Western Civilization.p

The Social and Economic Structure of the Old Regime 315

the life of lavish dinners and balls. Yet a position at
court was often the route to political office, military
command, or perhaps a pension providing a lifetime in-
come. Most provincial nobles lacked the opportunities
for such advancement.
The provincial aristocracy, living on inherited lands
in the rural world, encompassed a great range of social

and economic conditions. The Spanish, for example,

distinguished between grandees (a term for the greatest

nobles, such as the dukes of Alba) who possessed im-

mense estates and national influence, locally important

aristocrats (called caballeros) who owned enough land to

live as a privileged elite, and a comparatively poor gen-

try (called hidalgos) who were said to have more titles

Income or expenses Amount

Income from land owned by the count

Rent for lands in region #1 (annual average, 1696–1730) 5,000+

Rent for lands in region #2 (annual average, 1699–1726) 3,500+

Rent for lands in region #3 (annual average, 1698–1723) 8,700+

Income from sale of wood from forest in region #3 (1788) 40,000+

Gross revenue from all land (after paying upkeep and wages) in 1788 86,269

Income from pensions given by the king

Total pensions for 1754 46,900

Pension as commander of royal forces in Burgundy 26,250

Income from seigneurial dues (obligations paid by peasants)

Total dues paid in 1788 26,986

Income from the inheritance of the countess (1725)

Income from four houses in Paris (value = 200,000) 10,000

Income from investments (value = 367,938) 8,698

Total capital inherited in 1725 803,924

Wages paid to the count’s staff (1780–86)

Annual wages for the count’s agent in Paris 800

Annual wages for a forest warden in Burgundy 200

Annual wages for a gardener or a maid in Burgundy 70

Annual wages for a chef in Paris 945

Annual wages for a coachman in Paris 720

Personal expenses

Total personal expenses in 1788 62,000

Expenses for clothing, jewelry, and gifts in 1788 20,000

Expenses for the theater in 1788 2,000

Monthly expenses for Roquefort cheese (January 1784) 32

Monthly expenses for cognac (January 1784) 30

Monthly expenses for cayenne coffee (January 1784) 30

Source: Data from Robert Forster, The House of Saulx-Tavannes: Versailles and Burgundy, 1700–1830(Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1971),

passim.

TABLE 17.3

The Finances of a Great Noble in the Eighteenth Century

This table has excerpts from the financial records of a French

noble family, the counts and countesses of Tavannes. The

unit of measure is the livre, which had approximately the

same value as an English shilling (one-twentieth of the

pound sterling). Figures are given for mixed years because

only partial records have survived.