| A | B |
|---|
| Old Regime | system of fuedalism left over from the Middle Ages that was still in place in France |
| estates | large social classes - there were three of them |
| First Estate | Roman Catholic Church. Owned 10% of land, provided education and relief services to poor. Contributed 2% of income to government |
| Seconde Estate | Rich Nobles - Owned 20% of land and paid almost no taxes |
| Third Estate | 98% of the people including the bourgeoisie, the workers and the peasants; paid high taxes |
| Bourgeoisie | merchants and artisans belonging to third estate. Well educated, often rich, but paid high taxes and lacked privileges |
| Workers | cooks, servants and others of the Third Estate. Paid low wages, often went hungry. |
| Peasants | Largest group within the Third Estate - more than 80% of the people. Page half their wages to nobles, to the church and in taxes. Eager for change. |
| Factors contributing to the revolutionary mood in France | 1. Enlightenment ideas 2. Economic woes 3. A weak leader - Louis XVI |
| What contributed to the economic problems under Louis XVI? | 1. Heavy taxes made it impossible to conduct business profitably 2. Crop failures in the 1780's led to rise in bread price 3. Borrowing $$ to help finance war in America 4. Extravagant spending by king and queen |
| Estates-General | an assembly of representatives from all three estates; each estate had one vote, so the 1st and 2nd could always outvote the 3rd. |
| National Assembly | French congress established by representatives of the Third Estate - June 17, 1789 |
| Louis XVI | Weak king who came to French throne in 1774 |
| Marie Antoinette | Unpopular queen because she came from Austria; wife of Louis XVI; spent loads of $$ on gowns, jewels and gifts |
| Tennis Court Oath | Promise made by Third Estate representatives to draw up a new constitution - June 1789 |
| Storming the Bastille | A mob tried to get gunpowder from the Bastille, a Paris prison, and the prison fell into the hands of the crowd. July 14, 1789 |
| Great Fear | Wave of panic that swept through the countryside |
