French society during the ancien regime

Question 1

Problems with the 1st estate

Answer 1

• Plurality and absenteeism
• tithes
• exemption from taxes
• power over people

Question 2

plurality and absenteeism

Answer 2

• made the church unpopular with many people believing that bishops from noble families were only interested in money as they were pluralists and their jobs had been passed down to them.

Question 3

Tithes

Answer 3

• paid for the land of the church
• made for parish priests, poor relief and upkeep of churhc buildings but ended up going to the pockets of bishops and abbots.
• resented by peasantry and ordinary clergy

Question 4

Exemption from taxes

Answer 4

• church made annual payment at under 5% of its annual income which is much less than what they could actually pay.

Question 5

power over the people

Answer 5

• church acted as ministry of information due to poor communication
• parish priests wouldn’t be open to new ideas which made the church unpopular

Question 6

feudal dues

Answer 6

financial or work obligations imposed on the peasantry by landowners

Question 7

How many nobles were there in France by 1789?

Answer 7

110,000-350,000

Question 8

In what ways did the wealth and status of the nobility vary?

Answer 8

• most powerful were the 4000 court nobilities that lived in Versailles
• second was noblesse de robe - legal experts
• remainder and vast majority lived in various towns

Question 9

What were the principle privileges of the nobility?

Answer 9

• tried in their own courts
• exempt from military service
• exempt from paying the gabelle
• exempt from the corvee(forced labour)
• exclusive rights to hunting, fishing
• in many areas they had monopoly rights to operate mills, ovens, wine presses

Question 10

Why were the less wealthy provincial nobles so resistant to change?

Answer 10

• as they believed they would face reunation and people saw the second estate to be avoiding taxes and putting the burden on others.

Question 11

How did one become a noble

Answer 11

• inheritance
• appointment by King
• buying certain offices that carried hereditary titles

Question 12

disadvantages to being a noble

Answer 12

• not allowed to take part in industrial or commercial activities as this would mean they would suffer derogation.

Question 13

who made up the bourgeoisie?

Answer 13

• rich merchants, industrialists and business people
• lawyers, civil servants

Question 14

how many bourgeoisie?

Answer 14

2.3 million in 18th century

Question 15

What grievances did they have against the ancien regime?

Answer 15

*felt that its power and wealth should in some way be reflected in the political system as it bore such a substantial part of tax revenue paid to the crown.

Question 16

subsietence life

Answer 16

rely on other factors e.g. harvests

Question 17

Who were the peasantry?

Answer 17

• 67% of population
• opposite to the bourgeoisie
• covered enormous variations in wealth and status
• agricultural workers

Question 18

What were the variations in this group?

Answer 18

• top end were a small group of farmers
• half were share croppers that gave crop to landowners instead of rent.
• quarter were landless labourers who owned nothing but their house and garden.

Question 19

What were their conditions of life?

Answer 19

• poor peasants lived in a state of chronic uncertainty
• some lived by begging, stealing and occasional emploment

Question 20

What were the principle grievances of the peasantry?

Answer 20

• bore burden of tax
• payed tithe to church, feudal dues to lords and taxes to state
• could be tried in seigneurial court where lord can act as both judge and jury
• payed high rent to landlords as population increased

Question 21

What were the different types of urban workers?

Answer 21

• guilds - skilled craftsmen, only certain people could do certain jobs
• artisans
• sans culottes - workers with no actual job

Question 22

How had the standard of living changed for wage earners across the eighteenth century?

Answer 22

• As prices increased by 65% but wages only increased by 22%

Question 23

Why was the changing condition of urban workers important for the revolution?

Answer 23

• as it encouraged them to get involved in the overthrow of the ancien regime