Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville
Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville, comte d'Arnouville, seigneur de Garge et de Gonesse (Paris, 13 December 1701 – Paris, 12 July 1794), He was a French statesman, son of Louis Charles Machault d'Arnouville, lieutenant of police.[1]
In 1721, he was counsel to the
In 1749, he attempted a reform in the levying of direct taxes, which, if carried out, would have done much to prevent the later Revolutionary movement. He proposed to abolish the old tax of a tenth or tithe (in French dîme), which was evaded by the clergy and most of the nobility, and substituted a tax of one-twentieth (in French "vingtième") that would have been levied on all.[1] The inclusion of the church made this bill popular with the larger public, in addition to the Philosophes, the Jansenists, and the Gallicans. However, there were loud remonstrances from bishops (particularly Christophe de Beaumont, the Archbishop of Paris) and the Dévot party at Louis XV's court. The clergy stood by their historical privileges, and the outcry of the nobility was virulent, and the proposal was rejected. Despite this, Machault managed to retain his office until July 1754, when he exchanged the controllership for the Naval Ministry.
Foreseeing the disastrous results of the
Family
His eldest son, Louis Charles de Machault d'Arnouville (1737–1820), was
References
- ^ a b c d e public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Machault d'Arnouville, Jean Baptiste de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 233. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Antoine, Michel, Louis XV, Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris, 1989, ISBN 2-213-02277-1