USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Farmers made up 80% of the population; the remaining 20% were active as administrators, merchants, militia (military), and members of the clergy. Officers in the militia and members of the clergy enjoyed a higher social status.

Detailed explanation-2: -France under the Ancien Régime (before the French Revolution) divided society into three estates: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners).

Detailed explanation-3: -Most (65 per cent) were men in their mid-twenties originating from the north-western coastal regions of France such as Normandy, Britain or Île-de-France. Approximately 25 per cent of the colonists came from large cities like Paris, Rouen, La Rochelle, Poitiers and Bordeaux.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 17th-and 18th-century New France, habitants were independent landowners who established a homestead. Their status came with certain privileges and obligations. For example, during the colony’s early years, only habitants had the right to small-scale fur trading.

Detailed explanation-5: -Eighteenth century saw the emergence of a new social group called the middle class. They earned wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing of goods like woollen and silk textiles.