WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Before 1789 inequality was typical of the old government. The nobles and clergy were the privileged orders. They were exempt from such direct taxes as the taille, or land tax. Most taxes were paid by the Third Estate-a class that included peasants, artisans, merchants, and professional men.

Detailed explanation-2: -A large cause of the French Revolution was the inequality caused by the feeling of superiority the higher classes held. They spent lavishly and treated the third estate horribly, forcing taxes onto them when they had little income. They abused their control, along with their expenses.

Detailed explanation-3: -Throughout the 18th century, France faced a mounting economic crisis. A rapidly growing population had outpaced the food supply. A severe winter in 1788 resulted in famine and widespread starvation in the countryside. Rising prices in Paris brought bread riots.

Detailed explanation-4: -– Before the Revolution, France was a society grounded in the inequality of rights or the idea of privilege. – Its population of 27 million was divided, as it had been since the Middle Ages, into three orders, or Estates.