USA HISTORY

MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
In prerevolutionary France, which group of people made up the First Estate?
A
Nobles
B
Soldiers
C
Clergy
D
Commoners
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The three estates were the different classes in France at the time of the revolution, each representing a particular segment of society. The first estate was the clergy; the second estate, the nobility, and the third estate the commoners. The year was 1789, the French King Louis XVI had been on the throne for 15 years.

Detailed explanation-2: -Before the revolution in France, a time known as the Ancien Regime, society was divided into three distinct classes, known as the Three Estates. The First Estate was the clergy, who were people, including priests, who ran both the Catholic church and some aspects of the country.

Detailed explanation-3: -This assembly was composed of three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country.

Detailed explanation-4: -The First Estate consisted of Roman Catholic clergy, and it was by far the smallest group represented in the Estates-General. The Second Estate represented the nobility, which comprised less than 2 percent of the French population.

Detailed explanation-5: -The First Estate consisted of the clergy and numbered about 130, 000 people who owned approximately 10% of the land. – Clergy were exempt from the taille, France’s chief tax.

There is 1 question to complete.