BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
The Old Regime – society before the revolution
Three Estates – divisions based on class and rank
1. Church – clergy which owned 10% of the land, paid no tax
2. Nobles – 2% of the population, owned 20% of the land, 70% of wealth
3. Third Estate – everyone else
-bourgeoisie – craftsmen, merchants, professionals
-working poor – worst off in the entire country
-rural peasants – were de facto property of the landowners
1780s – A series of successive crop failures, food prices double
-government repeatedly raises taxes (esp. la taille – the salt tax)
Response of the Monarchy – Kings of the day believed they were put in their place by God
Louis XIV – died in 1715 leaving France with a huge debt after fighting numerous wars
and building Versailles, his grand palace
Louis XV – Decadent, known for the line “Apres Moi, le deluge” (after me,
the torrent)
Louis XVI – careless, heartless, spendthrift, foolish – wrong man at the wrong time
• Most hated for his Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette
They lived extravagant lives
• He left the treasury empty, but did aid America in its revolution