The Third Estate
More than 95% of the people of France belonged to the Third Estate. That was more then 24 million people. This group included serfs who were still bound to the soil, members of the middle class, and peasants. The average person of the Third Estate was a poor peasant. Servants, skilled and unskilled workers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, storekeepers, and laborers were included in the Third Estate.
The people of the Third Estate were the backbone of the country. They paid the largest share of the taxes, yet had very few privileges and had little to no influence on the Monarch. It wasn't until the Estates-General was formed that the people of the Third Estate a voice in government. Even so, the Third Estate would lose by vote of two to one. The First and Second Estates always overruled any laws that would help the people of the Third Estate.
The First Estate was made up of religious leaders and the clergy. They represented less than 1% of the people of France. This small minority, however, owned or controlled one-fifth of the land. Members of the First Estate enjoyed special rights, including the freedom from carrying the burden of taxes. Among the members of the First Estate were many poor and well meaning people. The parish priests served the religious needs of their people and recieved few rewards. Furthermore, there were many bishops and pastors who knew they had unfair privileges.
> Further Information ...
The National Assembly was created on the 17th of June in 1789. The Third Estate of the Estates-General declared itself to be the body most truly representative of the nation. This development became permanent when the King was forced to return to Paris from Versailles in October of 1789. He then became a prisoner of the Assembly and the people of Paris. The Assembly called itself the Constituent Assembly from the 9th of July, 1789, onwards.
The Church was the Catholic Church in France. This was decreed by King Henry IV in 1598. In certain areas of northern France, whole villages sat upon Church land and were indebted to the clergy for the land's use. Taxes collected for the use of such land amounted to more then 150 million livre per year. The converstion factor is one livre to $4.50 current American dollars.
Besides having such enormous wealth at its disposal, the Church controlled all schools in France and held an absolute right of censorship of all printed material. The church's records of births, burials, and marriages were the most esteemed official documents in the nation, the highest authority when inheritance and titles of nobility had to be validated.
The people of the Third Estate were the backbone of the country. They paid the largest share of the taxes, yet had very few privileges and had little to no influence on the Monarch. It wasn't until the Estates-General was formed that the people of the Third Estate a voice in government. Even so, the Third Estate would lose by vote of two to one. The First and Second Estates always overruled any laws that would help the people of the Third Estate.
The First Estate was made up of religious leaders and the clergy. They represented less than 1% of the people of France. This small minority, however, owned or controlled one-fifth of the land. Members of the First Estate enjoyed special rights, including the freedom from carrying the burden of taxes. Among the members of the First Estate were many poor and well meaning people. The parish priests served the religious needs of their people and recieved few rewards. Furthermore, there were many bishops and pastors who knew they had unfair privileges.
> Further Information ...
The National Assembly was created on the 17th of June in 1789. The Third Estate of the Estates-General declared itself to be the body most truly representative of the nation. This development became permanent when the King was forced to return to Paris from Versailles in October of 1789. He then became a prisoner of the Assembly and the people of Paris. The Assembly called itself the Constituent Assembly from the 9th of July, 1789, onwards.
The Church was the Catholic Church in France. This was decreed by King Henry IV in 1598. In certain areas of northern France, whole villages sat upon Church land and were indebted to the clergy for the land's use. Taxes collected for the use of such land amounted to more then 150 million livre per year. The converstion factor is one livre to $4.50 current American dollars.
Besides having such enormous wealth at its disposal, the Church controlled all schools in France and held an absolute right of censorship of all printed material. The church's records of births, burials, and marriages were the most esteemed official documents in the nation, the highest authority when inheritance and titles of nobility had to be validated.