ExplaMAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES
ECONOMICS Economic and
social inequalities in the Old
Regime helped cause the
French Revolution.
Throughout history, economic
and social inequalities have at
times led peoples to revolt
against their governments.
• Old Regime
• estate
• Louis XVI
• Marie Antoinette
• Estates-General
• National
Assembly
• Tennis Court
Oath
• Great Fear
1
SETTING THE STAGE In the 1700s, France was considered the most advanced
country of Europe. It had a large population and a prosperous foreign trade. It
was the center of the Enlightenment, and France’s culture was widely praised
and imitated by the rest of the world. However, the appearance of success was
deceiving. There was great unrest in France, caused by bad harvests, high
prices, high taxes, and disturbing questions raised by the Enlightenment ideas
of Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire.
The Old Order
In the 1770s, the social and political system of France—the Old Regime—
remained in place. Under this system, the people of France were divided into
three large social classes, or estates.
The Privileged Estates Two of the estates had privileges, including access to
high offices and exemptions from paying taxes, that were not granted to the
members of the third. The Roman Catholic Church, whose clergy formed the
First Estate, owned 10 percent of the land in France. It provided education and
relief services to the poor and contributed about 2 percent of its income to the
government. The Second Estate was made up of rich nobles. Although they
accounted for just 2 percent of the population, the nobles owned 20 percent of
the land and paid almost no taxes. The majority of the clergy and the nobility
scorned Enlightenment ideas as radical notions that threatened their status and
power as privileged persons.
The Third Estate About 97 percent of the people belonged to the Third Estate. The
three groups that made up this estate differed greatly in their economic conditions.
The first group—the bourgeoisie (BUR•zhwah•ZEE), or middle class—were
bankers, factory owners, merchants, professionals, and skilled artisans. Often, they
were well educated and believed strongly in the Enlightenment ideals of liberty and
equality. Although some of the bourgeoisie were as rich as nobles, they paid high
taxes and, like the rest of the Third Estate, lacked privileges. Many felt that their
wealth entitled them to a greater degree of social status and political power.
The workers of France’s cities formed the second, and poorest, group within
the Third Estate. These urban workers included tradespeople, apprentices, laborers,
and domestic servants. Paid low wages and frequently out of work, they often
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