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Highlights
Time 0:05:27
French Revolution: The Three Estates
- Pre-revolutionary French society was divided into the Three Estates: clergy, nobility, and everyone else (commoners).
- This division was a medieval holdover, categorizing people into those who prayed, fought, and worked.
- The commoners (Third Estate) comprised about 95% of the population, with most of them being peasants. Transcript: Mike Duncan Of where they lived though, the French people were divided up into the famous three estates, a division still lingering from the old medieval days when society could be separated into Those who prayed, those who fought, and those who worked. The first estate, those who prayed, was the clergy. The second estate, those who fought, was the nobility. And the third estate, those who worked, was everyone else. That is to say, something like 95% of the population. So the vast majority of the third estate, and about four-fifths of the total population of France, were peasants. These peasants can be divided up into three basic subgroups. At the bottom were your landless peasants, forced to become migrant workers or day laborers to stay alive. In many areas,
Time 0:05:27
The Three Estates of France
- Pre-revolutionary French society was divided into the Three Estates, a medieval division.
- The First Estate was the clergy (those who prayed).
- The Second Estate was the nobility (those who fought).
- The Third Estate encompassed everyone else (those who worked), about 95% of the population, including peasants, townspeople, and city dwellers. Transcript: Mike Duncan Of where they lived though, the French people were divided up into the famous three estates, a division still lingering from the old medieval days when society could be separated into Those who prayed, those who fought, and those who worked.
Time 0:07:45
French Peasant Classes
- Independent French farmers owned enough land to sustain themselves and provide jobs for rural workers.
- Lower-class peasants envied and feared these independent farmers, aspiring to their status while dreading the potential loss of their small holdings through loans. Transcript: Mike Duncan Simultaneously aspiring to join the ranks of the independent farmers they feared. So leaving behind the peasants in the countryside, the remainder of the three estates lived in urban areas, though calling them urban is not quite
Time 0:08:59
Guild System and French Revolution
- The organization of skilled workers through the guild system contributed to the French Revolution.
- The restrictive nature of guilds, with apprentices serving long periods like indentured servants, created tension.
- After becoming journeymen, they often traveled, leading to conflicts with local competitors or other journeymen. Transcript: Mike Duncan The unskilled workers, we find, not surprisingly, the skilled workers. The organization of the skilled workers was itself one of the little tributaries feeding into the great river that is the causes of the French Revolution, because the guild system, In
Time 0:08:59
French Revolution - Guild System
- The French guild system in the 1700s was a source of frustration.
- Apprentices were like indentured servants, followed by journeymen who traveled and competed, before finally becoming masters.
- This restrictive system clashed with the rising popularity of free-trade economic theories.
- The urban workers, both skilled and unskilled, who were excluded from the guilds, later became key participants in the French Revolution, known as the sans-culottes. Transcript: Mike Duncan The unskilled workers, we find, not surprisingly, the skilled workers. The organization of the skilled workers was itself one of the little tributaries feeding into the great river that is the causes of the French Revolution, because the guild system, In all of its restrictive glory, was still in full effect. Apprentices were little more than indentured servants forced to serve some specified time, say seven years, before they were allowed to become journeymen, at which point they often Took to the road to ply their trade and get into nasty fights with local competitors or other journeymen they happened to run across. After whatever arbitrary time was up, they were allowed to become masters, buying their way into the club, and settling down to set up a permanent shop, taking on apprentices, and starting The whole cycle over again. The guild system was a source of constant frustration for those not directly profiting from it, and as the 1700s progressed and economic theory turned to free the continued existence Of the medieval guild system was an affront to thinking men everywhere. It is also worth mentioning that it will be from the ranks of these urban workers, both skilled and unskilled, that the famous sans-culottes will come storming out of as the revolution Picks up steam. Sans-culottes, meaning those who did not wear the silk- breeches favored by the upper classes. Above the skilled workers, we move into the ranks of the secure urban elite, the guys who did favor silk knee breeches, known to us as the bourgeoisie.
Time 0:11:00
Bourgeoisie’s Investment Strategies in 18th Century France
- In 18th-century France, ambitious members of the rising bourgeoisie didn’t reinvest their wealth in trade.
- Instead, they sought to elevate their social status by purchasing land or venal offices (government positions).
- This shift in investment strategy reflects the social dynamics of the Ancien Régime, where upward mobility meant aligning with the existing power structures of land ownership and government office.
- This upward mobility created new problems as the bourgeois landowners enforced feudal claims more diligently than the old aristocratic owners. Transcript: Mike Duncan But critically, since we are still living in the Ancien Régime, if you were ambitious, you generally did not funnel your money back into the trades that had enriched you. Instead, you aimed at buying your way into the nobility. So you transferred the money you made in the grubby business of trade into land on the one hand or venal office on the other. Land has of course been the great marker of wealth and status for, oh, let’s say the entire history of civilization, so I don’t think that needs much explanation, aside from mentioning That when the up-and bourgeoisie bought the land, they were quite a bit more diligent about enforcing whatever feudal claims could be made on the tenants, claims that the former noble Owners had often long since forgotten about, and in many provinces, complaints about the new bourgeois landlords far outnumbered complaints about the old aristocratic landlords. The other great investment opportunity was
Time 0:12:41
Venal Office and Upward Mobility
- In pre-revolutionary France, venal offices (government positions that could be purchased) offered a path to upward mobility for the bourgeoisie.
- Many of these offices came with privileges like ennoblement (often after a few generations or immediately for certain positions, such as King’s Secretary) and tax exemptions.
- These offices became a form of property themselves, increasing in price with demand from the expanding bourgeoisie.
- For those at the top of the third estate who could live off investments and rents, buying a venal office was often a stepping stone to joining the second estate (the nobility). Transcript: Mike Duncan Had to be held for a few successive generations for the ennoblement to kick in, but some, including the aforementioned office of king’s secretary, brought ennoblement immediately. These offices also usually carried tax exemptions of various shapes and sizes, because as we’ll discuss a bit more next week, pre-revolutionary France operated on the rather upside-down Principle that the better off you were, the less you paid in taxes. Over the years, these offices became a form of property in themselves, and as the ranks of the bourgeoisie expanded, the prices of the venal offices rose with demand. By the late 1780, something close to a billion lever was tied up in venal office, and yes, that is an insane amount of money. At the very tippy top of the third estate was a little group who, quote, lived nobly. That is, they no longer even worked at a profession, but instead lived off land rents or other investments. But the reason this group was so small was because if you had acquired the means to live nobly, you were probably in the process of buying your way into the nobility, that is, the second Estate, and leaving the ranks of the third estate behind for good. So with the help of some venal office, it’s time to move up into the second estate, the nobility. By this point, the population of the nobility was somewhere between 120,000 and 400,000, records being patchy and often unreliable, since there were more than a few forged claims Out there. This little clique, and we’re talking no more than 1-2 % of the population, owned
Time 0:13:55
French Nobility: Old vs New
- The French nobility comprised 1-2% of the pre-revolutionary population and owned a significant portion of the land.
- They held feudal rights and controlled non-trading and, less openly, trading industries, actively participating in the shift from feudalism to capitalism.
- The nobility was divided into ‘sword nobility’ (old money, lineage-based) and ‘robe nobility’ (newly wealthy, title-purchasing).
- The old nobility looked down on the new, creating tension within the second estate.
- The newly rich resented their continued treatment as commoners despite their elevated status. Transcript: Mike Duncan With the help of some venal office, it’s time to move up into the second estate, the nobility. By this point, the population of the nobility was somewhere between 120,000 and 400,000, records being patchy and often unreliable, since there were more than a few forged claims Out there. This little clique, and we’re talking no more than 1-2 % of the population, owned outright a quarter to a third of all the land in France and held feudal rights over the rest, that is, the Right to collect certain taxes or the right to force tenants to use your mills and wine presses at whatever arbitrary price you set. Owned a controlling interest in almost all the non-trading commercial pursuits, like mining and metallurgy, and less openly owned a controlling interest in most of the trading industry, Using surrogates in the Third Estate to skirt prohibitions on the nobles engaging in trade. So, far from resisting the evolution from feudalism to capitalism, the nobility was right in the middle of it. At least, some of them were, because the nobility was not at all one unified class. For starters, as you can imagine, the old nobility, the ones who could trace their lineage back 700 years, did not think much of the new nobility, you know, the textile merchant who just Bought his title last Thursday. These two types were described as the sword nobility and the robe nobility. The former owed their status to their medieval ancestors having fought alongside the king, the latter to some recently acquired venal office. And
Time 0:15:28
French Nobility Divisions
- The French nobility was divided into the ‘sword’ (old money) and ‘robe’ nobility (new money).
- The sword nobility, despite their lineage, were often less wealthy than the robe nobility.
- The robe nobility had gained status through recently acquired positions or wealth, but were still looked down upon by the old nobility.
- Despite this divide, marriages between the two groups were common, especially to improve the financial standing of the old nobility.
- The wealthiest of the nobility, possessing both lineage and fortune, held influential positions and resided at Versailles. Transcript: Mike Duncan By recent, the old nobility meant anything less than about four generations. So the sword nobility generally turned up their noses at the robe nobility, while the robe nobility were ticked off that having climbed into the ranks of the second estate, they were Still being treated as commoners. It also did not help that because of the way French inheritance laws worked, the fortunes of the old nobility had generally eroded to almost nothing, so most of the wealth of the second Estate was held by these former shopkeepers who didn’t even know what fork to use at dinner. Not that the cultivated old nobles were at all opposed to marrying their sons to the daughters of these barbaric new nobles. At the very top rung of the nobility, though, were those who both held ancient lineages and had managed to keep their fortunes intact, or had successfully gilded their arms, as the saying Went, by a fortuitous marriage or two along the way. These guys were the ones who were still able to afford to live with the king at Versailles, and they dominated all the major positions in the royal ministry, the military, the judiciary, And the church. This group, as you can imagine, tended to be rather conservative, but it is also from these ranks that we find some of the key members of the liberal nobility, who will be so essential To the first stage of the revolution, for example, our old friend the Marquis de Lafayette. So that brings us to the first estate, the church.
Time 0:16:51
French Revolution: Church as Microcosm
- The French Church mirrored the kingdom’s social structure, effectively making it a two-estate system (nobility and commons).
- High-ranking clergy positions (bishops, abbots) were dominated by the younger sons of the nobility, controlling significant wealth and land.
- Parish priests, on the other hand, were recruited from the lower rungs of the Third Estate, creating a significant divide within the Church. Transcript: Mike Duncan That brings us to the first estate, the church. There were about 130,000 members of the French clergy, and collectively the church owned about 10% of all the land in France. But as the great historian Georges Lefevre noted in his compact but highly influential coming of the French Revolution, when you talk about the three estates of the Ancien Régime, You’re really only talking about two estates, the nobility and the commons, because the church was really just a microcosm of the kingdom at large. Way back in 1516, the Pope had conceded to the King of France the right to appoint all the bishops and abbots of the French church. Not surprisingly, these top-level jobs, which carried with them massive salaries, the right to collect tithes, and control of all those church-held lands, became dominated by the Younger sons of the French nobility. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the 130,000 clergy were parish priests, recruited from the ranks of the Third Estate, and usually the lower rungs of the Third Estate at that. Not the lowest-lowest rungs, since your family still had to buy you some kind of rudimentary education, but there was still a massive gulf between the noble ecclesiastic authorities On the one hand and the common rank-and priesthood on the other. This will become a point
Time 0:17:03
French Revolution’s Two Estates
- Historian George Lefebvre argues that pre-revolutionary French society wasn’t truly divided into three estates.
- The First Estate (the Church) mirrored the broader societal structure, with top positions filled by nobility and lower clergy drawn from the Third Estate.
- This makes the Church a microcosm of the existing class divisions rather than a separate entity.
- The real division lay between the privileged (nobility and high-ranking clergy) and the commoners (Third Estate and lower clergy). Transcript: Mike Duncan As the great historian Georges Lefevre noted in his compact but highly influential coming of the French Revolution, when you talk about the three estates of the Ancien Régime, you’re Really only talking about two estates, the nobility and the commons, because the church was really just a microcosm of the kingdom at large. Way back in 1516, the Pope had conceded to the King of France the right to appoint all the bishops and abbots of the French church. Not surprisingly, these top-level jobs,
Time 0:21:06
Louis XIV and Versailles
- King Louis XIV converted a royal hunting lodge outside of Paris into the Palace of Versailles.
- The palace was meant to project royal power and centralize control over the nobility.
- Nobles, previously troublesome in their home provinces, were compelled to attend the king at Versailles.
- This strategy aimed to weaken their regional influence by separating them from their bases of power.
- Louis XIV offered lavish gifts and favors at Versailles, further consolidating his authority over the nobles. Transcript: Mike Duncan When Louis XIV began to rule in his own name, he accelerated the process of political centralization started by Richelieu, culminating most famously with his conversion of a royal Hunting lodge outside of Paris into the palace of Versailles. The
Time 0:24:07
Louis XVI’s Reign
- Louis XVI became king in 1774 at age 19, succeeding his grandfather Louis XV.
- While well-intentioned, he was not trained to rule effectively.
- Married Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette at 15; the marriage was initially strained and unpopular.
- Public and private mockery aimed at the royal couple. Transcript: Mike Duncan That brings us finally to our man Louis XVI. The grandson of Louis XV, he ascended to the throne in May 1774 at the age of 19. Still young, but he did manage to break the streak of five-year ruling France. Though pretty much everyone agrees that his heart was in the right place, and he genuinely wanted to do right by his people, he was ill-prepared for the role of king. He was bright and athletic, at least in his youth, but he was also shy and uncomfortable in the spotlight. Unfortunately for him, the system set up by Louis XIV basically created the brightest spotlight imaginable for him to step into. His father had died when he was 11, which left him the heir to the throne, and though he received a standard upper-class education in the humanities, he was, for whatever reason, not Given much instruction in the practical business of how to effectively rule a giant kingdom. When he was 15, he was married to the 14-year Austrian archduchess Marie Antoinette, a pairing that for a good long time was uncomfortable socially, emotionally, and physically, And it was generally
Time 0:25:58
Obstacles to Reform
- Louis XVI faced significant resistance to reform upon ascending the throne.
- Pre-revolutionary France was not a straightforward absolute monarchy; entrenched interests defended their privileges.
- This resistance complicated the new king’s attempts to address the longstanding issues, such as tax structure and social inequality. Transcript: Mike Duncan And everywhere you turned, there were entrenched interests ready to fight for their ancient privileges, whatever those interests and privileges turned out to be. That resistance to change only exacerbated all the other issues facing the new king. And next week, we will methodically walk through the list. The completely backward tax structure, the endemic social inequality, a judicial system that prized privilege over justice, administrative jurisdictions that overlapped haphazardly, A church that gobbled up money and seemed to give nothing back, an outmoded