Since the Middle Ages, everyone in France had belonged to one of the three social classes, called Estates

The 1st Estate – ClergyThe 2nd Estate – NoblesThe 3rd Estate – Peasants

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Prrecentage of Frenchpopulation

1st Estate2nd Estate3rd Estate

The 1st & 2nd Estates were rich and powerful

They had many special privilegesFor example, they did not have to pay taxes

– They made up about 2% of the total population of France

Most (98%) of French people belonged to the 3rd Estate

Although they were poor, their tax burden was the heaviest

In 1789, France faced several crisesFor many years the French government had been spending more money than it had earnedBad harvests caused food prices to rise

Many peasants did not have enough to eat– In towns and in the countryside, starving people

rioted

To deal with these problems, King Louis XVI met with the leaders of the 3 Estates

Most common people wanted financial relief, but the elected members of the Third Estate wanted government reform

After weeks of meetings, its leaders took a daring step

They created a new government called the National Assembly

Some reform-minded nobles and clergy joined them

The National Assembly promised to write a new constitution for France

However, dangerous rumors, increasing food shortages, and an attack on the Bastille (a Parisian political prison) kept the problems from being solved

A violent revolution was starting

Declaration of the

Rights of Man and

the Citizen

Revolutionary groups took over Paris and demanded an end to the monarchy

Finally Nobles agreed to give up their special privilegesKing/Queen virtual prisoners of Paris

The National Assembly began making reforms

They agreed to abolish feudalismIn 1791, the assembly finished writing a new constitution that used Enlightenment ideas

But when the assembly took control of the French Catholic Church and sold its lands to pay back the government’s debt, the pope, clergy, and many peasants rejected the revolution

News about the French Revolution spread across Europe

While many Europeans supported the revolution, rulers and nobles were afraid that revolutionary ideas would spread to their own countries

After the French king and his family made an unsuccessful attempt to flee, the king of Prussia promised he would fight to save the French monarchy

In 1792, France declared war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, and several other European states

The fighting lasted for over 20 years

The war with other European powers went badly for the French forces

People thought the king was helping the enemy

Mobs attacked the kings guards and killed nobles

Radical revolutionaries, supported by Paris crowds, took control of the Assembly in 1792

These radicals ended the monarchy, made France a republic, and wrote another constitution

In 1793, they executed, or put to death, the king and queen for treason