HIST-210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Absolute Monarchy, Tyrant, Radicalization
Document Summary
Social and political structure of the old regime: three estates: clergy, nobility, commoners. The clergy is 1% of the population and own 10% of the land but pay 3-5% of taxes. Nobility don"t pay taxes at all and have their own privileges and are 2% of the population. The nobility and clergy are often very close together. Not all commoners were necessarily peasants; they could be doctors/merchants/lawyers and still part of the third estate at 96-97% of the population: talleyrand. Deputy to the estates general, from an old aristocratic family and he was supposed to be in the army but an accident happened during his childhood therefore he became a cardinal. Had several illegitimate children and the aristocracy knew of his lovers yet he was still a bishop and made a huge income: absolute monarchy. Every law that was issued was created with the pleasure of the king.