Estates General: 1789 – Simulation (Handout 1)
Setting the Scene:
France 1788: The Estates General has not met for 174 years. During this time the
monarchs have solidified absolute power. Like the last king, Louis XV, the current ruler
king Louis XVI has done little well in the eyes of French society. The people of all three
estates are growing upset with the monarchy. Feeling a sense of urgency to quell the
financial difficulties of France, Louis XVI calls for the Estates General to meet in May,
1789 at the Royal Palace at Versailles.
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Task:
Each of you has been elected by your peers to act as a deputy for your
respective Estate at the May 1789 Estates General. When the meeting opens in
May you must be very knowledgeable on all issues facing France, and where the
different Estates stand on the issues.
Deputies for each Estate will be further broken into small groups representing
those in similar rolls within their respective Estates. The Small groups are:
1st Estate: A) Upper Clergy
B) Lower Clergy
2nd Estate: C) Rich Nobles
D) Poor Nobles
3rd Estate:
E) Bourgeoisie
F) Poor City Workers
G) Peasants
H) Wet Nurses / Street- Walkers
Part 1: Small Groups
With your small group you are to determine and record:
 The standard of living enjoyed by your group - How does this differ from the
other groups?
 Your group’s contribution to the wealth of France.
 How much land does your group control?
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Your group’s stance on the current taxation system.
Your group’s stance on political rights for women.
Which other groups / Estates are you most likely to see eye-to-eye with?
Come up with a detailed list of changes that you think need to happen to make
your life better
Part 2: Large Groups
Each Estate meets as a large group. Each small group within the Estate must
communicate their thoughts as a small group to the larger Estate. Once all groups have
had their chance to discuss their situations, it is the job of the entire group to make a
grievances list. The grievances list must include all points (minimum of 5 per Estate)
that you feel the Estates General must address. For each point on the grievances list
you must in detail: explain the current situation, how the current situation is harming
the nation (or your Estate in particular), and lastly present a plan to change the current
situation for the betterment of the nation or your Estate.
Part 3: The Estates General
For the actual meeting, all deputies of each Estate will sit together. Each Estate in turn
will present its list of grievances. The grievances list will be recorded on the board. The
King will also list his grievances. Grievances will be drafted into Acts by the king. Once
all potential acts are recorded and spoken to by the king, a vote will take place to see if
the acts pass.
Evaluation:
At the Estates General all small groups are to pass in their recordings from the
small group meetings ( /10 - quality of answers to each task).
Each Estate must submit a written copy of their grievances list to the king at the
beginning of the Estates General along with the speeches of their respective
personages ( /20 - quality and, detail of each grievance).
Group work evaluation: each member of the group will evaluate the other
members of both their small and large groups.
*The mark assigned for each individual for both the large and small group
assignments will be the gross mark for that assignment adjusted to the group’s
evaluation of your group work abilities.
The future of a nation lies in your hands. Good luck and have fun!
The Old Order
In 1789, France, like the rest of Eutope, still clung to an outdated social system that
had emerged in the Middle Ages. Under this ancient regime, or old order, everyone in
France belonged to one of three classes: the First Estate, made up of the clergy; the
Second Estate, made up of the nobility; or the Third Estate, the vast majority of the
population.
The Clergy. In the Middle Ages, the Church had exerted great influence throughout
Christian Europe. In 1789, the French clergy still enjoyed enormous wealth and
privilege. They owned about 10 percent of the land, collected tithes, and paid no direct
taxes to the state. High Church leaders such as bishops and abbots were usually nobles
who lived very well. Parish priests, however, often came from humble origins and
might be as poor as their peasant congregations.
The First Estate did provide social services. Nuns, monks, and priests ran schools,
hospitals, and orphanages. But during the Enlightenment, many philosophers targeted
the Church for reform. They pointed to the idleness of some clergy, Church
interference in politics, and its intolerance of dissent. In response, many clergy
condemned the Enlightenment for undermining religion and moral order.
Nobles. The Second Estate was the titled nobility of French society. In the Middle Ages,
noble knights had defended the land. In the 1600s, Richelieu and Louis XIV had crushed
the nobles' military power but given them other rights - under strict royal control.
Those rights included top jobs in government, the army, and the courts, and the
Church.
At Versailles, ambitious nobles vied for royal appointments, while idle courtiers
enjoyed endless entertainments. Many nobles, however, lived far from the center of
power. Though they owned land, they had little monetary income. As a result, they felt
the pinch of trying to maintain their status in a period of rising prices.
Many nobles hated absolutism and resented the royal bureaucracy that employed
middle-class men in positions once reserved for the aristocracy. They feared losing
their traditional privileges, especially their freedom from paying taxes.
The Third Estate. In 1789, the Third Estate numbered about 27 million people, or 98
percent of the population. It was diverse group. At the top sat the bourgeoisie, or
middle class. The bourgeoisie included the prosperous bankers, merchants, and
manufacturers who propped up the French economy. It also included the officials who
staffed the royal bureaucracy, as well as lawyers, doctors, journalists, professors, and
skilled artisans.
The bulk of the Third Estate, 9 out of 10 people in France, were
rural peasants. Some were prosperous landowners who hired
laborers to work for them. Others were tenant farmers or day
laborers, still others owed obligations to local nobles.
The poorest members of the Third Estate were city workers. They include apprentices,
journeymen, and others who worked in industries such as printing or clothmaking.
Many women and men earned a living as servants, stable hands, porters, construction
workers, or street hawkers. A large number were unemployed.
From rich to poor, members of the Third Estate resented the privileges enjoyed by
their social "betters." Wealthy bourgeois families could buy political office and even
titles, but the best jobs were still reserved for nobles. Urban workers earned miserable
wages. Even the smallest rise in the price of bread, their main food, might mean
starvation.
Peasants were burdened by taxes on everything from land to soap to salt. Though
technically free, many owed fees and services that dated to medieval times, such as
the corvee, unpaid labor to repair roads and bridges. Peasants were also incensed
when nobles, hurt by rising prices, tried to reimpose old manor dues. Also, only nobles
had the right to hunt game. Peasants were even forbidden to kill rabbits that ate their
crops.
In towns and cities, Enlightenment ideas led people to question the ancient
regime. Why, people demanded, should the first two estates have privileges at the
expense of the majority?
Financial Crisis. Hand in hand with social unrest went a mushrooming financial crisis.
The crisis was caused in part by years of deficit spending, that is, a government
spending more money than it takes in. Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt. Wars
like the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution strained the treasury even
further. Costs generally had risen in the 1700s, and the lavish court sucked up millions.
To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government borrowed more and
more money. By 1789, half its tax income went just to pay interest on the enormous
debt.
To solve the financial crisis, the government would have to increase taxes, reduce
expenses, or both. However, the nobles and clergy fiercely resisted any attempt to end
their exemption from taxes.
Other economic woes added to the crisis. A general economic decline began in the
1770s. Then, in the late 1780s, bad harvests sent food prices soaring and brought
hunger to poorer peasants and city dwellers. Hard times and lack of food inflamed
these people. In towns, people rioted, demanding bread. In the countryside, peasants
began to attack the manor houses of the nobles.
Failure of Reform. The heirs of Louis XIV were not the right men to solve the crisis.
Louis XV, who ruled from 1715 to 1774, pursued pleasure before serious business and
ran up more debt. His grandson, Louis XVI, was well meaning but weak and indecisive.
However, he wisely appointed Jacques Necker as an adviser. Necker urged the king to
reduce court spending, reform government, and improve internal trade by abolishing
tariffs that made trade costly. When Necker proposed taxing the First-and Second
estates, however, the nobles and high clergy forced the king to dismiss him.
As the crisis deepened, the pressure for reform mounted. The wealthy and powerful
classes demanded that the king call the Estates General before making any changes.
French kings had not summoned the Estates General for 175 years, fearing that nobles
would try to recover the feudal powers that they had lost under absolute rule. To
reform minded nobles, the Estates General seemed to offer a chance to establish a
constitution to bring the absolute monarch under the control of the nobles and
guarantee their privileges.
As 1788 closed, France tottered on the verge of bankruptcy. Bread riots were
spreading, and nobles, fearful of taxes, were denouncing royal tyranny. Louis XVI finally
summoned the Estates General to meet at Versailles in May 1789.
Louis had all three estates prepare cahiers, or notebooks, listing their grievances. Many
cahiers called for reforms such as fairer taxes, freedom of the press, or regular
meetings of the Estates General. In one town, shoemakers denounced regulations that
made leather so expensive they could not afford to make shoes. Some peasants
demanded the right to kill animals that were destroying their crops.
The cahiers showed the resentment towards the government. One called tax collectors
"bloodsuckers" of the nation. Another cahiers condemned the courts of nobles as
"vampires pumping the last drop of blood" from the people.
Archbishop Brienne of Toulouse
It is February 1789. The King has called an Estates General, to be held at
the Versailles Palaces in May. You will represent the First Estate.
You are happy with King Louis; he gave you your job. You are a very
important person in Toulouse and live a very nice life near the Cathedral.
Your main job is delivering sermons on a Sunday: Parish Priests do all your
hard work for you, like talking to the common people of the Third Estate.
You believe that God’s greatest gift to France was the vine and you spend
most of your time worshipping it from a glass.
You also believe that God chose Louis to be King and because God supports
him, you do to.
You hope that Louis manages to raise the taxes on the Third Estate
because last year he tried to get you to pay tax. However, you were able to
convince him that he was wrong to ask the Church for money.
You need Louis to stay as King so that you keep your power and by taxing
the Third Estate the King will have money enough to fight wars and keep his
wife in the luxury she deserves as Queen.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life in Toulouse Cathedral
 Explain why you support everything the King says
 Give the King your support in taxing the Third Estate and explain why
you support this extra tax
Jean-Sifrein Maury
It is February 1789. The King has called an Estates General, to be held at
the Versailles Palaces in May. You will represent the First Estate.
You are happy with King Louis; he gave you your job. You are a very
important person in Paris and live a life surrounded by academics. Your
main job is writing academic treatise that defend the Church and its power.
You also preach in court for the King. You are almost completely removed
from the Third Estate, aside from walking by them in the street from time
to time. You are famed for your wit and will stop at nothing to defend the
ancient regime.
You also believe that God chose Louis to be King and because God supports
him, you do to.
You hope that Louis manages to raise the taxes on the Third Estate
because last year he tried to get you to pay tax. However, you were able to
convince him that he was wrong to ask the Church for money.
You need Louis to stay as King so that you keep your power and by taxing
the Third Estate the King will have money enough to fight wars and keep his
wife in the luxury she deserves as Queen.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life in Paris
 Explain why you support everything the King says
 Give the King your support in taxing the Third Estate and explain why
you support this extra tax.
Duchessede Polignac, Governess to King’s
Children, Versailles Palace
It is February 1789. Your Majesty the King has called the Estates
General. You have just heard that your brother will represent the Second
Estate at the Estates General in Versailles in May. You cannot represent
the Second Estate, as you are a woman. Your brother is living with his wife
in England so he has asked you to write his speech based on your
experiences of France in 1789.
You live in luxury in Court where you take care of and teach the King’s
three children. When you are not with the children, you are able to enjoy
the entertainment in Court: drinking, eating, theatre, chess... You are great
friends with Marie-Antoinette and find her great fun to play cards with.
You have a great life and want the King to tax the Third Estate at the
Estates General so that the Court can continue to entertain you. You are
also worried about the King’s son who is very ill and so you want the King to
have as little stress as possible at the meeting. You will tell your brother
to give the King the Second Estate’s full support.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, family etc)
 Write your brother’s speech for the Estates General.
think the King should do to raise money for his Kingdom?
What do you
Baron Gaspard Callais de Rastignac
It is February 1789. Your Majesty the King has called the Estates
General. You will represent the Second Estate at the Estates General in
Versailles in May.
You live in luxury in the Chateau Rastignac on the outskirts of Lyon where
you oversee the land holdings that were passed down to you through your
lineage. When you are not conducting business, you ride and hunt and drink
and eat. You are great friends with a great many nobles and dignitaries in
Paris and are often invited to Versailles’ court with the rest of the French
aristocracy.
You have a great life and want the King to tax the Third Estate at the
Estates General so that you can continue to administer your lands
unhindered and so the royal court can continue to entertain you. You are
worried about paying taxes that you and your ancestors have traditionally
never had to pay. You will give the King the Second Estate’s full support.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, family, Etc…)
 Write speech for the Estates General. What do you think the King
should do to raise money for his Kingdom?
Georges Couthon, Lawyer, Lyon
It is February 1789. You will represent the Third Estate at the Estates
General in Versailles in May. You think that the King has called the meeting
to demand more money from the Third Estate. You think that the Third
Estate will not let him do this, but will use the opportunity to demand
several things from him.
You are a very successful lawyer. You are well educated and recently have
been spending much time reading books from new writers in France and
other countries. They are suggesting that the King’s rule of France is so
unfair that it should be changed immediately. You think this is an excellent
idea and will be willing to lead a revolution.
You see how unfairly the law treats poor people everyday in your work,
because they cannot afford to pay for a lawyer or pay off their fines. At
the Estates General you will demand “A reform of the laws so that justice
is given equally to everybody at the least possible cost”
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life and your work
 You (and the members of the Third Estate you will be representing)
must draw up a list of complaints to take to the Estates General. Plan
out your speech looking at the problems within France and how you think
they should be solved.
Marie-Rose Barre, Lace-maker, Paris
It is February 1789. Your husband will represent the Third Estate at the
Estates General in Versailles in May. You cannot go to the Estates General
because you are a woman.
You work long hours in poor and dangerous conditions in a factory. You are
paid much less than male workers. However, you are very lucky to have a
job because many people in Paris are out of work.
75% of your wages (little as they are) goes on bread and the rest goes on
taxes.
Like most people you think Louis is a very weak King. You think he is
embarrassing France because his Austrian wife Marie-Antoinette is always
seen with other men – in fact you think the King’s children are not actually
his! You hate the fact that nobles and royalty live in luxury in Versailles
whilst you struggle to survive in a polluted city.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, family etc)
 You must write a list of complaints that your husband will take to the
Estates General and the solutions that he should propose.
Louis Legrande, Banker, Paris
It is February 1789. You will represent the Third Estate at the Estates
General in Versailles in May. You live in luxury, having made your money
banking for the merchants who stream through Paris from far off lands.
Six years ago you returned from America where you had been fighting with
the settlers. They were revolting against the British King. They became a
Republic and a Democracy: this meant that everyone in the country was
treated as equal and could decide (by voting) who they wanted to lead them.
You think this is as brilliant system and have returned to France telling
everyone of these new ideas for governing. You hate the fact that the King
has all the power and the Third Estate has none.
You demand that the Estates General meets regularly, at least every three
years and that the number of deputies at the meeting represents an equal
number of people. It disgusts you that at the Estates General there are
the same number of representatives for the First and Second Estates as
there is the Third (meaning that the Third Estate can be outvoted).
You want the slogan “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” (Freedom, Equality,
Brotherhood) to become the words of a Revolution.
TASK - Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, experiences in America etc)
 Write your speech for the Estates General: listing your complaints about
France and how you think these problems should be overcome.
Pierre Lacombe, Peasant, Brittany
It is February 1789. You will represent the Third Estate at the Estates
General in Versailles in May.
You are very poor. You are ashamed that your children have never worn a
pair of shoes and you live in a mud hut with no windows. 80% of your money
goes on buying bread for your family to survive. There have been
exceptionally bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 and the price of bread has
risen dramatically. You cannot afford to feed your family and pay taxes.
You pay SIX taxes in all. The Taille is an income tax; the Feudal tax you
pay to the local noble; the Tithe you give 10% of your yearly income to the
church; the Gabelle is a tax on salt; the Aide is a tax on wine and the
Corvee is a work tax which means you work in your village e.g. building
roads.
You have heard that King Louis wants to tax the Third Estate even more
because he is bankrupt. Standing over your town is a huge chateau where a
noble and his wife live in luxury. They are in the Second Estate and so do
not pay any taxes. You will use the Estates General to show your anger
(about the poor paying so many taxes while the rich pay none) to the King
and hope that the rest of the Third Estate will join you in a revolution.
TASK – Prepare a speech for the Estates General
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, family, etc)
 Explain your complaints about the present taxes.
 Explain why you will not pay the new taxes King Louis wants
 Show your anger at the King and tell the Estates General how you think
France should change.
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
It is February 1789. You will represent the Third Estate at the Estates
General in Versailles in May.
Even though you are nobility, you were elected to represent the Third
Estate for Aix. You believe that the government should exist to allow
people to pursue their daily work in peace. You also believe that a
government needs to be strong to be successful. However, you understand
that for a government to be strong that it must be in harmony with the
wishes of the majority of the people.
You like how the British have organized their system into a Constitutional
Monarchy that has checks and balances on power.
You are an influential member of the Third Estate and people will follow
your lead.
TASK – Support the Third Estate with your voice of approval
 Rally the Third Estate against the two other estates
 Explain why the Tax Burden should not be solely held by the commoners
 Show your anger at the King, the nobility and the commoners and tell the
Estates General how you think France should change and adopt a similar
system of governance to the British
 You will eventually lead the Third Estate out of the Estate’s General—
along with Sieyes and Lafayette—to the Tennis Courts and propose to
start a national assembly.
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier,
Marquis de La Fayette
It is February 1789. You will act as the Vice-Presidend at the Estates
General in Versailles in May.
You helped fight in the American Revolution alongside George Washington.
You were wounded, but brought back revolutionary ideas and experience
from your time in America.
You suggested calling the Estates General. You want the three estates—
church, nobility, and commoners—to respond to the economic crisis facing
France.
You will serve as the Vice-President of Estates General and will help with
bringing about a solution to France’s economic, political and social woes. It
is up to you to tabulate all the votes from the three Estates
TASK – Serve the Three Estates during the Estates General
 Tabulate the votes at the Estates General
 Explain why the Tax Burden should not be solely held by the commoners
 Show your anger at the King, the nobility and the commoners and tell the
Estates General how you think France should change
 You will eventually lead the Third Estate out of the Estate’s General—
along with Sieyes and Mirabeau—to the Tennis Courts and propose to
start a national assembly.
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Abbes Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
It is February 1789. You will represent the First and Third Estate at the
Estates General in Versailles in May.
You are a liberal member of the clergy and, because of your clerical
vocation, are part of the First Estate. However, you are a supporter of the
Third Estate. You are the author of the fiery 1789 pamphlet: “What Is
the Third Estate?” The pamphlet is organized around three hypothetical
questions and your own responses. The questions are:
 What is the Third Estate? Everything.
 What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing.
 What does it ask? To become something.
Your pamphlet also outlined the aspirations and frustrations of the third
estate. You attacked the foundations of the French Ancient Regime and
argued that the nobility was a fraudulent institution.
You are one of the primary leaders of the Third Estate’s effort at political
and economic reform in France. You want the third estate to move past
simple demands to radical action.
TASK – Prepare a Simple Pamphlet That outlines your ideas
and distribute it during the estates general
 Introduce yourself: describe your life (job, family, etc)
 Explain your complaints about the present taxes.
 Explain why the Third Estate will not pay the new taxes King Louis wants
 Show your anger at the King and tell the Estates General how you think
France should change
 You will eventually lead the Third Estate out of the Estate’s General—
along with Mirabeau and Lafayette—to the Tennis Courts and propose to
start a National Assembly