18th century France was a turbulent time, both politically and socially. The country was on the cusp of a revolution, which eventuated in 1789, when peasants captured the royal family who were summarily executed. Money played no small part in these cataclysmic events, and it affected every person living in France at this time. The French officer corps was no exception.
The bourgeois, or middle class, had wealth. This wealth was noticeably used to fund the French army. Sons of the middle-class financiers were secretly offered positions with the army in return for the cancellation of debt owed to them by the head of corps.
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"War and Society in the Age of Revolution".
These officers who concluded business transactions with the financiers were in control of the money that was issued to the soldiers, who were paid either in advance, or as a loan. Unfortunately for the soldiers, the officers would charge interest on these arrears, money which would go into their private purse if not used for the soldier’s upkeep (uniforms, ration, etc.) Thus, as well as drawing their own wages for service from the king, the officers would draw a subsidiary wage from their soldiers.
Prior to the Revolution, the officer corps in France were almost exclusively comprised of members of the nobility. This tradition had its beginnings during the days of the Sun King, Louis XIV. One such member of the noble class who was also an officer, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Count of Rochambeau, was able to loan a vast sum of money which was the equivalent of 180, 000 US dollars today, to a defeated English general so that he could pay his army during the American Revolution. Presumably this wealth was part of the estate which de Vimeur inherited, given its immense sum.
The members of the noble class, or Second Estate, which made up the bulk of the officer corps in 18th century France were exempt from paying tax. Therefore, as well as inheriting wealth, this law protected them from losing wealth.
There were, however, members of France’s noblesse d’epee, or nobles of the sword, who were actually members of the Third Estate (commoners) who paid for their stations via the use of bribes, purchasing their titles from the king rather than earning them after service. This practice was known as venality. It is recorded that four thousand such titles were conferred by the king prior to the Revolution.
One notable example of a wealthy noble officer of the French army was Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette. He was born into a noble family and inherited a military rank from his wealthy landowner predecessors. Lafayette, who was present at both the American and the French Revolutions. Lafayette’s father died when he was a boy, and his mother inherited the estate. However, Lafayette received an inheritance from his mother and his grandfather of 25 000 livres, and an uncle, which saw him gain an annual income of 120, 000 livres.
Not all officers in the French army at the time of the Revolution had such illustrious and wealthy lineage, however. Jean-Paul Pichegru was a Commander-in-Chief during the Relvolutionary Wars. Born into a peasant family, Pichegru was educated by the friars of Arbois. The friars sent the boy on to military school where he excelled, and quickly rose through the ranks.
Prior to the French Revolution, the noble officer class would not have lowered themselves to become involved in business, yet by 1789 these men were very interested in accumulating wealth and increasing their power, and so fuelled by capitalist sentiments, the entered into various business ventures.
