Estates-General: 

First Estate (Clergy): numbered about 130,000 (out of a total population of 
27 million). Own 10 percent of the land. The clergy was radically divided.  
Higher Clergy: 
● Cardinals 
● Bishops 
● Heads of Monasteries 
The higher clergy are from noble families and shared their views and 
interests. Parish priests were mostly poor and they are commoners. 
 
Second Estate (nobility): numbered 350,000 and owned about 25-30 
percent of land. 
● Play crucial role in 1700s 
● Held leading positions  
- government 
- military 
- Law courts 
- Roman Catholic Church 
Despite controlling most of the wealth, neither clergy or nobles had 
to pay taille (France’s chief tax) 
 
Third  Estate:  Divided  by  the  differences  in  occupation,  level  of  education, 
and  wealth.  Peasants  made  up  about  75-80  percent  of  the  Third  Estate 
and  they  owned  about  35-40  percent  of  the  land.  The rest of the land was 
owned  by  the  people  in  the  middle  class.  Peasants  resented  the  duties 
that  they  owed  their  lord.  The  other  part  of  the  Third  Estate  is  made  up  of 
urban craftspeople, shopkeepers, and workers.  
 
Poetry: 
The First Estate was the clergy 
They were the church authority 
They have good homes because they were rich 
Having the money to not sleep in a ditch 
The Second Estate were the lords 
There was barely nothing they can’t afford 
Leading position were the one they hold 
Wealth was the thing they controlled  
The third Estate was mostly the peasant 
Their life was anything but pleasant 
They owed the nobles many jobs 
Such as harvesting and cleaning globs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bastille 

1. What caused the Bastille?  

The  people were over taxed ​because the money was being sent 
to  ​support  the  American  revolution.  People  starved  and  were 
pushed  by  King  Louis  XVI. So the Parisians attacked the Bastille 
to get gunpowder and release the prisoners. 

2. What happened during the Bastille? 

The  ​Parisians  attacked  the  Bastille  within  4  hours  and  finished 

at  noon,  to  steal  30000  gunpowder and arms to raid King Louis 
XVI and french monarch.   

3. Why do they storm bastille? 

 The  reason  behind  the  attack  was  to  start  the  revolution 
because  it  represented  the  oppressive  nature  of  monarchy. 
They  also  released  7  prisoners  who  refuse  to  follow  the  rules  of 
politics. The raid was the beginning of French revolution. 

4. What were the results? 

led  to  the  overthrow  of  King  Louis  XVI  and  the  French  Revolution. 
The  success  of  the  revolutionaries  gave  commoners  throughout 
France  the  courage  to  rise  up  and  fight  against  the  nobles  who  had 
ruled them for so long. 

The Bastille was a prison that contained 7 prisoners 

It was also an armory that contained gunpowder 

The Parisians gather in front of the prison 

They came to the Bastille for many reasons 

The first reason it to raid the armory 

That will make the attack on Louis become more easily  

They chip and they chop the general’s head 

There were many people that were found dead 

The raid was finally won 

Which made the battle finally done 

The Bastille was a symbol for a monarch's power 

After the attack the symbol was gone forever 

  

Women’s March on Versailles 

Cause​:  

- A  poor  French  economy  had  led  to  a scarcity of bread and high 

prices. The people were hungry 
- Women  went  to  the  store  to  buy  bread  for  their  family, 
however, it was very expensive. 

Problem​: 

- Women  were  starving  because  the  economy  was  bad  thing 

including the bread which sell in a very high prices 
- As  the  economy  was  bad  but  the  royalty  was  still  live  in  a 
luxurious  life  and  Marie  Antionette  said  that  if  there  was  no 
bread  let  them  eat  cake  that  is  the  beginning  of  the 
revolutionize 
Facts​: 

- There were men included in the crowd as well 

- One  of  the  main  leaders  of  the  march  was  a  man  named 
“Stanislas-Marie Maillard” 
- The  crowd  arrived  at  the king’s palace in Versailles after 6 hours 
of marching 
- The crowd demanded to meet the king 
- The  king  made  a  promise  that  he  will  provide  them  food  from 
the king’s store. 
- However,  there  were  some  people  who  stayed  and  continued 
the protest 
- On the next day, Marquis de Lafayette restored the peace 
- The  revolutionaries  demanded  that  the  king  return  to  Paris 
with them, the king agreed 
- Then the crowd demanded to see Queen Marie Antoinette 
- The  queen  stood  there  by  herself  with  many  guns  pointing  at 
her 
- She  may  have  been  killed,  but  Lafayette  knelt  before  her  and 
kiss  her  hand  which  made  the  crowd  calmed  and  allowed  her 
to live 
- After  that,  the  king  and  queen  travelled  back  to  Paris  with  the 
crowd. The crowd had increased its amount. 
- After  the  return  march,  the  king  went  to  live  at  Tuileries Palace 
in  
- Paris and would never return to Versailles 

Women’s March Poem: 

The Women's March was caused by the French recession, 

which was so bad it led to aggression, 

women and children both were wane, 

Queen Marie's words to people ended her reign.. 

Let them eat cake if there was no bread, 

This quote could lead to Marie being dead, 

The king and queen’s lives were luxurious, 

This was the reason why the women were furious. 

The crowd arrived at the king's residence, 

They said meeting the king would be such excellence, 

They knew the king had food in store, 

So now it was time to settle the score. 

There were some people who decided to stay, 

They continued the protest for one more day, 

The peace was restored by Marquis de Lafayette, 

But The crowd demanded to see Marie Antionette. 

 
 
 
 
The Bastille was a prison for people charged with treason 
 
Parisians gathered outside and broke in for a reason 
 
They stole some gunpowder and freed those inside 
 
For the soldiers guarding had no place to hide 
 
They chip and chopped Governor de Launay’s head  
 
Hundreds of Parisians were later found dead  
 
The Bastille was a symbol of a monarch’s power 
 
After the attack peace finally ruled the hour