Estates of the realm#Third Estate
In a tripartite caste system, as was characteristic example for France since the end of the Middle Ages, those social entities were gathered in the Third Estate, which did not belong to the two (usually privileged ) stands clergy and nobility. So he included all nominally free peasants and citizens.
The Third Estate on the eve of the French Revolution
In France of the Ancien Régime all three classes were represented in the Estates General (French États généraux ), a national assembly, whose main task was to control authorization. The States-General were convened in 1302 for the first time of Philip the Handsome and reached the height of its influence in the 15th century. After that, they lost their significance and were used during the absolutism since 1614 to 1789, the year of the French Revolution to the beginning of the course of the first meeting of the Estates-General contributed decisively for 175 years, is no longer called.
The Third Estate ( tiers état French ) was composed socially very different and included by the upper classes about craftsmen, peasants and laborers to the urban lower classes all persons who did not belong to the first two items. These were in 1789 about 98 % of the population: 25 million compared to 500,000 aristocrats and clerics. These heterogeneous groups of the population were distributed differently to the rural and urban areas, in the cities, the group of small and middle bourgeoisie developed. This bourgeoisie consisted of artisans and merchants. But even the liberal professions such as lawyers, notaries, teachers, and physicians can be categorized here. For the big bourgeoisie included members such as financiers and bankers, fermiers généraux. With their capital they were superior to the nobility, but many of the big bourgeoisie bought into the nobility. Thus there were many social differences within the Third Estate, it was a state ( political- legal), but not a class ( socio- economic).
The urban classes of the third estate were joined by their skepticism about the aristocracy of the ancien régime and their representatives, but they were divided into different groups.
In addition to the factory workers, a numerically small group, there was still wage-earners without permanent employment. You probably formed the most important group of urban popular classes. It consisted, for example, day laborers, office boys, domestic servants of the aristocracy or the bourgeoisie and rural workers and peasants who were looking for a job in the bad times earnings.
The living conditions of the rural population were different. A distinction between serfs (French servage ) and free peasants (French paysan ). The living conditions of the third estate gradually deteriorated in the 18th century.
The population growth in the cities led to price increases and to imbalances of wages and cost of living. In the second half of the 18th century was a tendency to deplete the standing in wage population. The French economy of the 18th century was dominated by agricultural production and this country 's population was about 75 percent of all residents. But contrast, the rural land ownership was only 35 percent, but by the large number of the rural population, the proportion of each farmer was very low or zero. The farmers were owners of a plot, but there were also many landless peasants.
The peasants farmed land that was mostly in the possession of a gentleman (French seigneur ). In the function of the Seigneur often occurred the first and second level on, the clergy and nobility, but with increasing extent, the urban bourgeoisie. The free peasants joined the Seigneur over as tenants or sharecroppers and were asked for the use of the land to periodic cash payments or benefits in kind, while the extent of those feudal burdens was regionally.
In the second half of the 18th century there were only a few serfs in the strict sense, as most farmers were free peasants. Nevertheless, there were class differences in the rural population, in addition to large tenants, leaseholders, sharecroppers and small farmers with land ownership. The mass of day laborers had only their labor power.
The burden on the peasants were often very difficult. Firstly, the royal loads. The farmers or the Third Estate paid the taxes actually alone and these were always continued to rise during the 18th century. Secondly, the church loads because you had to wear a tithe to the clergy. In addition, they had to bear the manorial loads.
In order to avert the threat of national bankruptcy by raising taxes, which - after the rejection of the royal Ansinnens by the nobles notables - could choose only the three Estates General, Louis XVI declared himself. agree on the advice of his finance minister, Jacques Necker with the convocation of the Estates General.
While the Third Estate was granted twice the number of members due to its increased self- awareness and its economic significance, but it was initially unclear whether the Estates General should vote according to objects or per capita basis. A vote by stalls had from the outset means a majority of the nobility and clergy. In a vote by heads of the bourgeoisie could hope to draw parts of the nobility and clergy especially simple to his side.
When Louis XVI. finally did not give the suggestion a vote according to the number, the deputies of the Third Estate declared on 17 June 1789 the National Assembly and sworn in, shall not go apart until a constitution was created for France ( Tennis Court Oath ).
The Third Estate in contemporary journalism
The announcement of the Estates-General had a large number of pamphlets produced, the most famous and influential Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès of the was. Sieyès wrote in the introduction to "Qu'est- ce que le tiers état ? "
In the further course explains Sieyès that the Third Estate was entitled, given its importance alone to represent the will of the nation and form a National Assembly.
Term change
During the 19th century, the term Third Estate refers only to the bourgeoisie. The industrial proletariat enters fourth state to do so.