What were the CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION?
THE ESTATES SYSTEM
Up until the dawn of revolution, in the era now known as the ancien régime, France was divided into three clear social classes, or estates. The First Estate was occupied by the Roman Catholic clergy. In the second half of the 18th century, it numbered around 130,000 in a wider population of around 28 million. Despite being an extremely wealthy institution that owned a significant portion of land, the Church paid virtually no taxes.
The Second Estate was a larger class, around 400,000 in size, and consisted of members of the French nobility. No one could become part of the Second Estate on merit; you were simply born into it or, as one of the bourgeoisie, you bought a venal office from the state (such as a seat on a parlement, a court that turned royal decrees into law). Collectively, members of the Second Estate owned between 20 and 30 per cent of the land, but, again, were largely exempt from paying taxes.
