish feudalism was influenced by the widespread unrest and peasant revolts during the summer of 1789. Known as the “Great Fear,” these uprisings were fueled by rumors that the nobility were plotting to overthrow the revolutionary movement. In response, peasants attacked manorial estates and destroyed feudal documents (which recorded their obligations). This created a sense of urgency among the deputies in the National Constituent Assembly to address the grievances articulated by the Third Estate (commoners).

The National Constituent Assembly's decrees on feudalism included the abolition of seigneurial rights (the rights of landlords such as hunting privileges), the end of tithes, and the elimination of exclusive hunting rights and banalités (fees collected by lords for using essential facilities like mills and ovens). These measures aimed to create a more equitable society by removing the economic and legal privileges of the nobility.

Although the decrees of 4 August 1789 symbolically dismantled feudalism, the implementation of these laws was gradual. Compensation to the former feudal lords for their lost privileges was a contentious issue. Some aspects of feudal dues were not entirely eradicated until later decrees and the reforms of the Legislative Assembly. Nonetheless, the August Decrees marked a turning point in the French Revolution, contributing to the decline of the ancien régime (Old Regime).

This historic legislative action laid the foundation for the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted on 26 August 1789. The Declaration set forth universal principles of equality and individual rights, which would significantly influence the course of the revolution and the development of modern democratic principles in France and beyond.

• The abolition of feudalism in France was officially declared on 4 August 1789 during the National Constituent Assembly, marking a radical shift from centuries of hereditary privilege and land-based economy.
• Peasants were required to undertake a series of feudal obligations that included labor and taxes; with the abolition, they were emancipated from such burdens, gaining greater autonomy over their lives and lands.
• Although the abolition was intended to create a more egalitarian society, it led to complex repercussions in the countryside, including resistance from landowners and intermittent peasant revolts over property rights.
• In many regions, such as in the Vendée, the end of feudalism did not occur without controversy, as traditional customs and local power structures fought against the revolutionary changes introduced by the Assembly.
• Peasants celebrated the abolition of feudalism, but they often found themselves burdened by new taxes and state obligations, leading to disillusionment in rural areas as the hope for true liberation faded.