The Ancien Régime: Sociopolitical System
The Ancien Régime was the sociopolitical system before the French Revolution in the 18th century. This essay aims to provide an insight into the political, economic and social aspects of the Old Order in France.
In the political aspect, pre-revolutionary France was ruled by absolute Monarchy. During the Old Order, Kings were regarded as the representatives of God, possessing divine rights and privilege. In particular, King Louis XVI was the final Monarch of France who was guillotined in 1792. Furthermore, the political stratification of the French population was fundamentally a result of the Estates class system – the Clergy, the Nobility and the commoners. The Clergy estate gained its superior social status as the representative of Catholic …show more content…
What is more, a combination of the excessive expenditure by the Royal family and the incapability of the Royal Treasury had been the main reason for the prevailing French financial crisis (Aftalion 2003). As a consequence, the Royal Treasury (or specifically the King and the Nobility) was reliant on the working middle-class and urban workers in the financial sector, with soaring percentages of taxation being implemented on the Third Estate members. The types of Royal tax required to be paid by the commoners included salt tax and land tax. Moreover, the Clergy members had also introduced a 10% ‘tithe’ income tax to the middle-class as a financial supplement for the organisation of various Catholic Church events.
In conclusion, the conditions in France under the Ancien Régime could be studied through understanding the social, political and economic aspects. The political structure was fundamentally shaped by the Estate class system, followed by a social condition based on the Feudal system while the French economic sector essentially relied on the lower-class to
In the political aspect, pre-revolutionary France was ruled by absolute Monarchy. During the Old Order, Kings were regarded as the representatives of God, possessing divine rights and privilege. In particular, King Louis XVI was the final Monarch of France who was guillotined in 1792. Furthermore, the political stratification of the French population was fundamentally a result of the Estates class system – the Clergy, the Nobility and the commoners. The Clergy estate gained its superior social status as the representative of Catholic …show more content…
What is more, a combination of the excessive expenditure by the Royal family and the incapability of the Royal Treasury had been the main reason for the prevailing French financial crisis (Aftalion 2003). As a consequence, the Royal Treasury (or specifically the King and the Nobility) was reliant on the working middle-class and urban workers in the financial sector, with soaring percentages of taxation being implemented on the Third Estate members. The types of Royal tax required to be paid by the commoners included salt tax and land tax. Moreover, the Clergy members had also introduced a 10% ‘tithe’ income tax to the middle-class as a financial supplement for the organisation of various Catholic Church events.
In conclusion, the conditions in France under the Ancien Régime could be studied through understanding the social, political and economic aspects. The political structure was fundamentally shaped by the Estate class system, followed by a social condition based on the Feudal system while the French economic sector essentially relied on the lower-class to