Chapter 21Chapter 21The French The French Revolution and Revolution and NapoleonNapoleonSection 1Section 1The Roots of The Roots of RevolutionRevolution

The Privileged EstatesThe Privileged Estates France before 1789 was known as the Old Regime Under the Old Regime society was divided into three

estates or classes {The First Estate consisted of the clergy of the Roman

Catholic Church} (less than 1% of the population.)

The high level clergy became materialistic and ignored their spiritual duties as they became more and more wealthy from rents, taxes and fees from land they owned

Parish Priests did all the work but very little pay {The Second Estate was the nobility} (less than 2%)

They paid little to no taxes and received “dues” from peasants. They held the highest positions in the military and government

Depiction of Life under the Old Regime

The Third EstateThe Third Estate The rest of the France belonged in the {Third Estate

consisting of the bourgeoisie and the peasants} {At the top level were the bourgeoisie or urban middle

class, which was made up of merchants, manufacturers and professionals such as doctors and lawyers}

Below the bourgeoisie were the very poor working class

They consisted of city workers, artisans and rural peasants.

{The peasants made up a majority of the population in France.}

They paid heavy taxes, had to pay rent for the land they worked and had to pay a tithe-10% of their income- to the church

Peasants had no say so in making or changing laws

The Financial CrisisThe Financial Crisis

King Louis XV’s expensive tastes and the debts left by Louis XIV put France in economical turmoil

In 1774 Louis XVI succeeded Louis XV as king. {In order to solidify an alliance with Austria, Louis XVI married

Marie-Antoinette}, who the public grew to hate Due in large part to France’s involvement in the American

Revolution the debt grew under Louis XVI’s rule and bankers were getting reluctant to loan the monarchy any more money

To raise the money, Louis XVI tried to tax the first two estates. That did not go over well and nobles rioted {In August 1788, Louis XVI called a meeting for the Estates

General in Versailles to discuss the monetary problems in France}

Growing DiscontentGrowing Discontent Artisans and peasants began to resent the higher class

for their wealth at their expense and them not having to pay taxes on it.

The poor blamed the king for the inflation of prices and their stagnant wages

The Bourgeoisie wanted political power, the ability to do business without interference by the government and they also wanted their sons to have the opportunity to prosper in ways they themselves could not.

{The Third Estate began to resent the privileged estates for not paying taxes}

Although some of the complaints differed, the Third Estate believed that liberty and equality were a part of their natural rights enough to unify them against the king

Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette King Louis XVIKing Louis XVI

The Meeting of the Estates The Meeting of the Estates GeneralGeneral

Before in meetings, the Estates would meet separately and cast only one vote per estate. The Third estate had no chance to beat the First and Second

Because the Third Estate had as many representatives as the First and Second combined they wanted representatives to vote as individuals so they would have a chance to possess a real voice

When the Estates General met on May 5, 1789, Louis XVI instructed the estates to follow the old policy and vote as one group

The Estates-GeneralThe Estates-General

Continued….Continued…. The Third Estate protested and refused to obey They argued that the Estates General was supposed

to represent the people of France not just the two upper classes

When Louis XVI did not give an answer, the Third Estate declared themselves to be the National Assembly and invited the other two classes to join them

The representative declared they would not stop meeting until they had written a constitution for France and seen it adopted

Finally Louis XVI allowed the estates to meet together {The Third Estate’s creation of the National

Assembly signified the beginning of the French Revolution}

Review Questions Who did the First Estate consist of? What about The Second Estate? bourgeoisie and the peasants made up what estate? Name one of the four professions that made up the

bourgeoisie or urban middle class? Who made up a majority of the population in

France? Why did The Third Estate began to resent the

privileged estates? What signified the beginning of the French

Revolution?