 Ancien Régime: French social
system based on Medieval
Feudalism
 First Estate = Clergy
 Owned 10% of French Land and
collected Tithes (10% religious tax
for Church) but paid no direct taxes
to the state
 High level clergy like bishops usually
came from noble families, often
acted as such
 Second Estate = Nobility
 Descendants of Wealthy Land-Owning
Medieval Lords
 King Louis XIV had crushed their
military power and made them
subservient to the King, but had given
them privileges to please them, such as
key positions in government and
military and freedom from taxation
 They had already lost much of their
former power, and feared losing more of
it to the wealthy and educated members
of the Third Estate, with whom they
competed for key positions
 Third Estate = Everyone Else
 Although artificially grouped together as
“commoners,” the Third Estate was very
diverse
 Bourgeoisie = Top of the Third Estate,
wealthy and educated “Middle Class”
composed of bankers, merchants,
manufacturers, doctors, lawyers, and
other professionals who resented their
lower official status and lack of political
power despite their actual socioeconomic level
 Third Estate = Everyone Else
 The majority was composed of poor urban workers and rural
peasants who were responsible for paying all the taxes, which
were often excessive and, for the poorest members of society,
impossible to pay
 In, France lost the Seven
Years War to the British,
which left the government
with enormous debts
 Enlightenment philosophy
had become popular among
the bourgeoisie, who began
to call for changes to the
government, increased
political participation, and
greater equality
 The example of the
American Revolution
inspired the French people
by showing them that it was
possible for the people to
take control from the
established powers
 The French military support
for Americans against the
British created even greater
debt
 Population was on the rise in
France, while at the same time,
environmental changes caused
several years of poor harvests
leading to serious food shortage,
which led to rise in prices
 Bread was the staple of
commoners, with families
consuming 3-4 loaves per day,
costing at least half of their
wages, and when the bread
prices doubled in 1789, riots
broke out
 The Kings of France continued to
borrow money and increase debt
to fund their lavish lifestyles
 When the weak Louis XVI became
king, his financial advisor told him
to reduce spending for the court
and begin taxing the nobles and
clergy, but they forced the king to
fire him
 His wife, Marie Antoinette, was
hated by the French people
because she was Austrian (France’s
former enemies) and because she
wasted money on gambling and
luxuries, earning the nickname
“Madame Deficit”
 When Louis XVI finally decided to tax the nobles, they
forced him to call a meeting of the Estates General, which
had not met in 175 years so they could vote against his tax
 In 1789, Delegates representing the three
estates met in Versailles to deal with the crisis
 Third Estate was represented by
Enlightenment-inspired Bourgeoisie who
complained of the abuses of the first two
estates and demanded political reform
 However, the voting system gave each estate a
single vote, despite the fact that the Third
Estate was 97% of the population, meaning the
first and second estates would always win
 In protest, the Third Estate delegates declared
themselves the National Assembly
representing the people of France, with the
right to make laws for the country
 Louis had them locked out of
the meeting space, so they
relocated to an indoor tennis
court, along with a few of the
nobles and clergy who
supported them, and took the
Tennis Court Oath, swearing
to stay until they had written
a new constitution for France
 Louis claimed to accept the
Assembly, but when he
started moving troops into
Paris, the people feared he
would use force to restore his
power
 On July 14, 1789, mobs of hundreds of
Parisians began gathering weapons,
and came to the Bastille, a medieval
fortress used as a prison, demanding
gunpowder
 When the guards refused and fired on
the crowd, the mob broke in, took
over the building, and killed all the
guards, parading through the streets
with their heads on pikes
 The Storming of the Bastille became a
symbol of the Revolution, as the
prison represented the Medieval
tyranny of the old order, and is
celebrated today as a national holiday,
Bastille Day, in France
 Working together in three groups,
create speeches calling for change
and reform, or arguing against it,
from the perspective of one of
three groups in France on the Eve
of Revolution, either the Nobles,
the Bourgeoisie, or the Poor
Workers and Farmers.
 Use specific examples to support
your positions, and tailor your
concerns to your social group.
 Try to persuade others to agree
with you and support you.