how did the emergence of middle class in France impact the political and economic condition of pre revolutionary france?
Answers
Explanation:
In 1789, the French Revolution began a transformation of far more than just France, but Europe and then the world. It was the makeup of France which was to create the circumstances for revolution, and to affect how it was begun, developed, and--depending on what you believe--ended. Certainly, when the Third Estate and their growing followers wiped away a whole gamut of tradition, it was the structure of France they were attacking as much as principles
Pre-revolutionary France was not created as a whole but was instead a jigsaw of lands which had been haphazardly aggregated over the preceding centuries, the different laws and institutions of each new addition often kept intact. The latest addition was Corsica, coming into the French crown's possession in 1766. By 1789, France comprised an estimated 28 million people and was divided into provinces of vastly varying size, from the huge Brittany to the tiny Foix. Geography varied greatly from mountainous regions to rolling plains.
The nation was also divided into 36 'generalities' for administrative purposes and these, again, varied in size and shape to both each other and the provinces. There were further subdivisions for each level of the church.
Laws also varied. There were thirteen sovereign courts of appeal whose jurisdiction unevenly covered the whole country: the Paris court covered a third of France, the Pav court just its own tiny province. Further confusion arose with the absence of any universal law beyond that of royal decrees. Instead, the precise codes and rules varied across France, with the Paris region mainly using customary law and the south a written code. Lawyers who specialized in handling the many different layers flourished.
Each region also had its own weights and measures, tax, customs, and laws. These divisions and differences were continued at the level of every town and village.
Rural and Urban
France was still essentially a feudal nation with lords, due to a range of ancient and modern rights from their peasants who comprised about 80% of the population. The majority of these still lived in rural contexts and France was a predominantly agricultural nation, even though this agriculture was low in productivity, wasteful, and using out of date methods. An attempt to introduce modern techniques from Britain had not succeeded. Inheritance laws, whereby estates were divided up among all the heirs, had left France divided into many tiny farms; even the large estates were small when compared to other European nations.
The only major region of large-scale farming was around Paris, where the always hungry capital city provided a convenient market. Harvests were critical but fluctuating, causing famine, high prices, and riots.
The remaining 20% of France lived in urban areas, although there were only eight cities with a population in excess of 50,000 people. These were home to guilds, workshops, and industry, with workers often traveling from rural areas to urban ones in search of seasonal – or permanent – work. Death rates were high. Ports with access to overseas trade flourished, but this capital didn't penetrate far into the rest of France.
Society
France was governed by a king who was believed to be appointed by the grace of God; in 1789, this was Louis XVI, crowned on June 11, 1775. Ten thousand people worked in his main palace at Versailles, and 5% of his income was spent supporting it. The rest of French society considered itself divided into three groups: the estates.