Bourgeoisie of Geneva

The inhabitants of the seigneurie and the Republic of Geneva were divided into four orders of people[1]: the Citoyens, the Bourgeois, the Habitants, and the Natifs. The Citoyens and the Bourgeois formed the bourgeoisie and, thus the patrician class of the Republic.

Arms of the families that had the Bourgeoisie of Geneva in 1792

Status
  • The Citoyens (citizens) were offspring of bourgeois and born in the city. Only their males could reach the status of magistrate.[1][2]
  • The Bourgeois were offspring of bourgeois or citizens who were born in a foreign country, or foreigners who had acquired the right of the bourgeoisie from the Magistrate.[1][2] To gain access to the bourgeoisie, they had to buy it. In addition to the sum of money, it was customary to pay for a "seillot"[3] and often a firearm. The bourgeoisie acquired services for free or at a reduced price.[4][5] The bourgeois could be on the General Council and the Council of Two Hundred.
  • The Habitants (inhabitants): foreigners who had permission from the Magistrate to live in the city.[1] They had to pay a housing tax. The inhabitants could access the bourgeoisie after living a certain number of years in Geneva.
  • The Natifs (natives): sons of foreigners allowed to live there, born in the city.[1] They were deprived of any political right and could not practice certain professions.

History

The assembly of the bourgeois and citizens of Geneva constituted the General Council. The number of bourgeois entitled to vote in the General Council never exceeded fifteen hundred. The General Council originally elected the Geneva Trustees, magistrates responsible for the administration of the commune, for a period of one year. Later, it appointed the Council of Two Hundred. Most citizens of Geneva came from neighboring Savoy because many of them worked and participated in the administration of the city of Geneva.[6]

Revolts against nepotism and the influx of foreigners, particularly French Protestant refugees whom Calvin forced into the bourgeoisie to ensure his domination. He thus secured a majority in the elections of 1554. During the eighteenth century, Geneva was marked by many political troubles stemming from the inequality of rights between Genevois. The bourgeois, who enjoyed a privileged status, and their descendants, the citizens, held the upper hand: had all the political rights and many economic privileges. In front of them, the inhabitants and their descendants, the natives, form a population without political rights and hampered in its economic activities.[2] Due to the French invasion of Switzerland, the bourgeoisie of Geneva lost their privilege in 1798. All Genevans have been ordinary citizens since that date.

The capacity of Bourgeois, that is to say of citizen of a city having political rights not available to other residents, forms the base of the urban organization of cities. This urban system in Europe for many cities dates back to Greco-Latin antiquity,[7] others were founded around the year 1000. This system of urban civilization developed in parallel to the rural civilization rooted in the Neolithic era.[8]

Notable families
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See also

Notes and references
  1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Collection complète des œuvres de J.J. Rousseau : Œuvres mêlées, 1776, p. 451
  2. Genève, Etat de. "7. Troubles politiques à Genève au XVIIIe siècle | Archives - République et canton de Genève (Suisse) - ge.ch". ge.ch (in French). Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  3. Seillot: bucket to carry water during fires. The seillots were hanging on the walls near the fountains in the neighborhoods of the city.
  4. Bulletin de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Genève, Volume 6, 1933, p. 136
  5. Histoire du Collège de Genève, 1896, 402 pages, p. 96
  6. Ville de Genève les 400 ans du traité de St-Julien.
  7. Henri Pirenne, Les villes du Moyen Âge, essai d’histoire économique et sociale, Bruxelles, Lamertin, 1927. [2], also : Les villes et les institutions urbaines, Alcan, 1939.
  8. (In French) Pierre Bonenfant, professor at the University of Brussels, "Racines préhistoriques de la Wallonie", in Histoire de la Wallonie published under the direction of Léopold Genicot, Toulouse, Privat, 1973, p.37-39:
    Il n'y a pas si longtemps, tout compte fait, que notre Préhistoire est révolue. Dans l'angle nord-ouest de l'Europe, la vie, durant le haut Moyen Âge, a ressemblé de très près, matériellement et socialement, à ce qu'elle avait été à l'âge du Fer, soit que la tradition s'en fût purement et simplement maintenue, comme ce fut le cas hors des limites de l'Empire romain, soit qu'elle ait repris vigueur, ce qui advint en deçà de ces limites. Dans le domaine des techniques, l'archéologie ne cesse de multiplier les preuves de cette situation. (...) Forges, charronnages ou poteries rurales sont, au début du Moyen Âge, tout à fait dans la tradition de l'âge du Fer. Tandis que notre mode traditionnel d'agriculture, fondé à la fois sur l'élevage pour la viande et le lait et sur la culture du blé, remonte plus haut encore: à l'origine même du Néolithique européen continental (Danubien), c'est-à-dire au Ve millénaire au moins. Il n'en va pas autrement du plan dispersé de nos villages qui s'oppose à l'habitat fortement groupé que connaît l'Orient dès le Néolithique. Et la même origine vaut pour nos vieilles chaumières aux murs de colombage, hourdés de torchis et coiffés d'un toit à double pente. (...) Ajoutons que nos campagnes ont conservé parfois jusqu'à l'aube de la révolution industrielle de vieilles techniques protohistoriques. (...) Nous devons donc nous demander s'il n'existe pas quelques très vieilles continuités plongeant dans la Préhistoire qui peuvent conférer à la physionomie de la Wallonie actuelle certains traits particuliers.

Authority

Content in this edit is translated from the French Wikipedia article at fr:Bourgeoisie de Genève; see its history for attribution.

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