The Third Estate: An Evaluation-Emily

Before the French Revolution or during the Old/Ancien Regime society was divided into three estates: the first Estate which consisted of the Clergy, The second Estate which consisted of the Nobles and the Third and lowest Estate which was made up of everyone else who lived then. The third Estate was the worst Estate to live in because of the unfair tax system and harsh living conditions.

Many of the people who lived in the Third estate were treated poorly by the other two estates. They had harsh living conditions and many of them were sad and they did not want to live the life that they were living. They were not allowed to do/be everything that the other two estates could do. They were not treated as equals in the eyes of the government and they did not have as many rights as the first and second estate. The third estate had to pay taxes to the government and the other two estates did not. They worked hard for the money that they got and they had to give everything they earned away. This happened for many years until Napoleon Bonaparte made something called the “Napoleonic Code” which made it so that everyone had to pay them. This gave everyone a taste of equality and made a lot more things equal which also was a big part in the French Revolution.