The Life of the Commoners: The French System

774 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social class of the french revolution

At this time, France was going through a radical change. The three estates were starting to become equal and the huge gap between them was closing fast. The commoners of the 3rd estate were fed up with the life of poverty that they were forced to live in and sought for a change to the French system. But do the commoners deserve ALL the blame for executing the French Revolution? No they don’t. It was the Nobility that provoked this revolution and who drove the commoners into such despair.

The Life of the Commoners
These people took up 95% of France’s total population and at this time in France, there was something called birthright. This means that if you were born into a life of poverty and labour this would be the position in which you would stay, there was no advance from this place in the social monarchy. They received low pay and the majority of what they did earn would be paid to the taxes that were forced on them. They struggled to pay for bread let alone clothes and essentials. They were forced into the life of poverty with no hope of ever progressing further up the monarchy.
The Role of the Three Estates
In France, at this time, the population was split into three distinct groups:
- The 1st Estate which consisted of the Clergy
- The 2nd Estate which consisted of the Nobility
- The 3rd Estate which consisted of the Commoners
Each of these estates was significantly different in their wealth, percentage of population and roles. The Clergy were the ones that controlled the Churches and who received money and produce from the 3rd estate, they weren’t required to pay taxes. The Nobility were the privileged of the social class and their job was to honour their king, which, in this case, would be King Louis XVI. They also were...

... middle of paper ...

... If the outcome of the meeting was different, the revolution would never have happened. Because, if the 1st estate agreed to pay taxes as well there would be equality between the estates and the commoners wouldn’t have used violence and widespread terror to achieve fairness. This is another example of the 1st estates negligence and carelessness.
Conclusion
As we can see in many instances, the Nobles did not care for the 3rd estate and drove them to such an extent that they used violence and fear to gain equality. If the Nobles had changed their attitudes and choices regarding the 3rd estate the outcome of France would have greatly differed. The Nobles, though, aren’t to blame for the brutal violence that ensued throughout Paris and France. The intentions of the Revolution were understandable but the violence that they used to get what they wanted was questionable.

Show More
Related

  • French Revolution Dbq Essay

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, the French Revolution was a result of the failed estate system and the extreme economic and social inequality it led to. Under the rule of Louis XVI, the people of France were divided into three main social classes or estates as they are called. The First Estate featured wealthy members of the Church such as Bishops and Priests who held great political power due to their influence on government affairs. The Second Estate was a class comprised of the wealthy nobles and

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The French Revolution And Napoleon

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    All those dissatisfied with the new reform wanted the grand catholic army to overthrow the new French government. The sans-culottes stood for virtue and were the most loyal to the new French state. They believed that if you ran from the draft, you were considered an enemy. They destroyed prisons because they believed they were secretly sheltering conspirators.

    Read More

  • The Three Most Important Causes Of The French Revolution

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    Historian Albert Mathiez states that “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.” The middle class were not able to have a class on their own; they were still considered peasants. In the illustration it showed how much people and land each estate held, the Clergy was one percent of the population which owned ten percent of the land. Nobles were two percent of the people that owned thirty-five percent of the land. The middle class, peasants, and city workers were ninety-seven of the people owned fifty-five percent of the land. This means that if the third estate were to riot, this would cause havoc. There was a lot during that time; the website Macrohistory and World Timeline shows that “The population of France had grown to between 24 and 26 million, up from 19 million in 1700 without a concomitant growth in food production. Farmers around Paris consumed over 80 percent of what they grew, so if a harvest fell by around 10 percent, which was common, people went hungry. There was insufficient government planning and storage of grain for emergency shortages”. If there were approximately 26 million people, there would be 25,220,000 people in the third estate, 520,000 people in the second estate, and 260,000

    Read More

  • Differences Between The French Revolution And The English Civil War

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The social condition in France before the French Revolution was very poor. The society was divided into three estates: first estate, second estate, and third Estate. The first and the second estates were made up of the Clergy

    Read More

  • The French and Mexican Revolutions

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    The treatment of the "majority", which was the lower class, had a significant role in each of these revolutions. The French revolution was considered, "the great revolution of the eighteenth century" (McKay, 705) and is a perfect example of how the "majority" was treated. Out of twenty-five million people, 100,000 were the clergy, 400,000 were noblemen (McKay, 705) and the "majority" of the population was known as the third estate. These people were forced to starve while Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived in the lap of luxury. For an example, the price of a loaf of bread was so high, that only the rich could afford it.

    Read More

  • Cause of the French Revolution

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution.

    Read More

  • Comparing The French Revolution and The American Revolution

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...d estate was made up of a city-dwelling, well educated middle class called the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes and the farmers, all of which made up about 80 percent of Frances population and yet received less money than both the other two states combined. This did not stop from the government taxing the population though and the burden of it fell mostly, if not almost all on the peasants. They lost half or more of their income in taxes and were forced to pay ridiculous taxes like feudal dues to the nobles, tithes to the church and royal taxes to the king?s agent and besides all this, peasants had to pay a certain tax which was paid in work rather than money. The two other estates on the other hand paid no or very little taxes thus the third estate all had reasons to hate the old regime. The French and American revolution was partly the outcomes of these resentments towards the government and was also the result of weak leadership at the top.

    Read More

  • The Climate That Spurred the French Revolution

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Louis XVI had created a large amount of debt through bad tax collection practices and funding american revolution. Bad tax practices included not taxing nobles, which put all of financial burden of France on the middle and lower classes. These classes weren’t able to support the high costs of running a nation in addition to supporting a foreign war that brought no tangible benefit to France. To raise more money Louis XVI decided to sell noble titles to some upper middle class who could afford it. This provided the King with fast cash, but reduced his overall tax base because he wasn’t taxing nobility.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both of these combined created a further debt for France. King Louis wanted to increase the taxes of the Third Estate to pay off the debts, which made the peasants even angrier, which will be talked about in the next paragraph. King Louis came into power at the age of 20, and he put most of the financial duties to Turgot, one of the best statesmen. When he finally realized the French Revolution was a big problem, all his attempts to stop it were all in vain because he didn’t know what to do since he had entrusted most of his responsibilities to the people below him.... ...

    Read More

  • Napoleon Power Corruption Analysis

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the revolution formally began, France was being ruled by the monarch Napoleon Bonaparte. All people under him, particularly the third party members also known as the working class, were oppressed in a sense that they were powerless against the laws that wronged them while bestowing the monarchy more power. The ruler of a country or empire should have one goal: to ensure that the people of the country are taken care of. As Napoleon was not adhering to this basic moral law of power the people grew upset about the little they could do to help themselves, and decided the best course of action would be to overthrow the government. Once the monarchy was overtaken the bourgeoisie temporarily assumed power which worked for a short time. Soon however, multiple rebel groups rose to power, subjecting all those not associated with them to the two year Reign of Terror. During this time, many civilians and previous government officials were executed. The consequence of the rebellion yielded predictable results. Like before, the people outside the direct government suffered as they could do nothing to prevent wrongdoing from befalling them. Both during Napoleon’s rule and the rule of the rebels, powerlessness influenced an ascent to despotism that left the people of the country

    Read More

  • The Enlightment Caused the French Revolution

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prior to the revolution, King Louis XVI was at the top of the ancien régime, the social, economic, and political structure in France, which means he had absolute power. When he received the throne in 1774, it came along with insoluble problems. The people were split into three estates which divided social class. The first estate consisted of 100,000 tax exempt nobles who owned 20% of the land. The second estate consisted of the 300,000 tax exempt clergy who owned 10% of the land. The third estate consisted of the remaining 23.5 million French people who were 90% peasants. The third estate was the only estate that paid taxes. Their taxes ensured the financial well-being of the clergy, state, and nobles (French Revolution Overview 6).

    Read More

  • The French Revolution: Avoidable Or Inevitable?

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    The social differences in France were very unreasonable. People openly argued that “social differences should not be defined by law, as they were in the old regimes order” (2). In France, much of the inequality came from the social class system. It led to angry peasants and tons of revolting. This could have been avoided if France maintained equality for all estates, as it would have been rational. In addition, the clergy and nobles were given many rights which “included top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church” (109). This was very biased as they were able to get the highest jobs, not because they earned it, but because of their social stature. Meanwhile, commoners or bourgeoisie, were not granted those jobs even if they had the ability to do them. This caused much of the third estate to become mad which led to uncivilized manner in France. If the government had just given equal rights and granted jobs by merit opposed to social class rankings, there would have been less drama between the estates and everything would have been

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Third Estate consisted of everyone else, the pheasants, farmers, landless labourers, serfs and the emerging middle class called the bourgeois. 80% of the population was rural and were very highly taxed by the king, like the rest of the Third Estate.... ... middle of paper ... ... Overall, the weakness and indecisive actions of France's monarch, King Louis XVI, did not make those serving him respect or be loyal to him and his choices.

    Read More

  • Explain What Was French Society Like In The 18th Century

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    At the time, France was made up of three estates, you didn't get the option to choose which estate you belonged to- you were born into it. The first estate was the clergy, which made up less than one percent of the population. You didn’t need to be born into the clergy, however you did need to have access to education, money and their connections.The second estate were the Nobles, which consisted of two kinds; one being passed down through old

    Read More

More about The Life of the Commoners: The French System

Open Document