France possessed a large territory with a population of 19 million, which was 3 times greater than that of its rival nation England. France was regarded as more stable; territories of Italy and Germany were split according to different political powers. In addition, with the decline of the Spanish Empire, France was given a chance to claim a spot on the international throne. Overall, France was seen as a European leader in maintaining military power, accumulating wealth and spreading rich culture. 

As an agrarian society, France possessed rich, fertile land for farming. However, the rapid incline in population meant high demand and competition for food. Geographically speaking, France lacked rivers and canals that could facilitate the transportation of goods. With these factors, this simply meant that promoting sustainability was close to impossible. Peasants were pressured in trying to fend for their own families, yet support the landlords. This stripping of wealth was allowed through feudal privileges of the landlords; the peasants continued to suffer from famine and unfair taxation. 

The Second Estate
Composed of approximately 1.5% of the population, the nobility was divided into 5 categories. “Nobles-of-the-sword” regarded themselves as the pure and true nobility of France. “Nobles-of-the-robe” often held positions related to the royal government or in the legal system. “Nobles-of-the-bell” occupied the municipal office. “Anoblis” were ones who climbed up the pyramid, or bought their way into the Second Estate. “Hoberaux” were ones who descended from the pyramid, kicked out of the Second Estate, losing all accumulated wealth. 

The Third Estate
Approximately 98% of the population belonged to the unprivileged citizens. The Third Estate consisted of the Bourgeoisie (artisan, financier, lawyer), urban workers and peasants. 

A tithe is defined as 1/10 of one’s annual income that is contributed voluntarily to the Church. It is to this day an essential doctrine of Christianity. In context to 18th century France, the tithe, or “la dîme”, was of voluntary giving until deemed mandatory in 1585. The Church was responsible for collecting this land tax for both the Second and Third Estate. The dîme was not necessarily in the form of money but divided into three categories:

Although the tithe was originally intended to emphasize contributing to the local Church community, its intentions were morphed to fund other large monasteries. Although this land tax was mandatory for the French, this was, in fact, worked around and exempted for the First Estate. Such a collection of money and resources were greatly effective. However, this caused great resentment, especially for the poor and oppressed Third Estate.

La Taille / Property Tax
La taille was a property tax imposed on the Third Estate based on the amount of land each household possessed. For the royal government, this was a major source of income. “Le dixième” was an income and property tax introduced during 1710-1717, collected for military expenditures.

La Corvée / Statue Labour
"La corvée" is unpaid labour that is required by the law. Leading up to the French Revolution, a corvée required unfree labour of the Third Estate, mostly for improving road conditions. Contrasting to the tithe, one did not have to own land or money in order for the corvée to be implemented. Later in the 19th century, la corvée took the form of “la prestation”, which required all men to sacrifice three days worth of labour in exchange for the right to vote.

La Gabelle / Salt Tax
"La gabelle" was a national crown taxation on salt.

Les Vingtièmes / Income Tax
Under Louis XV in 1749, “le vingtième” was introduced in addition to “le dixième”. The main objective was to relieve debt by taxing all French citizens regardless of their class. Based on 1/20 of revenue, this included anything regarding proceeds from land, commerce and industry. In 1754, already 11.7 million livres were collected and further used to finance the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). 

Other taxes included “le maltôte” (tax on consumer goods), “les aides” (national tariffs), “la douane” (local tarrifs) and “l’octroi” (levy on products entering city).