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The 1 st & 2 nd Estates were rich and powerful They had many special privileges

Since the Middle Ages, everyone in France had belonged to one of the three social classes, called Estates The 1 st Estate – Clergy The 2 nd Estate – Nobles The 3 rd Estate – Peasants. The 1 st & 2 nd Estates were rich and powerful They had many special privileges

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The 1 st & 2 nd Estates were rich and powerful They had many special privileges

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  1. Since the Middle Ages, everyone in France had belonged to one of the three social classes, called Estates • The 1st Estate – Clergy • The 2nd Estate – Nobles • The 3rd Estate – Peasants

  2. The 1st & 2nd Estates were rich and powerful • They had many special privileges • For example, they did not have to pay taxes • They made up about 2% of the total population of France

  3. Most (98%) of French people belonged to the 3rd Estate • Although they were poor, their tax burden was the heaviest

  4. In 1789, France faced several crises • For many years the French government had been spending more money than it had earned • Bad harvests caused food prices to rise • Many peasants did not have enough to eat • In towns and in the countryside, starving people rioted

  5. To deal with these problems, King Louis XVI met with the leaders of the 3 Estates • Most common people wanted financial relief, but the elected members of the Third Estate wanted government reform

  6. After weeks of meetings, its leaders took a daring step • They created a new government called the National Assembly • Some reform-minded nobles and clergy joined them

  7. The National Assembly promised to write a new constitution for France • However, dangerous rumors, increasing food shortages, and an attack on the Bastille (a Parisian political prison) kept the problems from being solved • A violent revolution was starting

  8. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

  9. Revolutionary groups took over Paris and demanded an end to the monarchy • Finally Nobles agreed to give up their special privileges • King/Queen virtual prisoners of Paris

  10. The National Assembly began making reforms • They agreed to abolish feudalism • In 1791, the assembly finished writing a new constitution that used Enlightenment ideas

  11. But when the assembly took control of the French Catholic Church and sold its lands to pay back the government’s debt, the pope, clergy, and many peasants rejected the revolution

  12. News about the French Revolution spread across Europe • While many Europeans supported the revolution, rulers and nobles were afraid that revolutionary ideas would spread to their own countries

  13. After the French king and his family made an unsuccessful attempt to flee, the king of Prussia promised he would fight to save the French monarchy

  14. In 1792, France declared war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, and several other European states • The fighting lasted for over 20 years

  15. The war with other European powers went badly for the French forces • People thought the king was helping the enemy • Mobs attacked the kings guards and killed nobles

  16. Radical revolutionaries, supported by Paris crowds, took control of the Assembly in 1792 • These radicals ended the monarchy, made France a republic, and wrote another constitution • In 1793, they executed, or put to death, the king and queen for treason

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