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French revolution and social class
Privileges of the first ,second and third estate of the french revolution
French revolution and social class
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Economically, heavy taxes fell on the three estates. Firstly, France endured social imbalance during the French Revolution. Many people during this time were very poor and there was an increased bread price on the people of the third estate (Doc 1). Representing the fact that the third estate were treated unfairly then
During the old days of France the french people were divided into 3 estates which were social
Prior to the French Revolution, French society was divided into three distinct estates: the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate. Each estate was represented by individuals of a certain repute who had different roles in 17th century French society. In his written play, Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand portrays this class division through his many characters and their place in society. In the 17th century, Roman Catholicism was at its prime in French society.
The three estates were unequally balanced. As shown in Document 2, the Third Estate was 97 percent of the people. The third estate dealt with the most hardships because they were not wealthy and had little say in government. The other two estates were happy with the government because they had everything good for them. The first and second estates payed little to no taxes, collected dues, and held the highest position in the army and government.
Before the revolution, the third estate got taxed the most and barely had any rights, while the first and second estate barely got taxed, and had majority of the rights. “Pre Revolutionary Causes Source C: The Third Estate of Carcassonne, list of grievances from the Third Estate, Cahiers de Doléances (excerpts), 1789” However, after the the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. That all changed.
Not only was the third estate the only taxed they were severely taxed. The third estate made up ninety eight percent of the population yet they only owned sixty five percent of land, also the commoners paid one hundred percent of taxes while nobles and clergy collected them (Doc. 2). Peasants
In a diagram from 1789, it shows that the First and Second Estates made up only a small percentage of the population, yet they owned ten times that amount in land, and paid no taxes. Meanwhile, the majority of the population, made up by the Third Estate, were taxed profusely and owned little land in comparison (Doc 2). The inequality between the estates and the extent to which the Third Estate was abused because of their social status was clear . This is portrayed in an illustration where the Third Estate was trampled by the taxes forced upon them by their social superiors (Doc 7). They were in no state to pay taxes or tithes to the church, and this mandatory tariff left little money for their own needs.
The Causes and Effects of The French Revolution “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles.” -Jean Jacques Rousseau Imagine being a peasant of the third estate in the French Revolution era. How would you feel being taxed a lot more than the others estates, just because of some “title”? Or being treated unfair because you couldn’t read well, or you weren’t wealthy enough? Well, that’s what life was like for the peasants.
Taxes, which is still a commonly disagreed topic, were a major reason the people of France revolted. The members of the first estate were paying only a fraction of what the members of the third and event the second were. Arthur Young, a man who travelled through France from 1787 to 1789, made the observation that land owned by nobility and people of the upper class was taxed very little compared to the land owned by common citizens (Doc. 1). This injustice took a great toll on members of the third estate and
The French society was separated into three different social classes the Clergy, Nobles, and the common people. Within these groups they were more subdivided for example the lower & higher clergy and court nobles & provincial nobles. The higher clergy held top positions in there society, lived in luxury homes and did not pay taxes to the monarch. Whereas the common people and lower clergy served these people and lived very unhappy lives.
As the French had about Twenty-five million people, 100,000 were clergy, 400,000 were the nobleman, and the rest was known as the third estate. The third estate was left to starve, while Louis XVi and Marie Antoinette lived a luxury lifestyle. The only food they could afford for a limited time was bread, but then the prices got so high, that the rich can only afford it.
France was an absolute monarchy, ruled, by a king, and the people had no say in anything. People were separated into three different estates. The first estate was full of clergy, and the second estate was full of nobles and people in high positions in the government. These two estates were 2% of the whole population. The third estate consists of everyone else.
The Three Estate System was the splitting of the citizens based on their class in society. There was the Clergy (church), the Nobility (nobles) who make up the first and second estate, and the commoners as the third estate. It was unfair that the Clergy and Nobility had only made up 2% of the country’s population but, had 35% of the land; special privileges were given by King Louis XVI gave special privileges to them. These privileges were that the Clergy and Nobility didn’t pay taxes and got to wear special clothing in public. The Third Estate, especially the Bourgeoisie, made up 98% of the French population were irritated with King Louis XVI because they had no special privileges, they paid 50% income tax, and had only 65% of land for 98% of the population.
During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,
Third Estate is a political pamphlet written in January 1789, shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, by the French thinker and clergyman Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès . The pamphlet was Sieyès' response to finance minister Jacques Necker's invitation for writers to state how they thought the Estates-General should be organized. In the pamphlet, Sieyès argues that the third estate the common people of France constituted a complete nation within itself and had no need of the "dead weight" of the two other orders, the first and second estates of the clergy and aristocracy. Sieyès stated that the people wanted genuine representatives in the Estates-General, equal representation to the other two orders taken together, and votes taken
