List of maps, graphs, figures and tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction: charity and bienfaisance in the enlightenment; Part I. The Setting: 1. Montpellier and its region; 2. The eighteenth-century problem of poverty; Part II. The Treatment of Poverty Under the Ancien Regime: 3. Poor relief in Montpellier and its region; 4. The crisis of traditional charity; 5. Popular attitudes towards poor relief: (i) charity; 6. Popular attitudes towards poor relief: (ii) medicine; 7. Government, poor relief and the repression of begging; Part III. The Treatment of Poverty Under the Revolution and the Empire: 8. Towards a 'welfare state', 1789–c.1795; 9. Retreat from the 'welfare state', c.1795–c.1800; 10. Poor-relief institutions from the Concordat to the Restoration; Part IV. Conclusion: 11. The government and poor relief in the early nineteenth century; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.