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The Old Order / Old Regime
Social and political system of France where people where divided into three groups/estates. The first estate owned 10% of the land and was provided with education. The second one consisted of rich nobles, 2% of population, 20% of land. And the third estate was 97% of the population; merchants, bankers, factory owners and inside this estate where the bourgeoisie which were as rich as nobles but just not privileged like them. They believed in the enlightenment ideas about power and authority. -
Economic Troubles
The economy declined due to the rapid expand of production and trade, this caused great panic in all bankers from the third estate -
In debt
The government was in debt due to the excessive spending of king Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoniette. Also because of the absurd of money they lost in their war against Britain. Bankers refused to lend any money to the government. -
Starvation
People where presented with starvation because the price of bread was doubled since there was crop failures limiting grain. -
National Assembly
The Third Estate was willing to make changes in the government due to their new ideas from the Enlightenment. The Third Estate was later named National Assembly and had the job of passing laws and reforming the French people -
Great fear
The peasents using farm tools, broke into nobles homes and destroyed legal papers saying they had to pay feudal dues. -
Estates General
Louis was compelled by the second estate for a mandatory meeting of the estate generals to approve his new tax system to regain the money. This was the first estate general meeting after 175 years -
Voting
The first deliberate act of revolution consisted on voting to establish the National Assembly, which implemented on ending absolute monarchy and begin as a representative government. -
Tennis Court Oath
The third estate found themselves locked up and refusing to go out until there was a constitution -
Storming the Bastille
Bastille was a paris prison attacked by the lower class leading to the start of the revolution (about 100 people died)