Kingdom of France. 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).
What did the Third Estate became known as?
An oath taken on June 20, 1789, by the members of the French Estates-General for the Third Estate, who had begun to call themselves the National Assembly, vowing “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established.” It was a pivotal event in the early …
Who called the 3rd estate to action?
Summoned by King Louis XVI, the Estates General of 1789 ended when the Third Estate formed the National Assembly and, against the wishes of the King, invited the other two estates to join.
Who are the members of the Third Estate?
It housed many different classes and levels of wealth; many different professions and ideas; rural, urban and provincial people alike. Members of the Third Estate ranged from lowly beggars and struggling peasants to urban artisans and labourers; from the shopkeepers and commercial middle classes to the nation’s wealthiest merchants and capitalists.
Who was the Third Estate in the French Revolution?
When these documents spoke of the Third Estate, however, they referred chiefly to the bourgeoisie – not to France’s 22 million rural peasants, its landless labourers or its urban workers. When the bourgeoisie dreamed of representative government, it was a government that represented the propertied classes only.
Who was at the apex of the Third Estate?
At the apex of the Third Estate’s social hierarchy was the bourgeoisie, or capitalist middle classes. The bourgeoisie were business owners and professionals who had acquired enough wealth to live comfortably. There was also diversity within their ranks.
Where did the Third Estate live in the 18th century?
Other members of the Third Estate lived and worked in France’s towns and cities. While the 18th century was a period of industrial and urban growth in France, most cities remained comparatively small. There were only nine French cities with a population exceeding 50,000 people. Paris, with around 650,000, was by far the largest.
