SESSION ONE: THE ESTATES OF FRANCE

1. SESSION ONE: THE ESTATES OF FRANCE

2. The Estates of France • What was realistic about this game? What was NOT realistic? • What did you learn about the structure of the French society? • Who were the biggest winners and losers from the social structure of pre-revolutionary France?

4. Arthur Young in Lorraine, 12 July 1789: Walking up a long hill, to ease my mare, I was joined by a poor woman, who complained of the times, and that it was a sad country. On my demanding her reasons, she said her husband had but a morsel of land, one cow and a poor little horse, yet he had a franchar (20 kg) of wheat and three chickens to pays as a quit-rent to one Seigneur; and four francharof oats, one chicken and 1 sous to pay to another, beside very heavy tailles and other taxes. She had seven children, and the cow's milk helped to make the soup .... It was said, at present, that something was to be doneby some great folks for such poor ones, but she did not know who or how,but God send us better, car les tailles et les droits nous écrasent. This woman, at no great distance, might have been taken for sixty or seventy, her figure was so bent, and her face so furrowed and hardened by labour; but she said she was only twenty-eight.

5. Farmer Generals Jacques-Louis David, Antoine Lavoisier and his wife, 1788

6. Hobereaux

7. ‘bourgeoisie’

8. Artisans

10. Languedoc

12. ‘les Grands’: 4,000 families at Versailles

13. Visual Analysis Task • In your groups discuss: • What does your image represent? • What message/s does the image try to convey? • Which social group do you think might have created and/or supported the message portrayed in this image?