Structure of the Ancien Régime

Question 1

What were the Three Estates?

Answer 1

Clergy, Nobility, Peasantry

Question 2

What were the privileges of the Clergy? (3 points)

Answer 2

1. Tithes - paid to the Church by landowners
2. Tax exemptions - but the Church still gave a small annual sum to the Crown
3. Power - the Church could censor books that were critical of it

Question 3

What were the disadvantages of the Clergy? (3 points)

Answer 3

1. Plurality - bishops held more than one diocese to get more money
2. Absenteeism - bishops rarely visited their diocese
3. Tithes - most parish priests never saw a penny of them

Question 4

What were the privileges of the nobility? (3 points)

Answer 4

1. Feudal dues - money paid to the nobility by peasants
2. Separate courts - this meant that punishments were different
3. Tax exemptions - this meant the nobility did not pay the taille and the gabelle

Question 5

What were the disadvantages of the nobility?

Answer 5

Inheritance laws - many of the older nobility were very poor, due to the way inheritance laws worked

Question 6

Describe the groups of the Third Estate from poorest to wealthiest:

Answer 6

1. Serfs - basically slaves owned by the nobility
2. Independent farmers - would loan plots of land to peasants for large profits
3. Unskilled urban peasants - were extremely poor and could barely sustain themselves
4. Skilled urban peasants - part of the guild system
5. Bourgeoisie - wealthy merchants who tried to become part of the nobility through the purchasing of venal offices