Reason #1 – The Estates

Breakdown of Estates

1st Estate Composed of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church Owned 10 percent of the land in France Contributed 2 percent of its income to the government

2nd Estate Composed of rich nobles Owned 20 percent of the land and paid almost no taxes Along with clergy, dismissed Enlightenment ideas because they saw them as threats to their power

3rd Estate Three different groups… Bourgeoisie (Middle Class) Bankers, factory owners, merchants, etc. Paid high taxes yet many had tremendous wealth French city workers Tradesmen, apprentices, laborers, etc. Poorest group of the 3rd Estate Paid low wages and often went hungry Peasants More than 80 percent of France’s 26 million people Paid half of their income to taxes and duties to nobles

Reason #2 – Enlightenment Ideas Members of the Third Estate were inspired by the success of the American Revolution Began to question these assumptions of how society should be structured Writers such as Rousseau and Voltaire began to impact the thoughts of the 3rd Estate

Reason #3 – French Economy French economy, once in great shape, was in decline Price of bread had doubled in 1789, leaving many peasants and city workers in a state of starvation Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette were heavy spenders and drove France deep into debt

Reason #4 – Weak Leader Louis XVI was an indecisive leader and preferred to spend time enjoying his hobbies rather than attending to affairs of state Marie Antoinette offered bad advice, drew the ire of the French people, and spent so much money on her fashion that she became known as “Madame Deficit”

Your Weak Leaders…