Editing Antoine Barnave (section)

==Ideas for economic advancement==

===Decree of Lands===

To Barnave, allocating the appropriated land of the [[History of Roman Catholicism in France|Church]] among the French people would help abate the economic burden and starvation in the country. Having land put up as collateral enables France to receive loans from foreign nations. The land would also become a source of food for the hungry through harvests. This encourages a system of production and sale to stimulate the economy. Barnave saw that the Church, being first estate, had great power and wealth. To him, the roles of the clergy, priests, and bishops resided on spreading the message of God and thus should not oppose providing His children with basic proprietary rights.<ref>Doyle, William. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. Print.</ref> He stood with the [[Civil Constitution of the Clergy|Decree on Church Lands]] which provided each clergymen with no more than an annual income of 1200 livres while retaining ownership of his residency and lawn.<ref>Popiel, Jennifer J., Mark C. Carnes, and [[Gary Kates]]. Rousseau, Burke, and Revolution in France, 1791. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2015. Print.</ref> He believed that laborers working this land would strengthen the role of France in the manufacturing sector and revitalize the quality and quantity of agricultural goods.<ref>Blanning, Timothy C. W. The French Revolution: Class War or Culture Clash? Second ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998. Print.</ref>

===End of feudalism and taxation on the nobility===

In 1789, Barnave was one of the key figures to advise King [[Louis XVI]] to work in unison with the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] in order to prevent riots that seek an anarchic form of government. He argued that the [[French Revolution|revolution]] had sparked a necessary change in politics. The [[Constitutional monarchy]] was a way to maintain an improved version of French tradition.<ref>Barnave, Antoine, and Emanuel Chill. Power, Property, and History; Barnave's Introduction to the French Revolution and Other Writings. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. Print.</ref> However, the [[Estates of the realm|nobility's]] special privileges provided by the [[Feudalism|Feudal system]] were to be fully terminated. People of higher class had to adhere to the same laws and regulations as did any common citizen, so taxation would be equally applicable to them. Noblemen especially would contribute to tax revenue that will ameliorate France's national debt. Barnave was strongly in favor of making France into a country that allowed people unrestricted economic or entrepreneurial practices, enabling all citizens to take part in the offerings of commercial markets.<ref>Markoff, John. Abolition of Feudalism: Peasants, Lords, and Legislators in the French Revolution. Place of Publication Not Identified: Lightning Source, 2004. Print.</ref>

===Slaves in Saint-Domingue===
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Barnave argued that successful political changes, incorporation of equal rights, and an inclusive government stem from successful financial progression. Without a sound economic state, France would not be able to compete with foreign powers, and the people would not have the opportunity to improve their lives or truly live freely.<ref>Barnave, Antoine, and Emanuel Chill. Power, Property, and History; Barnave's Introduction to the French Revolution and Other Writings. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. Print.Barnave, Antoine, and Emanuel Chill. Power, Property, and History; Barnave's Introduction to the French Revolution and Other Writings. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. Print.</ref> [[Slavery]] in [[Saint-Domingue]] allowed the cultivation and sale of coffee and sugar to thrive. He opposed discrimination against any race but also understood how the [[Atlantic slave trade|African slaves]] contributed to the only source of wealth France had at a moment of deep financial crisis. He advocated that [[Abolitionism|abolishing slavery]] was not an economically smart course of action.<ref>De Stael, Germaine. Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution. Ed. Aurelian Craiutu. English ed. Indianapolis: Liberty Funds, 1818. Print.</ref>