write a short note on the French society and privileges in 18 century
Answers
The French society was divided into three estates according to the Old Regime.
The three estates were :
(First estate)Clergy : Comprising of people invested with special functions in the church.
(Second estate)Nobility : The noblemen who could be royal officials.
Third estate : The third estate comprised of rich as well as very poor members. They were peasants, businessmen, artisans, merchants, landless labourers, etc.
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The third estate comprised of the majority of the population but still only they had to bear the burden of the taxes.
The members of the first two estates had special feudal privileged by birth. This included obligation from paying taxes and feudal dues, which they collected from the peasants.
The nobility charged taxes on the members of the third estate.
The clergy too extracted it's share of taxes by levying a tax called Tithe which comprised of one tenth of the agricultural produce.
Added to these, was a direct tax called Taille which was levied on various items of daily use such as sugar, tobacco, etc.
Finally, all the members of the third estate had to pay the taxes.
the workers protest against Louis XVI about to increase their wages of work