Q6) Howdid philosopher of france inspire …

When and why louises XVI callled an assembly of the estate general? What was the result of this assembly

(i) On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.
(ii) The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 members of the third estate had to stand at the back.
(iii) The third estate was represented by its more, prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly.
(iv) Louis XVI wanted voting to be conducted on the old principle-each estate having one vote. But the members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the Assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote.
(v) The king rejected their demand as a result of which they walked out of the Assembly in protest.
(vi) The members of the third estate declared themselves a National Assembly and began to draft a constitution for France which would limit the powers of the monarch.
(vii) While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil. They were facing acute food scarcity. Finally, the agitated common mass stormed and destroyed the Bastille, the symbol of the king's despotic and tyrannic rule on 14 July 1789.
(viii) The condition of the countryside was also not good. Peasants looted hoarded grains and burnt down documents. A large number of nobles fled from their houses.
(ix) Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a constitution.
(x) The feudal system of obligations and taxes was also abolished. Members of the clergy were forced to give up their privileges.

What was the estate general

The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates of the French society, i.e., the clergy, the nobility and the third Estate consiting of peasants, landless labourers, businessmen and merchants, sent their representatives. In the ancient regime in France, the king did not possess the power to impose taxes on his own. He had to call a meeting of the Estates General first, which would consider and pass his proposals for new taxes. However, the Estates General did not have the power to summon itself to a meeting. Only the king could decide when to call a meeting of this representative body.

What was middle class?Describe

In the eighteenth century, many persons who belonged to third estate and earned their wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing goods, were termed as middle class. It was a new social group, which also comprised of court officials, lawyers and administrative officials. People of Middle class were educated and believed that no privilege should be given by birth, rather position of a person in society should be merit based. Philosophers, such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau were envisaging a society based on freedom, equal laws and

Q6) Howdid philosopher of france inspire the people through their ideas based on freedom and equql laws 

The ideas of envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all, were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

 In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch. 

Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives. 

In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. 

The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers.