GR 9 History Module 10 Theory

FRENCH REVOLUTION
Today we often take the ideas of

liberty,freedom and equality for
granted.But do you know from
where really these ideas
emerged?Yes,we need to remind
ourselves that these ideas also
have a history. By looking at the
French Revolution you will read
a small part of that history.
Beginning of the revolution
On 14th July 1789 in the city of Paris there was a state
of alarm
* the king commanded the troops to move into the city
*There was rumour spread that the king would order

the army to open fire upon the citizens
*Many people gathered in front of the town hall and

decided to form people's militia (people's army)
*They broke into a number of govt. buildings In search

of arms
Atlast, a group of several people marched towards the
eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress -
prison bastille.The commander of the bastille was
killed by the people.The prisoners were released.
*Yet the people hated bastille because it stood for the

despotic rule of the king
*The fortress was demolished and its stone fragments

were sold in the markets for those who wished to keep
a souvenir of its destruction.
FRENCH SOCIETY DURING 18TH CENTURY
In the 17th and 18th centuries, France was ruled by an absolute
government. The king had all the political powers. Anyone who
criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison
without trial. Louis XVI was king at the time of the French
Revolution. He was more interested in hunting than governing
France. He and his Austrian queen, Marie Antoinette, lived an
extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care
about the state of their country.
Louis XVI, who belonged to Bourbon family of kings, became the
ruler of France in 1774. By that time; long years of war,
maintenance of the court of the immense palace of Versailles
made the treasury empty. In addition to this; helping during the
war to the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence
from Britain by Louis XVI raised the debt of treasury to more than
2 billion livers. Lenders to the state also started charging 10
percent of interest on credit to the state; this further worsened the
situation of the society. Thus, in order to maintain those expenses,
state was forced to increase taxes which increased the anger
among the members of the third estate.
French Society During the Eighteenth Century
During the eighteenth century the French Society was divided into three groups. These
groups were called estates. The three types of groups were - First estate, Second estate
and Third estate.
First Estate: Clergy belonged to 1st estate of the French Society. Clergy were the group
of persons who were invested with special functions in the church,e.g. fathers, and
other members of church.
Second Estate: Nobility belonged to 2nd estate of the French Society. Nobility was
hereditary and hence a person could get nobility by birth. However, new members were
also awarded nobility by monarchy after paying heavy taxes or outstanding service to
the monarchy, i.e. nobility could be purchased also.
Third Estate: The 3rd estate of the French society was further divided into three
categories. Big businessmen, merchants, court oﬃcials, lawyers, etc. belonged to the
ﬁrst category of 3rd estate. Peasants and artisans belonged to the second category. And
small peasants, landless labourers and servants belonged to third category, and were
considered as the lowest class in the society. Members of the third estate had to pay all
types of taxes including tithes and taille.
Clergy and Nobility were privileged class. They had certain special
privileges; in addition to feudal privilege. They were exempted
from paying any types of taxes. They paid feudal taxes extracted
after the members of the third estate.
Tithes: A type of tax collected by churches which was collected
from peasants in the eighteenth century French Society.
Taille: A type of direct and indirect tax which was paid to the state
by members of third estate in French Society in the eighteenth
century. Taille was levied on items used for daily consumption,
such as tobacco, salt, etc.
Livre: Unit of currency of France. This was discontinued in 1794.

GR 9 History Module 10 Theory

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GR 9 History Module 10 Theory

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

GR 9 History Module 10 Theory

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FRENCH REVOLUTION

Today we often take the ideas of

* the king commanded the troops to move into the city

*There was rumour spread that the king would order

*Many people gathered in front of the town hall and

*They broke into a number of govt. buildings In search

*Yet the people hated bastille because it stood for the

*The fortress was demolished and its stone fragments

You might also like