The French Revolution - background

France is ruled by a King Louis XVI – absolute monarch His wife, Marie- Antoinette (Austrian by birth)

The royal family lived in luxury Louis’s grandfather, also Louis, built a palace outside of Paris – Versailles.

Video clip The Palace of Versailles Versailles Palace

Three Estates Three social classes 1 st Estate – Catholic Church (very wealthy) 2 nd Estate – Nobles/aristocracy (wealthy) 3 rd Estate – Everyone else (craft people, merchants, peasants)

Three Estates Three social classes 1 st Estate – Catholic Church (very wealthy) 2 nd Estate – Nobles/aristocracy (wealthy) 3 rd Estate – Everyone else (craft people, merchants, peasants)

1 st estate -.5% of pop. owned 15% of land 2 nd estate – 1.5% of pop. owned 25% of land 3 rd estate – 98% of pop. owned 60% of land

Population Land ownership

Tax collection Taxes are collected to pay for the government Government is controlled by the king Nobles paid almost no taxes Clergy paid no taxes

What do you see in this cartoon? What do you think the characters represent? Work with a partner and write down four things you can see in the cartoon. Which parts of society is represented here?

Question – written response 1 - Why might taxation be an issue in France at that time? 2 - Who would be the most upset about the taxes collected? 3- Who would think everything is okay? 4 - What part in the issue do you think the king had?