Under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, a ''pays d'états'' () was a type of

généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current ''préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, there ...

, or fiscal and financial region where, in contrast to the pays d'election, an estates provincial or representative assembly of the three orders had retained its traditional role of negotiating the raising of taxes with the royal commissaires or

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

s, dividing the tax burden by diocese and parish, and controlling tax collection. The estates also held onto part of the funds thus raised to repair and develop the roads in its province. According to Roland Mousnier and

Bernard Barbiche Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brave ...

''Les institutions de la Monarchie française à l’époque moderne, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle'', PUF, Paris, 1999) the ''pays d'états'' were: * Alsace. Estates suppressed - 17th century * Anjou. Estates suppressed - 15th century * Artois. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Auvergne. Estates suppressed - 17th century * Basse-Navarre. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

. Estates suppressed - 16th century *

Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of t ...

. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Bourgogne Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

(Burgundy). Estates suppressed - 1789. * Bresse. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Bretagne (Brittany). Estates suppressed - 1789. * Bugey. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Cambrésis Cambrésis () is a former ''pagus'', county and prince-bishopric of the medieval Holy Roman Empire that was annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1679. It is now regarded as one of the "natural regions" of France, and roughly equivalent to the Arro ...

. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Charolais. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Comminges The Comminges (; Occitan/ Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This natural region is norma ...

Estates supressed - 1622 * Corse (Corsica). Estates suppressed - 1789. * Dauphiné. Estates suppressed - 17th century * Flandre (Flanders). Estates suppressed - 1789. * Foix. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

. Estates suppressed - 18th century * Gévaudan. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Hainaut (Hainault). Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Labourd Labourd ( eu, Lapurdi; la, Lapurdum; Gascon: ''Labord'') is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département''. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial c ...

. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Languedoc. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Limousin. Estates suppressed - 15th century * Mâconnais. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Maine. Estates suppressed - 16th century *

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

. Estates suppressed - 15th century * Marsan. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Nébouzan. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Normandie (Normandy). Estates suppressed - 17th century *

Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départm ...

. Estates suppressed - 16th century * Périgord. Estates suppressed - 16th century * Provence. Estates suppressed - 1789. *

Quatre-Vallées Quatre-Vallées (i.e. "Four Valleys") ( Gascon: ''Quate-Vaths'') was a small province of France located in the southwest of France. It was made up of four constituent parts: Aure valley (Gascon: ''Aura''), Barousse valley (Gascon: ''Varossa''), ...

. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Quercy. Estates suppressed - 17th century * Rouergue. Estates suppressed - 17th century * Soule. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Touraine. Estates suppressed - 16th century * Velay. Estates suppressed - 1789. * Vivarais. Estates suppressed - 1789.

Notes and references

See also