1. The Estates General

2. Background By 1787, France’s economy is in ruins for several reasons
Lavish spending by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Poor taxing policies
Seven Years War ( ) and the American Revolution ( )

3. King Louis XVI promises to call together the Estates General, which had not met since 1614
Hopefully this will solve France’s problems
The Estates General is scheduled to meet on May 5th, 1789 at Versailles

4. Louis XVI, king of
France

5. What Was the Estates General?
This was a legislative assembly for the different French classes (Congress)
The Estates General was made up of three classes
Clergy-1st Estate
Nobility-2nd Estate
Bourgeoisie (peasants)-3rd Estate

6. Clergy By 1789, the 1st Estate (Clergy) was made up of 100,000 people
Owned 5-10% of the land
All property was tax-exempt

7. Clergy

8. Nobility The 2nd Estate (Nobility) was made up of 400,000 people
Enjoyed the better government jobs
Was also tax-exempt

9. Nobility

10. Bourgeoisie
The 3rd Estate (Bourgeoisie, peasants) was made up of 25 million people
The 3rd Estate paid all of the taxes
This means the burden fell on France’s poorest
Each Estate had one vote
The 1st and 2nd Estates usually voted together

12. The 3rd Estate had to sit by themselves at the Estates General
They had to wear black robes
Had to enter the Estates General through a side door
The 3rd Estate (98% of France) is getting fed up…