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French Revolution

French Revolution. Objectives. You will be able to… Describe the political and socio-economic structure of France prior to the revolution. Summarize the causes of the French Revolution. French Society.

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French Revolution

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  1. French Revolution

  2. Objectives • You will be able to… • Describe the political and socio-economic structure of France prior to the revolution. • Summarize the causes of the French Revolution

  3. French Society • France’s society was built on a three order system; The First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate. • France in 1750 had a population of 22 million. • No more than 2 to 3 percent belonged to what are often called the privileged orders- Aristocracy and the Clergy.

  4. First Estate- Clergy • The First estate included priests, bishops, and anyone who was a part of the church. • Numbered around 130,000 • Owned about 10 percent of the land, collected tithes, and paid no direct taxes to the state.

  5. First Estate • Provided some social services- Ran schools, hospitals, and orphanages. • Upper ranks of the first estate almost came exclusively from the nobility. • Middle and lower ranks came from Bourgeoisie and the peasantry.

  6. Second Estate- Nobility • Hereditary Nobility • Numbered around 300,000 • Court aristocracy claimed the position of being the elite of elites, just below the royal family.

  7. Second Estate • During feudalism, Nobles defended their land from foreign invaders. In the 1600s, Richelieu and Louis XIV had centralized France and took away their military might. • Were given top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church. • Nobles received a royal pension, while enjoying life at Versailles, where they spent there time with pleasures.

  8. Second Estate • Only the notables of the aristocracy lived at court, most of the lesser nobles remained on their estates. • The Nobles made sure to stand up for their privileges, which included exemption from taxes.

  9. Third Estate • Remaining 97-98 percent of Frenchmen were the Third Estate. • Consisted of the Bourgeoisie, peasant workers, and urban workers. • Bourgeoisie- the “middle class”

  10. The Bourgeoisie • Industrial/Commercial • Financiers • Bureaucrats • Shopkeepers • Artisans • Goal of the Bourgeoisie- Gain social status to increases special privilege. To “live nobly” like the aristocracy.

  11. 3rd Estate • There were opportunities to rise available to the ambitious. • Bourgeoisie could: • Buy offices that gave you noble status • Marry daughter to an aristocrat • Purchase of minor middle-rank church post • Opportunities in the past had been enough to keep the bourgeoisie satisfied with the system.

  12. Peasants • Most peasants were tenants, sharecroppers, or day laborers on estates owned by the privileged orders or the bourgeoisie. • Well off peasants- • Owned of at least a bit of land • Had a herd of stock • Were able to hire field hands

  13. Poor Peasants • The peasants with less money lived at a basic subsistence level. • They would often supplement their own crops with working part-time on a large estate, or taking employment in the rural textile industry. • The life of the poor French peasant often included mud-floored huts, ragged clothing, undernourishment, and frequent famine.

  14. Urban Worker • Most urban workers were skilled artisans or handicraftsmen who worked in small shops. • Some were able to cross the line into bourgeoisie by opening up their own shops. • On the bottom of the urban worker class, were men in the category of unskilled labor. • Many urban workers relied on charity in times of economic stress. • Early in 1790, one Parisian in five receiving some kind of relief, either public or private.

  15. Economic Trouble • Deficit Spending- Spending more money then a government takes in • The Burden of Debt- War debts- Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution • 1789- half of tax income went just to pay interest on it’s debt.

  16. Options • They can either increase taxes, reduce expenses, or both. • Nobles and Clergy resisted an end to their exemption.

  17. Poor Harvests • Poor harvests in 1787 and 1788 produced effects more rapid and severe then in previous year. • Grain prices doubled in a year; textile production was reduced by half; a wave of bankruptcies occurred; unemployment among wage earners reached 50 percent. • People found it easy to blame the government.

  18. Failures of Reform • 1715-1774- Louis XV- did not seriously consider reform; put pleasure before business. • Louis XVI- Weak and indecisive • Louis placed Jacques Necker as his main financial adviser. • Necker proposed- Urged to reduce court spending, reform government, abolishing internal tariffs, and taxing the first and second estates.

  19. Reaction • First and Second estates forced Louis XVI to dismiss Necker. • The First and Second estates demanded that the king summon the Estates General, which had not been summoned in 175 years. • Estates General- meeting of the three estates run by the king

  20. Causes of the French revolution… • Economic troubles enhanced by corrupt and incompetent government: • No taxation of the upper two classes • Food shortages • Deficient spending • Paying off war debts • Poor harvests

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