Chapter 21 The French Revolution and Napoleon Section 1 The Roots of Revolution

The Privileged Estates France before 1789 was known as the Old Regime Under the Old Regime society was divided into three estates or classes {The First Estate consisted of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church} (less than 1% of the population.) The high level clergy became materialistic and ignored their spiritual duties as they became more and more wealthy from rents, taxes and fees from land they owned Parish Priests did all the work but very little pay {The Second Estate was the nobility} (less than 2%) They paid little to no taxes and received “dues” from peasants. They held the highest positions in the military and government

Depiction of Life under the Old Regime

The Third Estate The rest of the France belonged in the {Third Estate consisting of the bourgeoisie and the peasants} {At the top level were the bourgeoisie or urban middle class, which was made up of merchants, manufacturers and professionals such as doctors and lawyers} Below the bourgeoisie were the very poor working class They consisted of city workers, artisans and rural peasants. {The peasants made up a majority of the population in France.} They paid heavy taxes, had to pay rent for the land they worked and had to pay a tithe-10% of their income- to the church Peasants had no say so in making or changing laws

The Financial Crisis King Louis XV’s expensive tastes and the debts left by Louis XIV put France in economical turmoil In 1774 Louis XVI succeeded Louis XV as king. {In order to solidify an alliance with Austria, Louis XVI married Marie-Antoinette}, who the public grew to hate Due in large part to France’s involvement in the American Revolution the debt grew under Louis XVI’s rule and bankers were getting reluctant to loan the monarchy any more money To raise the money, Louis XVI tried to tax the first two estates. That did not go over well and nobles rioted {In August 1788, Louis XVI called a meeting for the Estates General in Versailles to discuss the monetary problems in France}

Growing Discontent Artisans and peasants began to resent the higher class for their wealth at their expense and them not having to pay taxes on it. The poor blamed the king for the inflation of prices and their stagnant wages The Bourgeoisie wanted political power, the ability to do business without interference by the government and they also wanted their sons to have the opportunity to prosper in ways they themselves could not. {The Third Estate began to resent the privileged estates for not paying taxes} Although some of the complaints differed, the Third Estate believed that liberty and equality were a part of their natural rights enough to unify them against the king

Marie Antoinette King Louis XVI

The Meeting of the Estates General Before in meetings, the Estates would meet separately and cast only one vote per estate. The Third estate had no chance to beat the First and Second Because the Third Estate had as many representatives as the First and Second combined they wanted representatives to vote as individuals so they would have a chance to possess a real voice When the Estates General met on May 5, 1789, Louis XVI instructed the estates to follow the old policy and vote as one group

The Estates-General

Continued…. The Third Estate protested and refused to obey They argued that the Estates General was supposed to represent the people of France not just the two upper classes When Louis XVI did not give an answer, the Third Estate declared themselves to be the National Assembly and invited the other two classes to join them The representative declared they would not stop meeting until they had written a constitution for France and seen it adopted Finally Louis XVI allowed the estates to meet together {The Third Estate’s creation of the National Assembly signified the beginning of the French Revolution}

Review Questions Who did the First Estate consist of? What about The Second Estate? bourgeoisie and the peasants made up what estate? Name one of the four professions that made up the bourgeoisie or urban middle class? Who made up a majority of the population in France? Why did The Third Estate began to resent the privileged estates? What signified the beginning of the French Revolution?