The Three Estates
This estate made up about 97% of the population but had the least political power.
What is the Third Estate?
Most people in France lived in this type of area.
What is rural countryside?
In this type of government, the king held all political power and was not limited by a constitution.
What is an absolute monarchy?
This movement emphasized reason, logic, and science.
What is the Enlightenment?
France’s government spent more than it earned, creating this problem.
What is debt or a deficit?
This estate included peasants, urban workers, and the bourgeoisie.
What is the Third Estate?
A key hardship faced by peasants in rural France.
What are high taxes, poverty, or little land ownership?
Louis XIV’s extravagant palace symbolized absolute power.
What is Versailles?
Philosopher who believed government should protect natural rights.
Who is John Locke?
This meeting in 1789 gave the Third Estate hope for change.
What is the Estates‑General?
Clergy and nobles belonged to these two privileged estates.
What are the First and Second Estates?
One advantage of living in Paris compared to rural areas.
What is access to jobs, ideas, or political activity?
Louis XIV used this symbol and nickname to represent himself as the center of French power.
What is the Sun King (Le Roi Soleil)?
The idea that people agree to be governed in exchange for protection.
What is the social contract?
Storming this building became a symbol of revolution on July 14, 1789.
What is the Bastille?
The major unfairness of the Estates‑General voting system.
What is one vote per estate instead of by population?
Rising bread prices caused this group to riot most often.
Who are peasants or urban workers (sans‑culottes)?
One economic consequence of Louis XIV’s wars and spending.
What is debt, high taxes, or a weak economy?
Voltaire strongly opposed this type of government.
What is absolute monarchy?
Fear and rumours in the countryside caused this mass panic.
What is the Great Fear?
This was the tax burden placed mainly on the Third Estate while the upper estates paid little or none.
What are taxes and feudal dues (such as the tithe)?
A major contrast between urban and rural life in France.
What is access to opportunities vs. agricultural hardship?
A major challenge Louis XVI faced when he became king.
What is massive debt, unrest, or ineffective leadership?
This group played a key role in spreading Enlightenment ideas through salons, literature, and discussion.
Who are women?
(or Who are members of the bourgeoisie?)
The main goal of the National Assembly when it formed.
What is to create a constitution and reform government?