The French
Revolution
© Student Handouts, Inc. www.studenthandouts.com The Old Regime (Ancien Regime)
• Old Regime – socio-political system which existed in most of Europe during the 18th century
• Countries were ruled by absolutism – the monarch had absolute control over the government • Classes of people – privileged and unprivileged
– Unprivileged people – paid taxes and treated badly
– Privileged people – did not pay taxes and treated well Society under the Old Regime
• In France, people were divided into three estates
– First Estate
• High-ranking members of the Church
• Privileged class

– Second Estate
• Nobility
• Privileged class

– Third Estate
• Everyone else – from peasants in the countryside to wealthy bourgeoisie merchants in the cities
• Unprivileged class

The Three Estates
Estate

Privileges

Exemptions

•Collected the tithe
•Censorship of the press
•Control of education
•Kept records of births, deaths, marriages, etc.
•Catholic faith held honored position of being the state religion
(practiced by monarch and nobility) •Owned 20% of the land

•Paid no taxes
•Subject to Church law rather than civil law •Moral obligation (rather than legal obligation) to assist the poor and needy •Support the monarchy and Old
Regime

•Collected taxes in the form of feudal dues
•Monopolized military and state appointments •Owned 20% of the land

•Paid no taxes

•Support the monarchy and Old
Regime

•Nobles

First

Population

•Circa 25,000,000

•None

•None

•Paid all taxes
•Tithe (Church tax)
•Octrot (tax on goods brought into cities) •Corvée (forced road work)
•Capitation (poll tax)
•Vingtiéme (income tax)
•Gabelle (salt tax)
•Taille (land tax)
•Feudal dues for use of local manor’s winepress, oven, etc.

•Circa 130,000
•High-ranking
clergy

Second

Third

•Circa 110,000

•Everyone else: artisans, bourgeoisie, city workers, merchants, peasants, etc., along with