How Did Sieyès Complaints About The Way France Governed In The 1780s
1017 Words5 Pages
Title of Essay: Please explain the content and context for Sieyès’ complaints about the way France was governed in the 1780s and consider what political impact such grievances had, if any, in the year 1789.
Name of Student: Hannah Wood
Student ID Number: 15322601
Course Name and Number: HI1101/Skills for Historians
Name of Tutor for this Assignment: Tomas Finn (Monday 10-11am and Tuesday 9-10am)
Word Count: 1100
Date of Submission: 11/11/15
What is the Third Estate? Was a political pamphlet by French thinker and clergyman, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès. The pamphlet was published in January 1789 and attacked the clerical and noble privileges of the First and Second Estate. Sieyès argued for equal taxation and representation and against the privileges of the First and Second Estates. The pamphlet inspired an awareness of the problems in French society, and when the demands of the Third Estate were not met, the representatives broke away from the Estates General and declared themselves the National Assembly, which in turn led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Sieyès felt that the Third Estate deserved more power and…show more content… 10% of people were perpetually unemployed in Paris and half of these people had become professional beggars. At a time of crisis, unemployment rose to 50%. Small farmers were hurt as rents had been agreed when prices were high and had fixed long term leases. The harvests of 1788 and 1789 were bad and prices soared, however wages were decreasing. The small peasants couldn’t afford to feed their family as well as pay taxes. City workers faced a scarcity of jobs and rising prices. Violence erupted everywhere. There were food riots as the impoverished third estate were on the brink of starvation. Hundreds died in the streets from hunger and exposure. However the First and Second Estates were not suffering nearly as