The Feudal System: Before the Revolution

Question 1

What was the Feudal System in France?

Answer 1

• Feudalism: medieval society based on a social, political, and economic hierarchy centered on land ownership and control
• In 18th c. France, most people lived in the country and led an agricultural lifestyle
• Prior to 1789, the political system since the 14th c. was called the ancien régime (old regime)
• The Old Regime was both a political and social entity that divided people into three estates

Question 2

What were the 3 Estates?

Answer 2

The First Estate:
- Consisted of religious leaders and the clergy
- Made up less than 1% of France’s population
- They owned ⅕ of the land in France and didn’t pay taxes
- Collected taxes (tithes) from the rest of France

The Second Estate - Nobility:
- Higher Nobles held much of the land and had some influence over the King
King would take loans from Nobles to pay for financial difficulties
In return, the Nobles would try to gain more power or receive tax breaks
Lower Nobles worked for the higher Nobles who usually held political office or became feudal lords for the peasants
- Consisted of Nobles (both upper and lower Nobles)
- Made up less than 2% of France’s population
- The first and second estates combined made up only 3% of France’s population (0.5 million people)
- They paid few or no taxes and held political positions with heavy influences on the monarchs (they made the most decisions even though they only made up much less than 10% of the population)

The Third Estate:
- The third estate made up 97% of France’s population (23-26 million people)
- Included the bourgeoisis (middle class merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, and doctors) as well as peasants and serfs
- They paid the majority of taxes and didn’t have a say in the gov

Question 3

How Did the Estate System in France work?

Answer 3

• Based on position bestowed by birthright
• The Catholic Church had great authority over the gov, state, and laws (theocracy)
• Each estate had a vote (1 for the first, 1 for the second, 1 for the third)
  First and second estates always voted together
  The third estate was always outvoted and didn’t have a say for over 500 years
• This class structure was maintained by dependency on the upper estates for political order, rights distribution, law, land ownership, and above all: protection
• Since the control of land meant the control of wealth, invaders from foreign lands would focus the majority of their human and material wealth on this goal
• It was nearly impossible to move between estates

Question 4

What was it like for the Townspeople, Peasants, and Serfs?

Answer 4

Feudal Society - Townspeople:
- Included doctors, lawyers, and merchants (“freemen”) who were educated but lacked any political rights
- Were highly taxed without say in how the money was used
- Could occasionally buy their way into nobility but was very rare

Feudal Society - Peasants and Serfs:
- Peasants were farmers who were extremely poor (paid high taxes or rent to nobles or bishops)
- Serfs were similar to slaves who worked the land
Were considered to be part of the land so when land was bought or sold, the serfs would stay
All serfs were peasants but not all peasants were serfs
Received no financial compensation ($$) for their labor
- Food would be given as payment; however, if there was a poor crop yield they would go hungry because the rest would be sold for profit to benefit those above them