Send me some notes of French …

Material downloaded from myCBSEguide.com. 1 / 4 CBSE Class 09 Social Science Revision Notes Chapter - 1 History - THE FRENCH REVOLUTION The French Society during the Late 18th Century In 1774, Louis XVI, a 20 year young from Bourbon dynasty ascended the throne of France. He was welcomed by empty treasure. The France was reeling under tremendous debt which had mounted Up to 2 billion livres.For meeting theses expenses increase in the tax was inevitable. The French Society was divided into three estates. First two enjoyed all privileges. 1st Estate: Clergy 2nd Estate: Nobility 3rd Estate: Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, peasants, artisans, landless labourers, servants, etc. Some within the Third Estate were rich and some were poor. The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone. The Struggle for Survival : Population of France grew and so did the demand for grain. The gap between the rich and poor widened. This led to subsistence crises. Subsistence Crisis : An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered . The Growing Middle Class : The 18th century witnessed the emergence of middle class which was educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth. These ideas were put forward by philosophers such as Locke the English philosopher and Rousseau, French philosopher. The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example of political