USA HISTORY

MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which group of people made up the First Estate of France?
A
Nobility (rich)
B
Clergy (priests)
C
Middle Class/peasants
D
Royalty
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The First Estate was the clergy, who were people, including priests, who ran both the Catholic church and some aspects of the country. In addition to keeping registers of births, deaths and marriages, the clergy also had the power to levy a 10% tax known as the tithe.

Detailed explanation-2: -The First Estate-the highest level of the feudal class system-was the clergy. Clergy, by definition, is a body of ordained ministers (bishops, priests, and deacons) in a Christian church. Before the French Revolution, there were around 130, 000 members of the First Estate.

Detailed explanation-3: -The First Estate comprised the entire clergy and religious, traditionally divided into “higher” and “lower” clergy. Although there was no formal demarcation between the two categories, the upper clergy were, effectively, clerical nobility, from the families of the Second Estate.

Detailed explanation-4: -Answer: Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion’s doctrines and practices.

Detailed explanation-5: -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. The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution.

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