USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -About 60 percent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer members of the third estate. The members of the first two estates-the Clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth such as exemption from paying taxes.

Detailed explanation-2: -It owned around six per cent of land throughout France, and its abbeys, churches, monasteries and convents, as well as the schools, hospitals and other institutions it operated, formed a visible reminder of the Church’s dominance in French society.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Tithe. The First Estate owned approximately 10 percent of French land and collected significant revenues as result. Furthermore, the Church was permitted to levy the tithe from members of the Third Estate, which could equate to roughly 10% of a peasant’s income.

Detailed explanation-4: -While the Second Estate was only 1% of the total population of France, the Third Estate was 96%, and had none of the rights and priviliges of the other two estates.