How did the estate system work in france
Answers
Answer:
The First Estate, the clergy, was extremely rich and exempt from certain taxes. At the time of the 1780s, it was consisted of around 130,000 people. Compared to the 3rd Estate, it was an extremely small number.
The Second Estate, the nobility, was also a small group compared to the 3rd Estate. Like the clergy, they were exempt from certain taxes and military service. Anyone who had noble blood or were "lords and ladies" were considered a part of the Second Estate.
The First and Second Estate, albeit being the smallest parts of the population, owned most of the land and wealth within the Ancien Régime, which plays a VERY important reason on why the bulk of the population rebelled and overturned the monarchy.
The Third Estate: The Third Estate was the "commoners" of France- France still operated with a feudalistic-style government. The Third Estate owned the least amount of land and wealth, and were the biggest in numbers. They also had to pay special taxes towards funding the nobility and clergy, leaving little to no money or food for themselves.
Answer:
THE FIRST ESTATE:
The First Estate comprised the entire clergy, traditionally divided into "higher" and "lower" clergy. Although there was no formal demarcation between the two categories, the upper clergy were, effectively, clerical nobility, from the families of the Second Estate. In the time of Louis XVI, every bishop in France was a nobleman, a situation that had not existed before the 18th century.
THE SECOND ESTATE:
The Second Estate was the French nobility and royalty, other than the monarch himself, who stood outside of the system of estates.
THE THIRD ESTATE:
The Third Estate comprised all of those who were not members of either of the above and can be divided into two groups, urban and rural, together making up 98% of France's population.The urban included wage-labourers. The rural included free peasants (who owned their own land) who could be prosperous and villeins (serfs, or peasants working on a noble's land). The free peasants paid disproportionately high taxes compared to the other Estates and were unhappy because they wanted more rights.They had the hard life of physical labour and food shortages.