HISTORY
ABSOLUTISM AND REVOLUTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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the clergy
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the nobility
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the middle class
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peasants and urban workers
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Detailed explanation-1: -The Second Estate consisted of the nobility of France, including members of the royal family, except for the King. Members of the Second Estate did not have to pay any taxes. They were also awarded special priviliges, such as the wearing a sword and hunting.
Detailed explanation-2: -The best-known system is the three-estate system of the French Ancien Régime used until the French Revolution (1789–1799). This system was made up of clergy (the First Estate), nobility (the Second Estate), and commoners (the Third Estate).
Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -There were two types of nobility: ‘nobles of the sword’, who earned their titles for military service, and ‘nobles of the robe’, who obtained their titles venally or for public service.
Detailed explanation-5: -The Three Estates French society comprised three Estates, the aristocracy, the clergy and the bourgeoisie and working classes, over which the King had absolute sovereignty. The First and Second Estates were exempted from most taxes.