The French Revolution

Background & Origins

The Palace of Versailles: King Louis XIV’s Palace

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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?)