France+before+the+Revolution+(1)

= France Before the Revolution (Part I) =

Introduction

 * · 1789: Millions of French people revolted violently, **destroyed system of law + government**
 * ** · transformed society, religion, and economy**

French people and their society
o 20 million- peasants (farming) o 2 million – shopkeepers, traders, craftsmen, builders, labourers o 2 million – bourgeoise (“middle class”) ex. Shipowners o 120,000-350,000 - Noble Family (ex. Duke of Penthievre): land owning, ruling class, names ex. Duke, marquis, viscount
 * · 28 million people before rev
 * · Belonged to **three estates : 1) clergy (church), 2) nobility, 3) everyone else**

- don’t need to pay some taxes || - special treatment in law - only pay certain taxes - no military exercise ||
 * Estate || # of people || Members || Privileges ||
 * Clergy || 130,000 || Archbishops, bishops, canons, priors, nuns, monks, parish priests || - Owned courts
 * Nobility || 120,000-350,000 || King, queen, nobles, princes, dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, barons, knights || - could carry a sword
 * Everyone else || 27 million || Lawyers, doctors, businessmen, merchants, soldiers, craftsmen, shopkeepers, peasants || none ||
 * · **MIDDLE AGES**: nobles = soldiers, clergy = ran education + religious life, king gave nobles + clergies their estates + privileges
 * · 1789: clergy + nobles not as important, people thought ** system was unfair, outdated **

Poverty

 * · People’s wealth : greatest inequality
 * · Poor people lived in a single room with cheap, and little furniture, are thrown out constantly for not paying rent
 * · A family of five needs 435 livres a year to provide for its basic needs
 * · One //**livre**// = 10 pence, 2 european units
 * · Average family pays 10%-15% of annual savings to gov
 * · Nobles and clergy were exempt from many taxes, which left most to be paid by the poorer citizens
 * · Feudal rights and dues : nobles + clergy renting land, possessions to peasants who had to pay them back
 * · Tithe : a tenth of annual income paid to the church

Critics of French society

 * · Most people did not know there could be other ways of life
 * · Philosophes : writers, journalists, scientists who believed in Reason. Nothing was true without questioning it.
 * · Ex. **//Lavoisier//**: discovered how things burned (1770-1780s) (oxygen instead of phlogiston)
 * · Helped to abolish the taille (tax on land/income), introduced old age pensions and built new hospitals
 * · Ex. **//Voltaire//**: questioned the power +belief of French church, took up case of Jean Calas because it shows religious intolerance + cruelty of law.

Changes in public opinion

 * · Starting 1780s, most educated ppl agreed they wanted a **more humane, torture-free system of law** (where other religions are accepted)
 * · Wanted to change the way France was governed

SUMMARY
Since the Middle Ages the French society was divided into estates, each estate having different privileges and rights in life. The highest estate, the clergy, consisted of the church; the second estate, the nobles, consisted of the ruling class; and the last estate included everyone else that made up the lower half of society. The third estate owned almost nothing, their land was rented, their ovens, mills, press were all owned by the higher classes and they had to give money to use them (feudal rights and dues). They had almost no money to support themselves and feed their families, yet they were expected to pay almost all existing taxes to the government, something the higher classes could be exempt from. However, few complained because they did not know any other way of life that would mean less suffering.

Later on, philosophes such as Voltaire and Lavoisier began to appear and question the righteousness of this way of life. They decided that they did not like the way French society was governed and decided to help overthrow/change it.

Questions
After reading the text, I was surprised that the French people saw no other way of life from the Middle Ages until the late 1700s. How could they not see the cruelty, unfairness, and the injustice within their society? If they themselves could somehow not see it, surely someone from another country (unless all societies in Europe were all just as unfair and rules were just as unreasonable) could see this, and maybe wake these oblivious citizens up. What I am curious to know is, why didn't the french revolution happen earlier? :(

A 13th-century cathedral in Chartres, France.

SIGNIFICANCE: One of the most amazing achievements of the Middle Ages in Europe were its engineering advancements. This cathedral is a representation of the arts and learning that thrived during this period, and also shows the technological revolution of Gothic cathedrals and churches at this time, proving that worship was an important part of society. This explains why the first estate, the clergy, was held in such high esteem and given so many rights/privileges. The soaring height and the elaborately painted windows and beautiful geometric patterns require mathematically precise designs, a deep understanding of foundations such as soils, stone, and timber, near-professional architectural skills, a complex financial planning, and a skilled labor force. This depicts the French reverence to the church during the Middle Ages, and their willingness to do anything (even to suffer unfairly) to be able to participate in religious practices.

This is a tithe barn that was preserved from the Middle Ages.

SIGNIFICANCE: Tithe barns stored the tithes that a town collected. Tithes were one tenth of a farm's annual crop which had to be paid to the Church.



The French peasantry This picture depicts a typical French home and family in 1643. SIGNIFICANCE: During the medieval ages, wealth and personal belongings were unevenly spread among the three estates. The peasants, who had no privileges or rights but were crucial to the society's functioning, were at the bottom of the social pyramid. They lived in poor standards, a family of five usually owning just one room and sparse furniture for their daily activities. As Louis XIV and his successors began to launch a series of wars, these living standards began to decline even more.

This is a video featuring George Johnson, author of The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments. Here he describes how Lavoisier discovered oxygen, denounced the phlogiston theory, and introduced the law of conservation of mass. It also touches on his role during the French Revolution.

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