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 * This chart shows the difference in privileges or rights according to the estates. As shown above, the nobles and clergy are exempt from taxes and have much more rights than the third estate.




 * These two pictures are showing the lifestyles of the peasants (on the left) and the nobles (on the right). The outfits and the architectures clearly show a contrast between the poor lifestyle of the peasants and the extravagant lifestyle of the nobles.


 * __Revolution in France Notes (pg 4-14):__ **


 * French people and their society: **
 * Most French people were peasants
 * About 2 million people were in the town working class—shopkeepers, traders, craftsmen, builders and laborers
 * About 2 million people were bourgeois
 * Between 120,000 and 350,000 people were nobles


 * The three estates: **
 * First estate—the clergy (worked in church)
 * Second estate—the nobility
 * Third estate—everybody else
 * The three estates were important during the middle ages—nobles had been soldiers and the clergy ran the country’s education and religious life
 * 1789, the nobles and clergy were less important


 * Privileges: **
 * People in the first and second estates had privileges that gave them advantage, especially their financial privileges
 * First estate—own law courts and did not had to pay certain taxes
 * Second estate—right to carry swords, special treatment in law courts, did not have to pay certain taxes, and did not have to do military service
 * Third estate—no privileges
 * Most people thought the estate system was unfair


 * Poverty: **
 * The division of people into three estates was unequal
 * The greatest inequality was in people’s wealth
 * Nobles and bourgeoisie were incredibly rich but most people were poor
 * Some people were very poor that they had to rely on charity
 * A family of five needed at least 435 // livres // a year to provide for its basic needs


 * Unequal taxation: **
 * Most people that were poor still had to pay taxes
 * Two kinds of tax—direct taxes paid to the government and indirect taxes paid whenever people bought certain goods
 * Average family paid 10%~15% of its of its yearly earnings in tax to the government
 * Certain people were free from some taxes—especially, nobles and clergy were exempt from many taxes
 * Rich people had no difficulty with paying taxes
 * Peasants also had to pay money to their landlords
 * Most nobles and clergy were landlords/// seigneurs //
 * Peasants owed dues to their landlords
 * Everyone had to give the church a tithe—giving the local church around a tenth of their yearly income


 * In the chart above, there are the most common feudal rights and dues.


 * Critics of French society: **
 * //Philosophes//, a group of writers, journalists and scientists refused to accept anything as true without questioning it
 * A good example of a philosophe was the scientist Lavoisier
 * Lavoiser became famous by discovering how things burn
 * He found out that things burned because of gas
 * He also involved himself in social and political issues
 * 1787, he suggested reforms to help the poor (abolishing the //taille//, introducing old age pensions, building new hospitals)
 * The most famous of the philosophes was the writer Voltaire
 * He questioned the power and beliefs of the French church
 * He involved in the Calas affair and showed his view
 * Jean Calas was a cloth merchant and a protestant
 * Jean Calas was killed by the rumor that he murdered his son to stop him converting to the Catholic faith
 * Voltaire believed that Jean Calas was innocent and he carried out campaign
 * 1765, Calas was pardoned
 * This showed some major wrongs in French society--religious tolerance and the cruelty of the law


 * Changes in public opinion:**
 * Public opinion began to change
 * 1780s, most people wanted a more humane, torture-free system of law
 * People wanted changes in the way France was governed

Before the revolution began in 1789, French people were divided into four social classes, the peasantry, the town working class, the middle class or bourgeoisie, and the nobility. According to this division, certain people had privileges that provided them advantage, while some had none. Some of the nobles and the bourgeoisie were incredibly rich but most people suffered from poverty and unequal rights. The nobles and clergy owned certain rights and were free from taxes, however, the peasants had to pay more taxes even though they were poor. Most French people did not question the way their society was organized. However, there were some educated people known as the //philosophes// who began to think about their society and believed that nothing is true without questioning it. By the 1780s, as a result of the impact of //philosophes// (such as Voltaire), public opinion began to change. French people wanted a more humane and tolerant society.
 * Summary:**

Which class did the //philosophes// belonged?
 * Question:**