French+Revolution+Project

media type="custom" key="7124517" 

France still practiced feudalism in the 18th century. The nobles and clergy enjoyed special privileges. They did not have to pay taxes. The common people did not have power and freedom in politics. They worked hard and had to pay heavy taxes. The nobles and clergy made up the First and Second Estates in the Estates General. The common people in the middle class such as peasants and artisans made up the Third Estate. The nobles and clergy could outvote the common people easily though the Estates General was always not called by the king, who ruled as an absolute monarchy. The common people became discontented with the privileged classes   ** __Economics Of The French Society __ ** a leading cause of social stress in France during the Revolution was its large population. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, France had 20 million people living within its borders, a number equal to nearly 20 % of the population of non-Russian Europe. Over the course of the century, that number increased by another 8 to 10 million, Also important, this population was concentrated in the rural countryside: of the nearly 30 million French under Louis XVI, about 80 percent lived in villages of 2,000 or less, with nearly all the rest in fairly small cities. Only a handful of other cities notably Lyons, Bordeaux, and Marseilles had more than 100,000 within their limits. These demographics had an enormous impact, both inside and outside France .In addition, the eighteenth century saw the intrusion of capitalism into everyday life**. ** Thanks to a large expansion of overseas trade and a longer-term development of domestic trade, the money economy experienced continued growth. Although self-sufficiency or local exchange remained the preponderant way of economic life, these incursions of capitalism began drawing everyone into some form of regional and even international exchange.
 * __Causes Of The French Revolution __**