IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tse/wpaper/129643.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Road to Rebellion: Rural Uprisings and State-Building in the Run-Up to the French Revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Albertus, Michael
  • Gay, Victor

Abstract

Early modern European powers were beset by episodic unrest as they sought to con-solidate authority and build empires. We examine how growing state communication networks and increased state activity impacted rural unrest by combining original and detailed parish-level data from pre-revolutionary France on the expansion of the horse-post relay network with rural rebellion in this period. Using a staggered difference-in-differences framework, we find that new horse-post relays are associated with more local rebellion. We argue that the main mechanisms are the material consequences of state efforts at monopolization. New horse-post relays are associated with more rebellion against high-profile state agents—the military, police, and judiciary—that conscripted civilians, enforced taxes and laws, and increasingly monopolized roads. We find no evidence that relays fostered broader rebellion against the nobility or Church, or that the effects stem from informational or infrastructural changes occurring con-temporaneously. Our findings have implications for the scholarly understanding of the co-evolution of states and violence.

Suggested Citation

  • Albertus, Michael & Gay, Victor, 2024. "The Road to Rebellion: Rural Uprisings and State-Building in the Run-Up to the French Revolution," TSE Working Papers 24-1557, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Feb 2025.
  • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:129643
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.tse-fr.eu/sites/default/files/TSE/documents/doc/wp/2024/wp_tse_1557.pdf
    File Function: Full Text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Chaisemartin, Clément & D’Haultfœuille, Xavier, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences estimators with several treatments," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 236(2).
    2. Ridolfi, Leonardo, 2019. "Six Centuries of Real Wages in France from Louis IX to Napoleon III: 1250–1860," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(3), pages 589-627, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    2. Leonardo Ridolfi, 2024. "Gender inequality in a transition economy: heights and sexual height dimorphism in Southwestern France, 1640–1850," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 18(1), pages 37-102, January.
    3. Boško Mijatović & Branko Milanović, 2021. "The real urban wage in an agricultural economy without landless farmers: Serbia, 1862–1910," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 424-448, May.
    4. Cédric Chambru & Paul Maneuvrier‐Hervieu, 2023. "The evolution of wages in early modern Normandy (1600–1850)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 917-940, August.
    5. Federica Daniele & Alessandra Pasquini & Stefano Clò & Enza Maltese, 2022. "Unburdening regulation: the impact of regulatory simplification on photovoltaic adoption in Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1387, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Robert Reinhardt, 2024. "Shaking up Foreign Finance: FDI in a Post-Disaster World," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 317-348, July.
    7. Li, Daiyue & Jin, Yanhong & Cheng, Mingwang, 2024. "Unleashing the power of industrial robotics on firm productivity: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 500-520.
    8. Victor Gay & Paula Gobbi & Marc Goñi, 2023. "Revolutionary Transition: Inheritance Change and Fertility Decline," Working Papers hal-04285818, HAL.
    9. Desierto, Desiree & Koyama, Mark, 2024. "The Political Economy of Status Competition: Sumptuary Laws in Preindustrial Europe," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(2), pages 479-516, June.
    10. Guccio, C. & Pignataro, G. & Vidoli, F., 2024. "It never rains but it pours: Austerity and mortality rate in peripheral areas," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. Chloé Zapha & Banque de France, 2023. "Access to Credit after Emerging from Corporate Bankruptcy," Working Papers halshs-03957890, HAL.
    12. Mark Kattenberg & Bas Scheer & Jurre Thiel, 2023. "Causal forests with fixed effects for treatment effect heterogeneity in difference-in-differences," CPB Discussion Paper 452, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    13. Cummins, Neil, 2020. "The micro-evidence for the Malthusian system. France, 1670–1840," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    14. Tian, Haowen & Wang, Junkai & Wu, Sirui, 2024. "Beyond the target: The spillover effect of shareholder activism on corporate tax avoidance," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    15. Balmford, Ben & Collins, Joseph & Day, Brett & Lindsay, Luke & Peacock, James, 2023. "Pricing rules for PES auctions: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    16. Bergvall, Sanna & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2024. "Motherhood and Domestic Violence: A Longitudinal Study Using Population-Wide Administrative Data," IZA Discussion Papers 17129, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Francesconi, Marco & Sonedda, Daniela, 2024. "Does Weaker Employment Protection Lower the Cost of Job Loss?," IZA Discussion Papers 17374, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Weisdorf, Jacob & Rota, Mauro, 2020. "Italy and the Industrial Revolution: Evidence from Stable Employment in Rural Areas," CEPR Discussion Papers 14652, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Chiara Lodi & Agnese Sacchi & Francesco Vidoli, 2024. "Gender politics, environmental behaviours, and local territories: Evidence from Italian municipalities," Papers 2410.06091, arXiv.org.
    20. Hoekman, Bernard & Sanfilippo, Marco & Tambussi, Margherita, 2023. "Foreign Direct Investment and Structural Transformation in Africa," CEPR Discussion Papers 17838, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    State-building; rebellion; social order; postal network; Western Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P41 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:129643. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tsetofr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.