Post on 21-Dec-2014
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The French Revolution
Background & Origins
The Palace of Versailles: King Louis XIV’s Palace
King Louis XIV of France
King Louis XVIof France
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• Conditions in France before the revolution.
The Ancien Regime(The Old Rule of the King)
• French society was broken up into three estates
• 1st & 2nd = 500,000 people
• 3rd = 2.5 million people
• Society was based on tradition and in equalities that were enforced by law.
The Three Estates in France• Estate = Social class in France
• 1st Estate = Priests & Clergy
• 2nd Estate = Nobility (rich), owned land, paid no taxes, collected taxes from the 3rd estate.
• 3rd Estate = 98 % of population, middle class, peasants, urban workers. Some had wealth, but they had no status in French society.
So why did the French Revolution happen?
• Influence of ideas from the Enlightenment
(equality, natural rights, overthrowing the government)
• Influence of the American Revolution
(if colonists can break away from Britain, why can’t the 3rd estate change France?)