Answer the following questions briefly

Explain the composition of “Three Estates of France”.

The French feudal community, before the Revolution, was composed of three estates:

1. The CLERGY were the men of the scarlet robe. They were pastors and priests of the Church, who were exempted from all taxes, and were given the power to levy tithe – a tax on the peasantry.

2. The NOBILITY were the feudal lords, who owned the majority of land in France. They were also exempted from taxes, and could instead demand the peasants to work on their land and force them to process their produce in the mills run by the nobles. They were of two kinds – the heredity ‘nobles of the sword’ and the newly rising ‘nobles of the robe’.

3. The THIRD ESTATE was composed of peasants, lawyers and merchants. They formed the bulk of the population, owned little land and wealth, and were burdened with taxes to support and run the entire kingdom. They were utterly oppressed and demeaned. Burdened with taxes and demands for free labour, the Third Estate finally revolted against the feudal system.