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France Under the Old Regime

15th Century - 1789

The Church(the First Estate)

• About 130,000 individuals

• 97% of France was Catholic

• Owned ¼ of property in Paris and 10% nationwide.

• Tithe = 8-10% of harvest collected each harvest

• Paid only a voluntary 3% of income in taxes

• Was a source of charity

The Nobility(the Second Estate)

• .4-1% of population and owned 1/3 of land. Rights over the rest. Received 1/12 to 1/6 of harvest.

• Divided between nobles of the sword and of the robe.

• Hereditary privileges (exclusive hunting rights, feudal dues, and exemption from taxes and the corvee)

• Nobles at Versailles received most appointments to the church, army and bureaucracy. Others (hobereaux) weren’t always that rich.

Everyone ElseThe “Third Estate”

• Urban poor spend 40-60% of their income on bread. Food riots were common. Worked 14-16 hour days.

• Life expectancy =50 years, ½ of children died before age 5

• 80% were rural peasants, 1/4 - 1/3 of produce to nobility

The Bourgeoisie• 5% of the population

• Law, investment, royal administration, landlords

• Enthusiastic for Enlightenment ideals

• Increased from 700,000 in 1700 to 2.3 million in 1780

Slaves

• The main colony was Saint-Domingue (modern Haiti)

• >450,000 working in the Caribbean

• Regulated by the Code Noir of 1685: no legal or family rights

• Half died within a few years.

Government

• No written constitution

• Roman law in the South and customary in the North

• Cruel punishments for offenses

Jacques-Louis David