1 / 13

The Estates General and the French Revolution

Explore the historical background of France's economic turmoil in 1787, leading to the convening of the Estates General in 1789. Learn about the three classes, their disparities, and the growing discontent that fueled the French Revolution.

ryoho
Download Presentation

The Estates General and the French Revolution

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Estates General

  2. YOUTUBE • THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: CRASH COURSE WORLD HISTORY #29 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTTvKwCylFY&edufilter=gMLbZye9Ttwkax4D13Y3Fg&safe=active

  3. Background • By 1787, France’s economy is in ruins for several reasons • Lavish spending by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette • Poor taxing policies • Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783)

  4. Louis XVI, king of France

  5. King Louis XVI promises to call together the Estates General, which had not met since 1614 • Hopefully this will solve France’s problems • The Estates General is scheduled to meet on May 5th, 1789 at Versailles

  6. What Was the Estates General? • This was a legislative assembly for the different French classes (Congress) • The Estates General was made up of three classes • Clergy-1st Estate • Nobility-2nd Estate • Bourgeoisie (peasants)-3rd Estate

  7. Clergy

  8. Clergy • By 1789, the 1st Estate (Clergy) was made up of 100,000 people • Owned 5-10% of the land • All property was tax-exempt

  9. Nobility

  10. Nobility • The 2nd Estate (Nobility) was made up of 400,000 people • Enjoyed the better government jobs • Was also tax-exempt

  11. Bourgeoisie • The 3rd Estate (Bourgeoisie, peasants) was made up of 25 million people • The 3rd Estate paid all of the taxes • This means the burden fell on France’s poorest • Each Estate had one vote • The 1st and 2nd Estates usually voted together

  12. The 3rd Estate had to sit by themselves at the Estates General • They had to wear black robes • Had to enter the Estates General through a side door • The 3rd Estate (98% of France) is getting fed up…

More Related