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FRENCH REVOLUTION
OBJECTIVES
Y
ou will be able to…
D
escribe the political and socio-economic
structure of France prior to the revolution.
S
ummarize the causes of the French Revolution
FRENCH SOCIETY
F
rance’s society was built on a three order system; The
First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate.
F
rance in 1750 had a population of 22 million.
N
o more than 2 to 3 percent belonged to what are often
called the privileged orders- Aristocracy and the Clergy.
•T
he First estate included priests,
bishops, and anyone who was a
part of the church.
•N
umbered around 130,000
•O
wned about 10 percent of the
land, collected tithes, and paid
no direct taxes to the state.
FIRST ESTATE- CLERGY
FIRST ESTATE
P
rovided some social services- Ran schools, hospitals, and
orphanages.
U
pper ranks of the first estate almost came exclusively
from the nobility.
M
iddle and lower ranks came from Bourgeoisie and the
peasantry.
H
ereditary Nobility
N
umbered around 300,000
C
ourt aristocracy claimed the
position of being the elite of
elites, just below the royal
family.
SECOND ESTATE- NOBILITY
SECOND ESTATE
D
uring feudalism, Nobles defended their land from foreign invaders. In
the 1600s, Richelieu and Louis XIV had centralized France and took
away their military might.
W
ere given top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church.
N
obles received a royal pension, while enjoying life at Versailles, where
they spent there time with pleasures.
•O
nly the notables of the
aristocracy lived at court, most
of the lesser nobles remained
on their estates.
•T
he Nobles made sure to stand
up for their privileges, which
included exemption from taxes.
SECOND ESTATE
R
emaining 97-98 percent of
Frenchmen were the Third
Estate.
C
onsisted of the Bourgeoisie,
peasant workers, and urban
workers.
B
ourgeoisie- the “middle class”
THIRD ESTATE
THE BOURGEOISIE
I
ndustrial/Commercial
F
inanciers
B
ureaucrats
S
hopkeepers
A
rtisans
G
oal of the Bourgeoisie- Gain social status to increases special privilege. To “live nobly” like the
aristocracy.
3RD ESTATE
T
here were opportunities to rise available to the ambitious.
B
ourgeoisie could:
B
uy offices that gave you noble status
M
arry daughter to an aristocrat
P
urchase of minor middle-rank church post
O
pportunities in the past had been enough to keep the bourgeoisie satisfied with the system.
M
ost peasants were tenants, sharecroppers,
or day laborers on estates owned by the
privileged orders or the bourgeoisie.
W
ell off peasants-
O
wned of at least a bit of land
H
ad a herd of stock
W
ere able to hire field hands
PEASANTS
POOR PEASANTS
T
he peasants with less money lived at a basic subsistence level.
T
hey would often supplement their own crops with working part-
time on a large estate, or taking employment in the rural textile
industry.
T
he life of the poor French peasant often included mud-floored
huts, ragged clothing, undernourishment, and frequent famine.
URBAN WORKER
M
ost urban workers were skilled artisans or handicraftsmen who worked in small shops.
S
ome were able to cross the line into bourgeoisie by opening up their own shops.
O
n the bottom of the urban worker class, were men in the category of unskilled labor.
M
any urban workers relied on charity in times of economic stress.
E
arly in 1790, one Parisian in five receiving some kind of relief, either public or private.
•D
eficit Spending- Spending more
money then a government takes in
•T
he Burden of Debt- War debts-
Seven Years’ War and the
American Revolution
•1
789- half of tax income went just
to pay interest on it’s debt.
ECONOMIC TROUBLE
OPTIONS
T
hey can either increase taxes, reduce
expenses, or both.
N
obles and Clergy resisted an end to their
exemption.
POOR HARVESTS P
oor harvests in 1787 and 1788 produced effects more
rapid and severe then in previous year.
G
rain prices doubled in a year; textile production was
reduced by half; a wave of bankruptcies occurred;
unemployment among wage earners reached 50
percent.
P
eople found it easy to blame the government.
1
715-1774- Louis XV- did not seriously consider
reform; put pleasure before business.
L
ouis XVI- Weak and indecisive
L
ouis placed Jacques Necker as his main
financial adviser.
N
ecker proposed- Urged to reduce court
spending, reform government, abolishing
internal tariffs, and taxing the first and second
estates.
FAILURES OF REFORM
•F
irst and Second estates forced
Louis XVI to dismiss Necker.
•T
he First and Second estates
demanded that the king summon
the Estates General, which had not
been summoned in 175 years.
•E
states General- meeting of the
three estates run by the king
REACTION
CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION… E
conomic troubles enhanced by corrupt and incompetent government:
N
o taxation of the upper two classes
F
ood shortages
D
eficient spending
P
aying off war debts
P
oor harvests