The French Revolution

Throughout the 18th century, France had a plethora of problems, all of which stemmed from the formation of the estates. The Third Estate was populated with middle class and the lesser. These citizens were heavily taxed, alienated of food supply, and dealt directly with fixed controlled prices. All of this coupled with economic depression from ongoing wars and lavishness by the Royal Family resulted in several movements that lead to the enlightenment, which ultimately spurred the revolution.

It is crucial to know what the Third Estate consisted of in order for one to truly comprehend the hardships for which the citizens faced. The people of the Third Estate made up the middle class down through the Sans-Culottes. Most of these members had little education but managed to get by, even with outrageous taxation, some even owned land and had a significant role in society known as Bourgeoisie; however, even the highest of the Third Estate were still not well off.

Peasants and Sans-Culottes formed the bottom of French society in that they owned little to no land and had little to nothing to lose. While the Peasants had no education, they were talented when it came to land and growing food for their families, positioning them just above the worst role in France. The San-Culottes predominantly lived in large cities such as Paris, where they could beg for food and sell their wife into prostitution, obtaining their position at the lowest of society.

“The personal service of the clergy is to fulfill all the functions relating to the education and religious observance and to contribute to the relief of the unfortunate through its alms. The noble dedicates his blood to the defense of the state and assists the sovereign with his cou...

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... revolution meant.”

A combination of economic events, mistakes by the Royal Family, and taxation abuse coupled with the structure of the estates made revolution inevitable. Unbearable taxes insured hardships; crop failures applied a universal stress among the country, and depression from the war left French society in a state of depression that King Louis XVI was incapable of reconstructing. After several attempts by intelligent philosophers and those alike, revolution was the only foolproof way to reform France as a whole.

Works Cited

Keith Michael Baker, The Old Regime and the French Revolution (Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1987),

William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002),

Jeremy D. Popkin, A Short History of the French Revolution (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010)