FRENCH REVOLUTION: Causes 1.

Causes 1:

Tasks:

1)      Look back at the information on these sheets. List the reasons why many people in France were critical of a) the nobility; b) the King; c) The clergy.

French people had various reasons to be critical of the first and the second estates because they enjoyed certain privileges that the peasants could not even dream of. Although they were the richest estates, they did not have to pay any taxes at all. They were the only ones who could hold important positions such as Officers in the army.

Nobles controlled peasants. And they were not forced to do military service. They did not have to pay most taxes and collected tolls from people using roads and markets. Many nobles and clergy lived in great luxury in chateaux and palaces.

2)      What might a French peasant have grumbled about in 1789?

A French peasant might have grumbled about the terrible conditions in which they lived since they were forced to do military service, they were not allowed to hunt or fish on nobles’ estates. Peasants also had to pay taxes to their lord, the king and the Church. That measure was totally unfair since they had to work extremely hard and the money they earned was not enough to live with dignity and most of their income had to be given to the richest people that formed the first and second estates. Peasants also had to use the lord’s mill, oven and winepress, and pay for them.

4)      How does the author of source B describe the lives of French peasants?

The author of source B describes the lives of French peasants as a constant struggle to survive in an unfair economic and political system. Peasants lived in poor conditions and they suffered from hunger and lack of resources to work in the countryside. They had to pay more money on taxes than the money they could earn from their work. Peasant considered that the taxes and feudal dues were crushing them.