French History: Late 18th Century

French Monarchy and Finances

• Louis XVI, a 20-year-old king from the Bourbon family, ascended the throne in 1774 and found an empty treasury.
• Long years of war had drained France's financial resources, and the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at Versailles added to the burden.

French Involvement in the American War of Independence

• France helped the thirteen American colonies gain independence from Britain, adding more than a billion livres to the national debt.
• The war led to a debt of over 2 billion livres, causing lenders to charge 10% interest on loans.

French Government Finances

• The French government spent an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.
• To meet regular expenses, the state increased taxes, but this measure was insufficient.

The Three Estates of French Society

• French society was divided into three estates: the clergy (first estate), the nobility (second estate), and the commoners (third estate).
• Only members of the third estate paid taxes, making up 90% of the population, mostly comprising peasants.

Land Ownership and Privileges

• Nobles, the Church, and richer members of the third estate owned about 60% of the land, while peasants owned a small portion of the land they cultivated.
• Members of the first two estates enjoyed privileges by birth, including exemption from paying taxes to the state.
• Nobles also enjoyed feudal privileges, extracting feudal dues and services from peasants.
• The Church extracted tithes from peasants, and the third estate paid taxes to the state, including taille and indirect taxes on everyday consumption items.

Tax Burden on the Third Estate

• The burden of financing state activities through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.
• The third estate paid direct and indirect taxes, including taille, on top of feudal dues and tithes to the nobles and Church.

Discover the events that shaped France during the late 18th century, including the reign of Louis XVI, financial struggles, and the American Revolution.