Essay about Old Regime - 763 Words

In France, before the French Revolution, the governing body was called the Old Regime. Under Louis XIV and his queen Marie Antoinette, the French society was divided up into three groups. These groups were called the three estates. In this system, the first two estates lived very well while the third estate was very impoverished. This paired with the lack of a strong leader (Louis XIV) caused rising tensions in the third estate. This eventually led to revolution. The main cause of this was the layout of the Old Regime. The Old Regime was made up of three estates that were very different in their governmental abilities and their amount of money. The first group of the Old Regime system was the first estate. This group was made†¦show more content†¦This was a very wasteful group that seemed useless to society. The final group of the Old Regime was the third estate. This was France’s workforce. These people made up ninety-seven percent of the population, but were only allotted seventy percent of the land. The third estate had sub-groups of its own. The first group was the Bourgeoisie. This translates into â€Å"city dwelling† but is commonly known as the middle class. Those that made p this group were doctors, lawyers, and merchants. These people were fairly well off and had a bit of extra money. The main difference between the Bourgeoisie and the others in the third estate was that the Bourgeoisies were educated, specifically in enlightenment ideas. They later helped to steer the French Revolution. The next group within the third estate was laborers and artisans. This group consisted of the skilled craftsman in society. Along with the others in the third estate, they had low wages and high taxes. The third group of the third estate was the peasants. Making up roughly eighty percent of the population, the peasants were at the bottom of society. They lost nearly half their wages to taxes even though they had miniscul e wages in the first place. They were forced to pay a tax to the church (tithe) and could not influence society. They disliked the first estate because they were the tax collectors and the second estate because they were the government officials. They fought this byShow MoreRelatedThe Old Regime During The Middle Ages2303 Words   |  10 PagesIn 18th century France, the political and social structure was called The Old Regime. The Old Regime began during the Middle Ages, in about the 11th or 12th century, and divided the French people into three estates. Members of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church made up the First Estate, who owned 10% of the land in France, and made up 1% of the population. The two groups in the estate were the upper clergy and the lower clergy. The upper clergy contained church leaders such as bishops, archbishopsRead MoreThe Descent Of A Regime From A To An Oligarchy1309 Words   |  6 PagesTo understand the descent of a regime from a timocracy to an oligarchy, first the tenets of a timocracy must be understood. A timocracy first comes into being due to human error of the guardians. The guardians are not perfect, so when choosing the next generation of guardians to educate, they will not always choose the best candidates. Since the current guardians will not always select the children with gold souls, the aristocracy will eventually degenerate into a less just society. Some new rulersRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Literary Underground Of The Old Regime1364 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis of the Literary Underground of the Old Regime Robert Darnton wrote, â€Å"The literary underground of the old regime† with many goals in mind. He wanted to elucidate the history of literature or printed books as they are known today. 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Available sources depended highly on the climate. For example, climate determined how many people could be supported by agriculture. A shift in society occurred during the 19th century. This marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Although things became easier, it also negatively affected the ecosystemRead MoreFrench Literacy Dbq Essay6211 Words   |  25 PagesSource: (http://www.fuhsd.net/download.cfm?id=106) Essay Writing Document-based question (DBQ) â€Å"Levels of Literacy† (60 minutes, 1,000 words minimum) Task: Describe the variations in the levels of literacy in Old Regime France and trace these variations over time. Analyze the factors that promoted or discouraged the spread of literacy. 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