Estate-based society Flashcards
What is an estate-based society?
An estate-based society is a social system in which people are divided into different classes or estates based on their wealth, power, and social status.
What were the three main classes in an estate-based society?
The three main classes in an estate-based society were the nobility, clergy, and Peasantry.
What was the Peasantry.
The Peasantry took up 98% of society (20 million people). They were mostly farmers or middle class.
Who were the Farmers
The farmers lived on the landholdings of the nobility, were dependant on their landlords, had to pay takes and had to do compulsory labour.
Who were the Middle class
They lived in the cities and some of them had become very wealthy by owning manufactories or trading. The largest part of middle class was mostly poor.
What were the problems for the 3rd estate
They were poor, lived in bad conditions, payed 90% of the taxes yet still didn’t have any political say.
What were the problems or the Upper middle class
They didn’t have privileges or political influence and were angry about it.
What was the First estate
The Clergy and it made up 0.5% of society.
Who belonged to the higher clergy
Bishops and abbots. The positions could only be obtained by the noblemen.
Who belonged to the lower clergy
Nuns, monks and priests. They mainly came from the 3rd estate.
What changed for the Clergy in the French Revolution
not much, they still didn’t have to pay taxes and still had is own jurisdiction. Some higher clergy profited because they could get in to high office in the court of Versailles. Lower clergy still lived in simple and poor circumstances.
Who were the 2nd estate
The nobility. They took up 1.5% of society.
What 2 groups of nobles could be distinguished.
The ones who had landholdings. The ones who had an important office in the government.
What privileges did the nobles have
They were the only ones who were allowed to hunt and fish. They didn’t have to pay taxes or do jobs. If they wanted more money they demanded more taxes from the 3rd estate.
