Final answer:
French intendants were administrative officials in France recruited mostly from the bourgeoisie or urban middle class during the time when French monarchs were enhancing royal control.
Step-by-step explanation:
French intendants were administrative officials in France who served as representatives of the monarchy and were instrumental in establishing a more centralized form of governance. During the period of a stronger central government emerging in France, royal bureaucrats replaced the local vassals and church officials to manage newly acquired lands.
This change helped the French kings enhance their control and resources, allowing them to better assert their authority in conflicts with vassals and the church.
Intendants played a critical role during the reigns of monarchs like King Louis XIII and his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, who successfully concentrated power in the hands of the king.
By the early fourteenth century and continuing through subsequent eras including the reign of Louis XIV, intendants were commonly recruited from the bourgeoisie, or the middle class, who became increasingly important in the French administrative structure.
Their recruitment from the urban middle class, often educated and professional individuals such as merchants, bankers, and lawyers, indicates the shift in power dynamics during and following the French Revolution.
This shift was part of the broad transformation of French society, which included the abolition of feudal privileges and the implementation of reforms that favored merit and loyalty to the crown over aristocratic birthright.