1788. The tax system in pre-revolutionary France largely exempted the nobles and the clergy from taxes. The tax burden therefore devolved to the peasants, wage-earners, and the professional and business classes, also known as the Third Estate.
What burden did the Third Estate have?
The Third Estate retained the burden of producing the wealth for the two privileged Estates and also the responsibility of paying nearly all of the taxes.
What did the 3rd estate feel about the tax system?
The reason the Third Estate paid all the taxes under the Bourbon monarchy in France is that the kingdom had an inefficient, outdated tax system. Nobles and clergy received many privileges, one of which was that they were exempt from many taxes, in particular the taille, a head tax on each individual.
Why was the third estate upset with the tax system?
It was inefficient because many taxes were collected by a network of private contractors dubbed ‘tax farmers’, a system that encouraged graft, corruption and tax avoidance. It was unfair because the bulk of the nation’s direct taxation was levied on the Third Estate.
What were the taxes the Third Estate paid?
The members of the third estate had to pay direct tax to the state known as ‘taille’. Indirect taxes were imposed on tobacco, salt and many other everyday items. Thus, the third estate was seething with financial difficulties. There was the rise and emergence of many social groups in France in the eighteenth century.
Why did the Third Estate have more power than the first two?
However, the great majority of the tax burden fell only on the Third Estate because the first two enjoyed many exemptions from taxes. Politically, the first two estates had much more power than they should have had based on their numbers. In the Estates General, each estate was represented equally.
How did the Third Estate contribute to the French Revolution?
Despite representing the great majority of the people and having economic importance, it played no role in the French government or decision-making in the Old Regime. Political frustrations, grievances, and the sufferings of the Third Estate ultimately contributed to the French Revolution.
What did peasants do in the Third Estate?
In contrast, unskilled laborers worked as servants, cleaners, hauliers, water carriers, washerwomen and hawkers, and these occupations did not require training or membership to a guild. Peasants lived in the bottom tier of the Third Estate’s social hierarchy and formed between 82 and 88 percent. Peasant-farmers were France’s poorest social class.
Who was at the top of the Third Estate?
At the top of the Third Estate’s social hierarchy was the bourgeoisie. Wealthy businessmen, the bourgeoisie or the capitalistic middle classes, did not suffer as much as the artisans and unskilled labourers. Through their businesses, the bourgeoisie were professionals who had acquired enough wealth to live comfortably.
