Struggle to Survive
The population of France increased from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789, which led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains and the production of food grains couldn’t keep pace with the demand for it. So, eventually the price of bread which was a staple diet of the majority; rose rapidly.
Most of the workers worked in workshops whose owners fix their wages, but the wages didn’t keep pace with rising prices. So, the gap between the rich and the poor rose and widened. In case of drought or hail, the harvest was affected even more. This led to a subsistence crisis, something which occurred frequently in France during the Old Regime.
French Society during the late Eighteenth Century
French Society during the late Eighteenth Century: French society was divided into three classes, which were known as Estates. The first estate was known as the clergy, the second estate was known as being of the nobility, and the third estate included the rest of the population including the peasants and the middle-class professionals and merchants.
The first and second estates formed the privileged sections. They had most of the land even though they formed a minor portion of the population, all the important positions of the state were held by them and were mostly exempted from paying taxes. The third estate had received no privileges and was heavily taxed by the state and was imprisoned if the taxes were not paid on time. The peasants also had to perform compulsory unpaid services. Merchants and professionals of the middle classes were denied social parity and political rights. Hence, French society in the 18th century was characterized by extreme inequalities between those privileged and those not.
Table of Content
- French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century
- Struggle to Survive
- How a Subsistence Crisis Happens
- A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges