Compare And Contrast The Three Estates Of France In The 1780s

Before the revolution France was ruled under the Ancien Regime system, meaning the country and all its people were under the reign of an absolute monarch. This was a tradition that had been upheld through the years and the Royal family had enjoyed a life funded by the people of France, the royal family’s lifestyle unaffected by the situation outside their palace. The Palace, Versailles, was built by king Louis XIV and the expenses for building this “village” was very high, and in later years the cost for its upkeep would play a significant role in Frances financial difficulties. In order for these difficulties to be overcome France needed a tax reform. The government had a very high tax rate on the poorest of their people, the Third Estate, and they were still not getting enough money to get out of their

There are very few members in the first and second estates, yet they owned the most land, while the third estate made up most of the population, yet owned very little land. “First: Clergy - 1% of the people owned 10% of the land. Second Estate: Nobles - 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. Third Estate - Middle class, peasants, city workers 97% of the people owned 55% of the land.” (Document 2) There were high prices, high taxes, and people were listening to enlightenment ideas. Louis XVI decided to tax the Second Estate. They called a meeting of the Estates-General - an assembly of representatives from all three estates. (ROI) In addition, as a political cause, the third estate had no privileges or say in the government,while both the clergy and nobles did. As mentioned before, the inequality of taxes proved another gap in the social classes. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact.... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) Estates- General was the first such meeting in 175 years. Met on May 5th,1789 in Versailles. In the Estate- General each estate had one vote. (ROI)

The events leading up to the French Revolution were many things, but the biggest and most recognized by historians is the fact that the French government was bankrupt due to funding the American Revolution. This lead for the king, King Louis XVI to raise taxes just like any country would. The only problem with what he did, was he was not taxing everyone. He was just taxing the poor, the people with the least amount of money. This left more wealth for the clergy and the

The French Revolution had several benefits that developed the world into a greater place. On the other hand, there were some down effects, such as: numberless of innocence deaths or the money that the France lost. There are some factors that lead to the French Revolution, but the factors are still debated among historians. Although there were several other factors that lead to the French Revolution, ultimately economic, social, and political reinforced the French Revolution the most.

The citizens of the 3rd estate and some citizens in the 2nd estate in France during 1789, were not happy at all. They were getting heavily taxed by Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and the Catholic Church. When they didn’t have the money to pay the taxes that was forced upon them. After all of the hard work they put in to growing crops, the crops were taken

One of the most important causes of the French Revolution was the French system of taxation. According to document one, there was an “injustice in levying the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility were taxed very little. Lands held by commoners were taxed heavily.” This means that the third estate was responsible for paying most of the country’s taxes, while the first and second estates, were responsible for very little. Since the third estate was responsible to pay the most in taxes, they began to suffer the most. The taxes caused them to not be able to afford simple necessities in life, such as bread. This injustice caused the people to want to reform their economic situation by finding a way to avoid strangling taxes and make the first two estates contribute to a failing economy.

The French Revolution had many contributions to its cause. One of these many causes was financial crisis and economic conflicts. There was an injustice in the amount each person must pay (document 1). The people of nobility were taxed very little and the commoners were taxed heavily. Also, the poor people were extremely poor.

Louis needed help in 1789. The nation had endured a long, hard winter and most of the crops were lost. The treasury was bankrupt after supporting America in their revolution. Louis had to raise money. He could not tax the peasants, because they had no money, so he had to tax the aristocrats and the middle class. Louis knew the people would revolt if he raised taxes on his own, so he asked the states-general to advise him.

Through 1756 to 1783, France participated in the seven years war which lead to France being in extreme debt. The American Revolution and the Seven Years war took a toll on France and took all of its money leading the country and monarchy to be in extreme debt. (fsmitha.com). The government started heavily taxing the common people in order to take care of the money they owed the aristocrats and other lenders (fsmitha.com). During the 1780s, taxation was becoming a significant problem and was inefficient and unfair. The higher classes in France such as the nobility and clergy heavily taxed the lower class but refused to contribute to the tax revenue even

In 1789 the french revolution was place all they way until 1799. People said that France needed a major change in a way that it taxed the public. They attempted to make taxation a problem, then they realized that it wasn’t that big of an issue that needed to be addressed. 1789 France builds up enormous debt by participating in the Seven Years War and American Revolution. November 2, 1783 Louis XVI appoints Charles de Calonne controller general of finance.

These third estates members wanted representatives voted in and were unhappy they were being taxed the most when they made the least amount of money. These commoners and their general of finance Jacqus Necker thought the other estates church and noblemen should be taxed more since they had more money. They also found it unfair how they were the largest group and each group only got one vote.

The King had unlimited power and he declared himself as the representative of God. “...Powers of the king — The King, Louis XVI, was absolute. He ruled by the divine right theory which held that he had received his power to govern from God and was therefore responsible to God alone” (Doc C) Louis XIV once stated “I am the State”, he is the sole ruler of France and he believes that his people should have no say in the government or any power. In 1798 Jacques Necker, french statesman and finance minister for King Louis XVI, insisted that the king call together the estates general. The estates general was made up of many hand picked deputies, whom the King thought would vote in his favour of reforms. There were three Estates, the First Estate, the clergy, the Second Estate, the nobility and the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie and the peasants. There was great conflict between the various estates that held the voting powers and they disputed how the voting would be implemented. Each estate had one representative and one vote. The third estate was usually out voted by the first and second. This caused the third estate

The meeting of the Estates-General was called by Louis in 1789. It marks the start of change and Revolution in France, and many factors affect the calling of this meeting. Arguably, it was the actions of the Paris Parlement that caused the meeting to be called; as they began to turn on the third estate and become the enemy. However, other factors did affect the calling of the Estates-General, such as the financial crisis in France- they were bankrupt and locked up in the old ancien regime system. I will also be looking at how the revolt of the nobles and the weakness of Louis XVI caused the calling of the meeting. There are many other factors than just the Paris Parlement’s actions, and ultimately I would argue that we cannot say this is the only reason or the most predominant reason for the calling of the Estates-General.

Economics also played an important role in the French Revolution. In France there was an abundance of debt and taxation. The French monarchy managed their fiscal affairs by using an unequal system of taxation, borrowing money, or selling noble titles and other privileges. This led to a long running fiscal debt. France could not solely rely on tariffs to generate income. Although other countries had higher taxation rates, the burden on the common people was greater in France. Peasants and other third estates were taxed harshly which in good times was burdensome and in bad times it was devastating. Nobility and clergy were exempted from paying taxes. This left the peasants, wage earners, and the professional and business classes with the burden of taxes. This burden caused the unrest, which eventually led to the French Revolution.

However, there was another important factor during these times. France suffered from harsh economic problems. Poor farm harvests by farmers hurt the economy, and trade rules from the Middle Ages still survived, making trade difficult. However, the most serious problem was the problem facing the government during this time. The French government borrowed much money to pay for the wars of Louis XIV. Louis still borrowed money to fight wars and to keep French power alive in Europe. These costs greatly increased the national debt, which was, at the time, already too high.<br><br>When King Louis XVI came into power, he realized that these problems existed. At first he did not know what to do, until he found a man by the name of Robert Turgot. He eased the financial crisis of France, but he had difficulties when he tried to introduce a major reform, that of taxing the nobles. He had such difficulties because the king could not tax the nobles unless the Parliament approved of the new tax laws. The people in the courts that voted on these laws were the nobles, called nobles of the robe, and therefore rejected Turgot's reform. After Turgot was rejected, the king fired him from his office. This led Louis XVI to summon the Estates General in 1789. The Estates General was the place where representatives from each social class could be represented. Here, many issues would be discussed, and at this time in