Changes

==Rural society==

==Rural society==

In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]</ref>

In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [https://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]</ref>

==Economy==

==Economy==

* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars

* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars

* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative

* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative

*  Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]

*  Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [https://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]

* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]  

* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]  

* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]

* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [https://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]

* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]

* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]

* Parker,  David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist

* Parker,  David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist

* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]

* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]