French Revolution: The Old Regime

• By the end, you'll be able to explain why the French Revolution was inevitable.

The Old Regime

• It was a political system in most of 18th century Europe.
• Countries had absolutism, meaning the monarch had absolute control over the government.
• Society was divided into privileged and unprivileged classes.
• Unprivileged people paid taxes and were treated poorly.
• Privileged people did not pay taxes and were treated well.

Society Under the Old Regime

• People in France were divided into the Three Estates.

First Estate

• Consisted of high-ranking members of the Church.
• They were part of the privileged class.
• The population was circa 130,000, which included high-ranking clergy.
• The First Estate collected the tithe, controlled education, and had censorship of the press.
• They kept records of births, deaths, marriages, etc.
• The Catholic faith held a place as the state religion, practiced by the monarch and nobility.
• This Estate owned 20% of the land, paid no taxes but was subject to Church Law rather than civil law.
• They had a moral obligation to assist the poor and needy and support the monarchy and Old Regime.

Second Estate

• Included the nobility and was privileged.
• The population was circa 110,000, consisting of nobles.
• This Estate collected taxes in the form of feudal dues and monopolized military and state appointments.
• They owned 20% of the land and paid no taxes, while also supporting the monarchy and Old Regime.

Third Estate

• Included everyone else, from peasants in the countryside to wealthy bourgeoisie merchants in the cities, who constituted the unprivileged class.
• The population was circa 25,000,000, including artisans, bourgeoisie, city workers, merchants, peasants, and parish priests.
• This Estate had no privileges or exemptions and none.
• This Estate paid all taxes, including the Tithe (Church tax), Octrot (tax on goods brought into cities), Corvée (forced road work), Capitation (poll tax), Vingtième (income tax), Gabelle (salt tax), Taille (land tax).
• They also paid feudal dues for using the local manor's winepress, oven, etc.

Economic Conditions

• France's economy relied mainly on agriculture.
• Peasant farmers bore the burden of taxation.
• Poor harvests meant that peasants had trouble paying their regular taxes, and could not afford raised taxes.
• The bourgeoisie often gathered wealth, but were upset that they paid taxes while nobles did not.

France's Bankruptcy

• King Louis XVI spent lavishly on himself and residences like Versailles.
• Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as a wasteful spender.
• Government funds were depleted because of wars, including funding the American Revolution.
• Deficit spending occurred when the government spent more money than it took in from tax revenues.
• The privileged classes would not submit to being taxed.

Long-Term Causes of the French Revolution

• Absolutism
• Unjust socio-political system within the Old Regime.
• Poor harvests, which left peasant farmers with little money for taxes.
• Enlightenment philosophers
• The system of mercantilism restricted trade.
• Influence from other successful revolutions, such as England's Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) and the American Revolution (1775-1783).

Short-Term Causes of the French Revolution

• Deficit spending caused bankruptcy.
• Financial ministers (Turgot, Necker, Calonne) proposed changes, but these were rejected.
• The Assembly of Notables voted down taxation for the nobility in 1787.
• The worst famine.
• Hungry, impoverished peasants feared that nobles at Estates-General were seeking greater privileges.
• Attacks on nobles occurred throughout the country in 1789 because of their fears.
• Louis XVI had to call a meeting of the Estates-General to solve the bankruptcy problem.
• All Three Estates had not met since 1614.
• This led to a series of events that resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and a new socio-political system for France.

Meeting of the Estates-General: May 5, 1789

• Voting was conducted by estate, with each estate having one vote.
• The First and Second Estates could operate as a bloc to overrule the Third Estate.
• Representatives from the Third Estate wanted voting by population to give them all the advantage.
• This resulted in a deadlock.

Tennis Court Oath

• The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly.
• Louis XVI locked the Third Estate out of the meeting.
• The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court, where its members vowed to stay together and create a written constitution for France.
• On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented and ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote by population, on a constitution for France.

Explore the political and social structure of 18th century Europe. Learn about absolutism, privileged vs. unprivileged classes, and the Three Estates system in France. Understand the factors that contributed to the French Revolution.