Third Estate
 Was everyone else: bourgeoisie, merchants, peasants
 Made up 98% of the population.
 Originally was mostly peasants but the rise of trade meant it now included a middle class.
 Ranged from enormously wealthy to very poor.
 Paid all the taxes: taille (land tax), poll tax (5% tax on all wages), gabelle, tax on food, drinks
and tithe to the church.
 Received one vote in the Estates General Meetings.
Causes of the French Revolution
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Ancien Regime
Characters of the King and Queen
American War of Independence
Financial Difficulties
Enlightenment Thinkers
Ancien Regime
 Large gap between the rich and poor people.
 Top jobs are filled by the nobility and clergy.
 98% of the population (3rd estate) did all the work and paid most of the taxes.
 3rd Estate had no say in government as the first 2 estates always voted together in the EstatesGeneral meetings, thus had no access to the King.
Result: was a very angry and isolated Third Estate.
Characters of the King and Queen
 The King was thought to be feeble and easily influenced by the Queen.
 The Queen was unpopular with the people as she was foreign, frivolous with money and exerted
too much influence on the King.
- Result: the King and Queen were not highly revered. The mysticism usually surrounding the
monarchy was waning.
American War of Independence
 French troops brought back ideas of liberty, equality and rights which spread throughout the
French population.
 Troops returned with arms.
 The war contributed to the bankruptcy of France.
- Result: French people knew there were other ways a country could be run, troops were armed
and ready to fight and taxes weren't able to pay the war debts.
Financial Difficulties
 The government spent more than the taxes it collected due to the extravagant court life of the
King and Queen and wars.
 1st and 2nd estate (who had money) gave very little of it in taxes to the King while the poorest
estate was overtaxed.
 Louis XVI was forced to borrow money from other countries.
Result: was that something needed to change for France to be able to pay its debt.