The Estate Class System: The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period in history that lasted from 1789 until 1799. The Revolution was inspired by literistic and radical ideals. This time of history helped to change the course of modern history, replacing monarchies with democracies and republics globally. French citizens uprooted the monarchy with their rebellion, creating a new historical event. The French Revolution began because of social inequality, a financial crisis, and it was resolved when Napoleon became part of the consul.
France was having a financial crisis during the French Revolution and the period of time leading up to the Revolution. Years of war and aiding the American Revolution impacted the economy negatively resulting in the need to stabilize the economy. …show more content…
The Estate Class system consisted of the Clergy, Nobility, and peasants. Both the clergy and the nobility were the privileged class while the rest of the civilians were unprivileged. Since France was divided into social classes it resulted in unfair treatment to those who were in the lower class. According to the article “French Revolution: An Overview”, it is stated, “The French had good reasons for wanting equality…The nobles and clergy were the privileged orders. They were exempt from such direct taxes as the taille, or land tax. Most taxes were paid by the Third Estate-a class that included peasants…Even among these groups taxes were not equal.” Despite being the lowest class that did not have the most money, the Third Estate had to pay taxes that were rising in that time of French history. Those in the Third Estate could not speak out against the unfair treatment directed towards them because of their social ranking meaning the act of having to pay high taxes will keep going. The article also states, “In addition, the collection of some taxes was made by contractors or tax farmers, and the tax gatherers collected whatever they could.” Not only were they supposed to be the only class paying taxes, but they had no choice in giving the tax collectors what they wanted. There was no limit to what they were asked for, adding to the unfair treatment directed to the lower class in France. Even …show more content…
It resulted in the end of the monarchy and the beginning of an era where equality is the norm. A rebellion against the monarchy was building up throughout the years and the pent up frustration was finally released when the higher class took advantage of the Third Estate. This period of time seemed to have no end, but it was soon resolved when Napoleon took it upon himself to change the social etiquette in France. At the end of the Revolution France was a united nation that seemed to have found their peace and equality that they were aiming to gain with their