Question Home

Position:Home>History> What did the french peasants think of the estate's general during the french


Question: What did the french peasants think of the estate's general during the french revolution!?
How did french peasants view the estate's general during the french revolution!?
I need to write two paragraphs on how peasants viewed the estates general!. THANK YOU!!!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
they felt they had no power!.!.!. the estates general was divided up into 3 estates:clergy, nobility, and commoners
they voted by order and and the clergy and nobility always voted together leaving the commoners w/out a sayWww@QuestionHome@Com

They were originally summoned and dismissed at the king's pleasure!. It was an organ of "…propaganda for royal policy…" that, unlike its English counterpart "…did not fix grants of taxation!. … Its function in furthering royal policy was not essential, but, as a forum for giving publicity to the royal intentions in crisis, only useful!."

In contrast to the bicameral English parliament, the Estates General had a separate assembly for each of the three estates of the realm, the First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (the nobility), and Third Estate (commoners: all others)!.

At the time of the revolution, the First Estate composed of 10,000 Catholic clergy and owned 5%-10% of the lands in France - the highest per capita of any other estate!. All property of the First Estate was tax exempt!. The Second Estate was composed of the nobility!. At the time of the revolution, they consisted of 400,000 persons, including women and children!. Since the death of Louis XIV in 1715, they had enjoyed a resurgence in power!. They had almost a monopoly over distinguished government service, higher church offices, army parliaments, and most other public and semipublic honors by the time of the revolution!. Like the First Estate, they were not taxed by principal of feudal precedent!. The Third and last Estate was composed of about 25 million people: the bourgeoisie, the peasants, and everyone else in France!. Unlike the First and Second Estates, they were forced to pay taxes, but the bourgeoisie found one way or another to be exempt from them!. The heavy burden of the French government fell upon the poorest in French society - the peasantry, the working poor, and the farmers!. There was much resentment from the Third Estate towards its superiors!.Www@QuestionHome@Com