History

3. Social Disparity : In the 17th century the French society was divided into three groups called estates :
(i) The First Estate : It consisted of the clergymen and church-fathers who were the custodians of religion and conscience of man and the most venerated persons in society.
(ii) The Second Estate : It consisted of landlords, men of noble birth and aristocrats.
(iii) The Third Estate : It consisted of the vast majority of the common masses which included the landless peasants, petty peasant proprietors, artisans, masons, craftsman, manufactures, traders, merchants and other businessmen.
Out of the total population the First and the Second estate had a share of 2%. The remaining 98% of the people belonged to the Third Estate. Although the upper two classes made up only a small fraction of the total population, they were the people who controlled the political and economic system of the nation. They enjoyed all the rights and privileges. The entire machinery of the government was designed to protect their interests and privileges. They owned two fifths of the total lands. The nobles and the upper clergy occupied all important positions in the king’s court and drew heavy salaries and pensions. The people belonging to the Third estate did not enjoy any political rights. They were even denied the right to protection of life. The gulf between the rich and the poor was so wide that a handful of the nobles and clergy got all the money while the poor masses did all the work.
4. The Rise of the Middle Class :
(i) The spread of industrial revolution led to the emergence of the middle class. It was the class of businessman, traders, bankers, manufactures, scholars etc.
(ii) The Middle Class people become the leaders of the Revolution.
(iii) They came forward with the slogan of liberty, equality and fraternity.
(iv) They were now determined to get rid of the feudal system. They realized that so long as the feudal system prevails the French society had no chance of moving forward on the road to prosperity and plenty as the feudal barriers were a serious obstruction to the growth of industrial capitalism.