3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

4.  What grievances did they express?

5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

 
3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

4.  What grievances did they express?

5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

 
3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

4.  What grievances did they express?

5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

 
3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

4.  What grievances did they express?

5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

1. Define the different taxes and who had to pay them.
- Church decide their 'own' tax
- Nobles had to pay some taxes and not others, in small amounts
- Land tax
- Salt tax
- War tax (tax to help pay for the war)
- Royals had to pay no tax 

2. Describe how the feudal system worked and how it impacted the lives of peasants.
The feudal system demonstrated how Royalty did not have to pay any tax, causing the peasants to have to pay 10-15% of gross earning (went to local church), and then a further 8% was taken away on top of that. The peasants suffered greatly.  

3. What were people expected to pay to the Catholic Church. 
The Church owned approximately 10% of the land, and all their income was exempt from ordinary taxation. The Third Estate paid a tithe to the Church of their produce, between 5% and 10%. On average, the church, nobility and Monarchy exacted one-quarter to one-third of peasant produce. 

4. How did the inconsistencies across these systems hold back the economy and cause revolutionary tension? 
Inconsistencies between classes due to restraints between bourgeoisie and second estate nobles combined with social standing and financial discrepancies.

1. Define who the peasants were.
  These were members of the third estate who lived and in the country engaged in          agriculture work. some were wealthy or moderately well off, but most were poor, not    owning enough land to make a living off and therefore had to rent it from their local    lord.
2. What rural system did the peasants live under?
  the lived under a basic feudal system, in which they rented land off lords or the              church to farm on.
2. What hardships did they face?

  the peasants lived under immense economic hardship due to the large taxes they          were forced to pay, the land that they were forced to rent at very high rates, their          inability to receive any formal education and their total dependence on the annual        harvests. the taxes they paid ranged from the church's "tithe", which amounted to 8-    10% of their income, as well as their feudal dues owed to their lord.  
3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

  due to their economic situation the peasants had no hope of moving into either the      2nd or 3rd estate. their only realistic aspirations were to have good harvests and            expand their land ownership.   
4.  What grievances did they express?

  the peasants were very vocal about their distaste of tax raises and food shortages.
5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

  the peasants paid:
            - the church's "tithe", 8-10% of their income 
            - the king's taxes 
            - feudal dues 
            - land rent 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

   page 30 of text book

 There were a number of rifts between the lower and upper clergy, especially as the lower clergy were involved in a vast number of responsibilities as well as being poor themselves.
3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

The upper-clergy were in it for wealth and the prestige. The lower-clergy were in it for religion 
4.  What grievances did they express?

5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 
6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

1. Define the different taxes and who had to pay them.
Tithes -upkeep of local clergy
Corvee - unpaid labour on roads
Taille - land tax
Capitation - tax per person and indirect tax on goods
Aides - food and drink
Gabelle - salt tax
Octrois - goods brought into town ti sell at market
Vingteeme - direct tax, about twentieth on income during war, nobility had to pay as well as peasants 
Don gratuit - voluntary tax for the church

2. Describe how the feudal system worked and how it impacted the lives of peasants.
-Almost slavery, they were under the rule of their feudal lord, paid taxes to them causing almost constant debt for the peasants.
-3 to 5 per cent of their produce was owed to feudal lord
peasants had to use the seigneur's machines to grind corn, make bread and wine
-Seigneue had hunting, fishing and grazing rites on the peasants rented land and if the peasants were caught it was called pouching.


3. What were people expected to pay to the Catholic Church.
Don gratuit was an optional tax for the church to pay. They decided how much they wanted to pay and there was no limit to the amount they paid. 

4. How did the inconsistencies across these systems hold back the economy and cause revolutionary tension?
Heavy taxing of the third estate to remain in a constant state of extreme poverty. The inequalities caused the rich to stay rich and the poor to suffer. The vast gap between the groups caused those who were living under the lords to become angry and want the rights that the clergy had.

1. How many provinces was France divided into and how were they different?

The number of provinces were uncertain, but it 1766 there were 39 provincial governors. The provinces that were near the border were treated differently for tax purposes. Southern provinces were governed by code law, Northern areas used case law.

2. What were the pays d'etats and villes franches = how were they different from the other provinces in France? 

The d’ectats were towns that were located on French boarders and were treated differently  since France  took over their land, they had to acknowledge the French king and in return were allowed to keep their laws. These towns were exempt from taxes, free from military service and were excused from the corvee.

2. List the inconsistencies across society in pre-revolutionary France.

There were no common laws or laws of taxation throughout the provinces in France. There was no consistent unit or measurement or weight throughout France which made it difficult when trading. 

3. Describe how three of these inefficiencies would have held back the economy and tensions caused leading to revolution. 

Many factors lead to the inefficiencies in the French economy. A few of the biggest ones include the Seven year war, large debts and huge food shortages. All of these lead to revolutionary tensions in France

4. How did losing the Seven Year War with Britain weaken France and it's colonies?

Losing the Seven Year War against Britain impacted France because they lost all of their colonies to Britain who cede them to other countries such as Italy. The French territory of Canada and North America mainland to Britain. Italy was ceded the land at the mouth and west of Mississippi. France still had commercial interest in India, they weren't able to make a permanent government. 

“Noblesse D’epee” were given their privileges for service to the crown, usually from generations before them. These nobles were not always wealthy, and as such, were hard to distinguish from commoners. As such, these nobles carried their swords to exhibit status, and consequently, were labelled “Nobles of the Sword”.

                                                                                     

“Noblesse de court” had to distinguish their nobility lineage to trace back to 1399. In reality however, this status was distinguished by their wealth. This immense wealth gave many the opportunity to work and live at Versailles.

 

“Noblesse de robe” were those recently ennobled for services to the monarchy. They could also receive this title for purchasing one of the fifty thousand venal offices. Typical occupations in this class included magistrates in parlements, tax farmers and administration work.

There were many Noblemen that were not wealthy because they were not born into nobility or because being a part of the court was a financially ruinous lifestyle. Being a Nobleman also made you stand out from everyone else as you had the ability to wear a coat of arms and a sword at all times, this could have been bad for the Noblemen during the revolution because many of them were unaware of the revolution going on around them and some people would have been very unhappy about the nobles not paying as much tax as the peasants and may have acted towards the noblemen violently for those reasons.

 
 3. What aspirations could they look forward to?

Becoming noble gave you many privileges one being tax exemption. They still had to pay minor taxes but none of the major expensive taxes such as the “taille”. They were also not subjected to the “corvée” which was for the upkeep of roads. Many other privileges the people could look forward to once they became noble were taking precedence over others during on public occasions, carrying a sword and displaying a coat of arms, having an enclosed pew in front of the church, be sprinkled with holy water in a special blessing, have the church draped in black when you die. Nobility was also highly desired because of the social status it gave you, most of the valued venal offices belonged to the nobility, and up to 25% of the church’s revenues went to nobility. Nobles also had a lot of investments in the mining, trade and metallurgy industry but could not be directly involved.

 4.  What grievances did they express?

Many were unhappy with the different levels of taxes people were being forced to pay. Northern and central districts payed more tax then the southern provinces. This ranged from 3% up to 25% in some provinces. There were also people who were unfairly made exempt from seemingly random circumstances; such as the militia who was excused from the “corvée”; or the salt tax, where the whole population of Brittany was exempt.

 5.  What taxes were they owed or did they pay? 

 

Members of the nobility had extensive tax privileges including exclusive tax exemptions. The main tax, the “taille” and the “corvée” (road maintanence) did not have to be paid by the nobility. Smaller taxes of “capitation” (health care) and “vingtième” (income tax), also known as the twentieth tax, were paid by the nobility, particularly during times of war.

However nobility also received taxes through Seigneurial taxes. Land and vassal occupation, usually by farmers, had an annual tax, as well as a tax on facilities on the land, such as mills.

 

 
 6. Find a visual or written primary source AND/OR find a secondary source. 

 

 “Nobility was a club which every wealthy man felt entitled, indeed, obliged, to join. Not all nobles were rich, but sooner or later, all the rich ended up noble.”   - William Doyle

“The great noblemen of France were not particularly well informed, for they had nothing to gain by it. The best way of arriving in honours with the court was to have grace in conversation…The superficiality of education was one of the causes of their ultimate defeat; no longer were they able to fight against the intelligence of members of the Third Estate whom they should have tried to surpass.”  - Madame de Staël