The three social classes (upper, middle, and lower) represent a pressure cooker. ... The first estate is the clergy of the Catholic Church. ... Their marriage was arranged on the basis of power politics. ... Because of high inflation, unemployment, and famine, many of the French people were starving. ... Napoleon died in in 1821 at the age of 51. ...
The four categories are Economic, Political, Social and Intellectual. ... Political deals with a structure or affairs of the French government. ... Since the prices were so high many commoners couldn't even afford to live and this resulted in the commoners playing a significant role in the French Revolution. ... Since the middle ages France has been divided into Three Estates. ... The nobility held many of the top positions in the government, military, law and higher church offices. ...
The Revolution also gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas of the people. ... The First Estate was the Church. ... The bourgeoisie, or the middle class, were by far, the wealthiest. ... Poor farm harvests by farmers hurt the economy, and trade rules from the Middle Ages still survived, making trade difficult. ... These costs greatly increased the national debt, which was, at the time, already too high. ...
