OPPapers.com Essay Index >> History Other >> French Revolution
We have many free term papers and essays on French Revolution. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Was the french revolution successful? Many historians credit the French
Revolution as being the beginning of modern politics. The ...
French Revolution...Romanticized. The French Revolution began because of
some long term and short term problems. For years the French ...
Major Causes of the French Revolution. DBQ Essay: What were the major causes
of the French Revolution? (Discuss three.) The major ...
causes of the french revolution. ... The French Revolution was a pivotal period
in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ...
... The French revolution on the other hand, was from 1789 until the turn of the century
1799. ... The French revolution became more about human rights. ...
Submitted by asaballe on December 15, 2005
Category: History Other
Words: 1327 | Pages: 6
Views: 239
Popularity Rank: 31,479
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
The causes of the French Revolution are complicated, so complicated that a debate still rages among historians regarding origins, causes and results. In general, the real causes of the Revolution must be located in the rigid social structure of French society during the ancien regime. As it had been for centuries, French society was divided into three Estates or Orders. The First Estate consisted of the clergy and the Second Estate the nobility. Together, these two Estates accounted for approximately 500,000 individuals. At the bottom of this hierarchy was the vast Third Estate which basically meant everybody else, or about 25 million people. This social structure was based on custom and tradition, but more important, it was also based on inequalities which were sanctioned by the force of law. So, we must look at these three Estates more carefully.
The First Estate
The Clergy From the outset, the clergy was established as a privileged Estate. The French Catholic Church maintained a wide scope of powers - it literally constituted a state within a state and it had sustained this position for more than 800 years. The clergy was divided into the lower and upper clergy. Members of the lower clergy were usually humble, poorly-paid and overworked village priests. As a group, they resented the wealth and arrogance of the upper clergy. The bishops and abbots filled the ranks of the upper clergy, men who regarded their office as a way of securing a larger income and the landed property that went with it. Most of the upper clergy sold their offices to subordinates, kept the revenue, and lived in Paris or at the seat of royal government at Versailles. Well, what did the clergy do? Or, I suppose, a better way of framing the question is this: what were they supposed to be doing? Their responsibilities included: the registration of births, marriages and deaths; they collected the tithe (usually 10%); they censored books; served as moral police; operated schools...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!