Les bonnes adresses: mapping the urban elites in revolutionary Paris

Abstract

During the French Revolution, the nationalization of property led to a massive reconfiguration of the social map of the city. Neighborhoods changed character as property that belonged to aristocrats or the Church was confiscated and sold to others. Drawing on both archival research documenting property transfers and the memoirs and letters of those who lived through this period, this paper discusses the urban dimension of the revolutionary reconfiguration of the social order. I explore not only how the social geography of the city changed due to the Revolution, but also how these changes contributed to a new understanding of the social structure at a time when memories of both the Old Regime and the Revolution made Paris a contested and politicized landscape.