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taxation

paulette, in pre-Revolutionary France, royal edict of 1604 that resulted in making offices hereditary, a step in the creation of a permanent class of judicial magistrates, the noblesse de robe. The edict provided that, for an annual payment to the crown of one-sixtieth of an office’s value, that office could be sold or bequeathed rather than revert to the crown on the death of the holder. The edict took its name from Charles Paulet, who proposed the measure and obtained control of the collection of payments.

The paulette provided the crown with needed revenue, although it also diminished the king’s power of appointment. The officeholders, desiring to gain complete disposal of their offices, were eager both to make the annual payment (droit annuel) and to ensure its renewal every nine years.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Albert.
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France

ancien régime, (French: “old order”) Political and social system of France prior to the French Revolution. Under the regime, everyone was a subject of the king of France as well as a member of an estate and province. All rights and status flowed from the social institutions, divided into three orders: clergy, nobility, and others (the Third Estate). There was no national citizenship.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Heather Campbell.