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Describe the French division of society.
French division of society
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2 Replies
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Division of French society was the social cause of French Revolution. This was an Ancient regime. French Society was divided into three major sections.
1st Estate- These includes Clergy (church), Bishops, Pops, Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, ( Priest). Overall all the important people of society. Rich families, Part or officials of bourbon dynasty. They never have to pay taxes. There population was around 1 lakhs. land owned by them was 10% of whole France. The area each family of 1st estate used to hold was large, but they were not much in number in compared to 2nd, 3rd class. They had powers because they were part of the religion, rich businessman, officials who support and help in promoting the harsh bourbon rule.
2nd Estate- These were all the land owners, notabilities, ( Shaukar), etc. There population was 4 lakhs. They owned 25% of land n the whole France. They also never pay taxes. They were the local rich men, They didn’t hold so much power, but still they were considered powerful because they used to give work to the poor farmer, and slavery and they were rich and they hold land. As the 3rd estate never had land on which they can work and they were large in number so the 2nd estate people used to provide work to 3rd estate.
3rd Estate- These includes farmers, artist, Factory workers, traders, lawyers, public officials. Some of them are educated but still poor. there population was 2.7 crore, 95% of the total population. But all of them don’t even have properties. They used to pay all the taxes, harsh rules and regulation were applied on them. They didn’t hold any power or importance in France during that time.
The educated class known as Bangeoisies they used to work for king.
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The French Society was divided into 3 divisions or three estates:
Clergy, Nobility, and 3rd estate.
1. The First Estate: The clergy consisted of the high priests and they did not have to pay taxes.
Clergy belonged to the 1st estate of the French Society. The clergy was the group of persons who were invested with special functions in the church,e.g. fathers, and other members of the church. The Church-owned land and individuals took care of this land for them, however, they were not responsible for paying taxes on this land. They did send a small amount of money to the government each year as a gift. The First Estate was responsible for the spiritual and moral welfare of the nation, including educating the children.
2. The Second Estate: Nobility consisted of the king and the and people who were very rich and wealthy and even they don’t have to pay taxes. Nobles were required to honor, serve, and counsel their king. They were often required to render military service (for example, the impôt du sang or “blood tax”). Noble titles were not just honorifics; they also empowered their owners with specific rights and privileges, and most importantly an immunity from personal taxes.
These exemptions were among the triggers of the French Revolution, as the commoners, or the members of the Third Estate realized they were bearing the financial burden of the whole French nation.
3. The Third Estate: The 3rd estate consisted of peasants, farmers, lawyers, some middle-class minsters, etc and they all had to pay taxes. The Third Estate included everyone else from the middle class down, from doctors to lawyers to the homeless and poor. This was the largest Estate, with roughly 98% of the population included in it. The middle class of France is referred to as the Bourgeoisie.
