Pradeep Karir

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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

• Pradeep Karir
• Simran Rathaur
• Sam Nash
• Himat Lakhpuri

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CONTENTS
KING LOUIS
The 3 Estates
Causes of The Revolution
Peasants
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KING LOUIS
King Louis XIV was born on the 5th September 1638
at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France. Louis father
died when he was only 4 years old but he wasnt
allowed to be king until he was 13 years old.
Louis became king of France and the king of
navarre on the 14th May 1643 until his death on
1st September 1715. Louis was the longest
reigning king ever.
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THE YOUNG KING
Louis was the son of King Louis XIII and Anne of
Austria. Louis succeeded his father when he was
only 4 years and 8 months old. In one part of
Louis reign, France battled against Spanish for
almost 30 years. Louis finished this war by
marrying the daughter of the Spanish King,
Marie-Thérèse of Austria. Louis thought himself
Gods representative to the Earth
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The 3 Estates
The First Estate
The First Estate was made up of Clergy members.
There were not too many clergy members but they
could do a lot of things that were good for
their numbers. There was a church that was an
organization itself and it had its own
administrative body. The church had vast land and
a court of laws. The church was very wealthy at
the time because it had lots of income from the
crops, land, donations, gifts from Nobles and
fees for things like registration of birth and
death. Most clergy members lived in big palaces
or Chateaux's
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The Second Estate
The Second Estate was made of Nobles. They didnt
have to pay the heaviest direct taxes and enjoyed
not having to do country duties. Only the Nobles
could hold the highest position in Civil
Administration, Military, Naval and Diplomatic
services. Because International trade was
expanding, there started to be some middle class
Nobles. These came by marriage to a Noble. They
could either have a Nobility patent or an
administrative office position. Most of the
Nobles lived in big Palaces or Chateauxs
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The Third Estate
The third Estate was made up of Peasants. The
Peasants made up about 90 of the population. The
Peasants were forced to do military service and
to pay taxes to the Lord, King and Church. They
could not hunt or fish near the Nobles Estate.
They had to pay to use the Lords mill to make
food. The Peasants in the Third Estate had no
right to do anything they wanted.
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Causes of The French Revolution
The French Revolution was started because the
Peasants felt that the Nobles, Priests and the
King were being selfish and making them do things
they didnt want to do. The Peasants had to pay
tax where the Priests and Nobles didnt. They had
to serve the army and the Priests and Nobles
didnt have to. The list goes on. Priests and
NoblesThe Nobles and Priests had complete
authority over the Peasants.They could collect
tax from people that were using the road or going
to a market.The Peasants had nothing like or
near the quality of things that the Priests and
Nobles were given.Peasants couldnt make money
because sometimes it would be too hot or too cold
to grow crops.These were some causes of the
Revolution but the big reasons are far worse than
this.
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More Causes of the Revolution
The Revolution was started because of the
argument between the Peasants and the Nobles,
Priests and the King. But the other reasons for
the Revolution are that the King and Clergy
members were bankrupt. King Louis XIV had spent
too much money and no one made it any better.
King Louis XIV was a weak king so there were
problems with him which lead to the Revolution
and King Louis only liked what he thought was
good so he never used other peoples ideas. King
Louis couldnt make good decisions. He let his
wife use all the money which lead to the
Revolution. So the French Revolution began and
continued while King Louis XV and XVI were the
King of France. This says that all the Louis
kings after King Louis XIV were the same.
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Peasants
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Where Peasants lived
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Peasants lived in small towns or on farms close
to a lords manor. Most Peasants lived in a 2 room
cottage which was made from mud plastered
branches, straw or stone and a roof or thatch.
One of the rooms would have a dirty floor and a
simple pieces of furniture such as stools, a
table and maybe a chest to hold clothes in. In
the other room would be sacks of straw which
would be used as a bed for the whole family.A
wealthy peasant might own a few iron pots and a
bed stand. Windows were small slits and didnt
have glass in them. The inside of the cottage
would probably lit up by candles.WHAT PEASANTS
ATEPeasants probably ate the same thing
everyday. Probably some baked bread, porridge,
stew, seasonal vegetables and some meat. If
peasants lived near rivers then they would be
able to have fish otherwise they only ate what
they could grow. Farmers could mainly only grow
corn, beans and wheat. They would also have a
vegetable patch which would give them tomatoes,
lettuce peas, radishes and carrots. Peasants
could sometimes get nuts, acorns and berries from
their nearby forest. Peasant Women made cheese
and from milk from the cows. In fall they would
slaughter some animals for meat.
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What Peasants wore
The clothes that Peasants wore were pretty low
classed. They were mainly made out of rough wool
or linen.Peasant women spun wool into threads
and wove the cloth which became clothing for the
whole family. Peasants would mostly have only one
set of clothes. 2 sets at most. Men wore coarse
tunics and long stockings or leggings. Women
wore long dresses made from coarse or wool. They
would also wear stockings. Some peasants used
linen garments to get rid of the uncomfortable
feeling of the wool clothing. The outer clothing
was hardly washed but the inner clothing was
washed regularly. They used wood smoke as a sort
of deodorant. Most of the clothes were mainly a
brown colour. Children were dressed as mini
adults. Both men and women wore wooden clogs or
shoes made out of thick cloth or leather, woolen
hats and woolen mittens to keep them warm in the
cold. Some peasants died in the winter months
because they were exposed to the coldness.
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Children and Schooling
Birth and infancy were the most dangerous parts
of life for people in the middle ages. Healthy
children were considered a gift from god. Most
families wanted sons who would carry on the
family name as opposed to daughters would have
their family name changed when getting married.
Even though, families would probably be proud to
have a daughter if their other infants had died
or they had been childless. Childbirth was
dangerous for both the infant and the mother
because they didnt have any equipment to help
the infant and the mother while the baby was
being born. Many women died during childbirth and
many infants also died while being delivered. If
both the mother and the infant survived, then the
baby would be bathed in lukewarm water and then
be put into cotton or wool fabric. If it was a
thought that the infant would not live then they
would baptize the child straight away at a local
church. If the child would live then they would
be baptized a few days after and be named at the
church. When the children turned to the age of 7,
they would start to learn what they needed to
learn for when they became adults. Male children
might attend a local school to learn important
prayers and songs, Latin and mathematics.
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More facts about children and schooling
When the child was old enough to be useful, he
would be sent to work with his father or another
villager as an apprentice. As an apprentice, the
boy would learn everything he needed to know
about how to survive and feed his family. Most
male children did the same things as their
fathers. Female children didnt have school to
go to so they had to stay at home to learn what
to do around the house and how to be a good
housewife. They would learn how to weave cloth,
cook, grow vegetables, make butter, clean the
house, look after children and all other
necessary things.
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Marriage
All marriages were arranged by the parents of the
2 getting married. Girls could marry at the
young age of 12 and boys could marry at the age
of 14. Most girls got married when they were 17
or 18. Most boys were married when they were in
their late 20s and early 30s. The groom was
always much older than the bride. The bride and
groom woukld probably know each other for a
while because most peasants lived in the same
area.The couple would be married at a simple
ceremony. The church wouldnt be involved with
the marriage so it was all done at the home with
many guests.Once the wedding was finished, the
married life began and was undoubtedly hard for
both the bride and the groom before they got to
know each other well. Most married couples
respected each other and developed to become good
husband and wife. Sometimes the couples grew to
love each other. The husband was the head of the
household and the wife was legally his property.
A man was allowed and expected to beat his wife
as long as the wife lived through it. The
husband had complete control over anything in the
household and his wifes belongings.
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Divorce
The husband was allowed to divorce his wife for
many reasons. One of the most popular ones is
that he is older than the wife. Wives on the
other hand could not divorce but getting towards
the end of the middle ages this changed and wives
were allowed to divorce husbands.Some divorces
could take a long time and women could divorce
their husbands for different reasons.Some
reasons were that the husband had been gone for a
long time.
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Holidays and Celebrations
Sometimes the peasants thought that life wasnt
all too bad.The Catholic church arranged many
holidays where the peasants would feast which was
sometimes provided by the lord of the manor and
they could socialize with their neighbours. They
danced and sang songs and had a really good time.
Peasants also celebrated a new born baby and
baptism of a child, marriages of family members
and all other important events.
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