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The French Revolution And The Revolution

Decent Essays

The French Revolution is often seen as one of the most influential and significant events in world history (Voices 9). The surge of rebellion present in those against the old regime, or Ancien Régime, inspired reformers for generations to come. Nevertheless, the French Revolution would not have occurred without the aid of the Enlightenment Thinkers, or Philosophés. These Philosophés’ ideas sparked the French Revolution. Prior to the French Revolution, France was radically different. It was the state of France before the revolution that the Philosophés owe their effectiveness to. Prior to the revolution, French society was divided into three categories, or “The Three Estates”. They were, the clergy, or First Estate, the nobility, or Second Estate, and the common people, or Third Estate (The Rights 9). These three estates divided France. The First and Second estates only held collectively two and a half percent of France’s population, but held almost all the power and almost all of the wealth. The king, Louis XVI, was the successor to the Sun King, Louis XIV. At this point in time, France was an absolute monarchy with an astounding gap between the social classes. The Third Estate ranged from the extremely poor to the moderately wealthy. However, most of the Third Estate consisted of the extremely poor. One of the primary industries in the Third Estate was the bread industry, which was heavily regulated by the Police. Occupations in this industry range from the bakers, to

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