24 Questions
Which social group was responsible for bringing about a change in the social and economic order?
Merchants and manufacturers
What was the primary source of wealth for the emerging middle class?
Expanding overseas trade
Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of the third estate?
Believed in privileges by birth
What was the outcome of food scarcity and rising food prices?
All of the above
What was the primary motivation behind the revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity?
Desire for social and economic change
Which of the following was a product manufactured by the middle class?
Woollen textiles
What was the outcome of the emergence of the middle class?
End to privileges
What percentage of the population in France before 1789 were peasants?
90 per cent
Who participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity?
Peasants and workers
Who owned about 60 per cent of the land in France before 1789?
Nobles, the Church and richer members of the third estate
What was the main privilege enjoyed by the members of the first two estates in France before 1789?
Exemption from paying taxes to the state
What was extracted by the Church from the peasants in France before 1789?
Tithes
What did peasants have to do as part of feudal services?
All of the above
Who did not have to pay taxes to the state in France before 1789?
Members of the first estate
What was used as a unit of currency in France before 1794?
Livre
What is the term for a group of persons invested with special spiritual authority?
Clergy
Who lent money to the French government and charged 10% interest on loans?
Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, and lawyers
Which group was responsible for paying taxes in the French society of the 18th century?
Only members of the third estate
What was the term used to describe the social system of the French society in the 18th century?
Old Regime
What was the main reason for the French government to increase taxes?
To pay interest on loans
Who made up the majority of the third estate?
Small peasants, landless labor, and servants
What was the result of the war on the French national debt?
It added more than 1 billion livres to the national debt
What was the main problem faced by the French government in terms of its finances?
It was unable to pay interest on loans
What was the social system that the French society was divided into?
A system of three estates
Study Notes
The Emergence of the Middle Class
- Peasants and workers lacked the means to bring about a change in the social and economic order, but the emerging middle class had the means and access to education and new ideas.
- The middle class earned their wealth through expanding overseas trade and manufacturing goods such as woollen and silk textiles.
- Members of the middle class included merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, and administrative officials who were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
The Crisis of the French Economy
- The French government was in debt, with over 2 billion livres, and added more than a billion livres to it due to the war.
- Lenders began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans, increasing the burden on the government.
- The government had to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments, leading to increased taxes.
The Society of Estates
- French society in the 18th century was divided into three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate.
- The clergy and nobility enjoyed certain privileges by birth, including exemption from paying taxes to the state.
- Nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges, including feudal dues, and peasants were obliged to render services to the lord.
- The Church extracted its share of taxes, called tithes, from the peasants.
The Third Estate
- The third estate included peasants, artisans, and small-scale landowners who made up about 90 per cent of the population.
- Only a small number of peasants owned the land they cultivated, with about 60 per cent of the land owned by nobles, the Church, and other richer members of the third estate.
- The third estate had to pay taxes to the state, while the clergy and nobility were exempt.
Complete the diagram by selecting the correct terms related to the emergence of a growing middle class and its impact on social privileges.
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