the french revolutionthe french revolution french society changed little since medieval times ...
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The French Revolution
Chapter 11 Section 1
The French Revolution
French society changed little since medieval times FEUDALISM
Laws gave clergy and wealthy landowners special status
France’s Three Estates
Status groups = estates
France had Three Estates
1st Estate—clergy 130,000 out of 27 million 10% of land Wide divisions
Cardinals, bishops, heads of monasteries came from noble families
Parish priests came from commoners
France’s Three Estates (con’t)
2nd Estate—nobles 350,000/27 million 25-30% of land Controlled gov’t, military, courts, and influenced Church
3rd Estate—everyone else Included everyone from wealthy merchants to peasants
Despite controlling the wealth, the First and Second Estates didn’t have to pay the tallie (France’s main tax)
Third Estate
Contained the largest range of people Occupation, education, and wealth
75-80% were peasants and owned 35% of the land. Middle class owned the rest
½ of all peasants had little or no land to live on
Peasants had to pay a fee to nobles Based off old feudal ideas
Craftspeople, shopkeepers, workers—price of goods increased faster than wages
Bourgeoisie
Middle class
8% of pop/2.3 million
Merchants, bankers, industrialists, lawyers, public officials, doctors, writers
Some bourgeoisie managed to become nobles 6500 new nobles during 1700s
Nobles and bourgeoisie
Nobles and bourgeoisie both drawn to Enlightenment ideas and didn’t like monarchial system resting on privileges and old rigid social order
Monarch: Louis XVI
Financial Crisis
1787—bad harvests
1788—slow down in manufacturing Food shortages Rising food prices Unemployment
French king and ministers spent a lot of money on court luxuries
Marie Antoinette (Queen)—known for extravagance
Money spent to help Am Rev
Financial Crisis
Louis XVI was forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General to deal with the financial crisis Meeting of reps from the 3 Estates Called in order to discuss raising taxes