Flour War
Encyclopedia
The Flour War of 1775 was an uprising caused by the excessive price of bread in France before the French Revolution
. Early in the season for wheat harvesting and flour production, the government enacted fewer price controls than later in the year, leaving prices to the free market
. This caused the price of flour to climb, and the working classes could not buy bread. They demanded the intervention of the state to force millers to release all the flour they were holding in reserve.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Early in the season for wheat harvesting and flour production, the government enacted fewer price controls than later in the year, leaving prices to the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
. This caused the price of flour to climb, and the working classes could not buy bread. They demanded the intervention of the state to force millers to release all the flour they were holding in reserve.
Further reading
- Cynthia A. Bouton. The flour war: gender, class, and community in late Ancien Régime French society. Penn State Press, 1993. ISBN 027101055X, 9780271010557