Julien Todorov
Interview
Interviewing a member of the third estate.
Why did you decide to revolt?
Well, many things made me want to revolt. The huge income gap, the unfair tax system and, of course, the terrible social structure were just some of the reasons. I would say that the main reason that made us- the people from the third estate revolt was the struggle to buy food and afford the basic goods a person needs to survive.
The terrible was also a big reason for us to be upset with the first and the second estate. We had to carry most of the burden, we paid personal taxes like the taille which was based on the amount of land we owned and many other different types of taxes like the gabelle and the vingtieme. But the most annoying part…show more content… Yes, of course. Well, the main problem about the social hierarchy was that the society was divided into three estates. The first estate was a privileged estate and was comprised of clergy. The clergy was associated with the Catholic Church. The second estate was another privileged estate, which was represented by the nobility. The individuals of this class held the highest positions in the army or the government. The third estate was at the bottom of the social structure and was of course consisted of us.
A bit more about me? I am a 28 year-old fisherman from Paris. I am a single father of two beautiful girls and I would do anything to make them happy.
What is the Tennis Court Oath, and how did it affect…show more content… Because I am a fisherman and I am pretty good at what I do I can still afford food for my kids and me. Most of the workers were starving but, but the nobles definitely weren’t. The third estate makes up most of the population, but still we didn’t get a fair say in anything. The oath happened on the 20th of June 1789, earlier that day the King held a meeting to discuss reforming the economy of France. If I remember right, the votes were even and the meeting didn’t have a final conclusion. The deputies of the Third estate were fed up, and stormed out the hall to create their own National Assembly. Then King Louis XVI locked them out of the meeting hall, which of course didn’t stop our deputies. The National Assembly went behind his back and met in a tennis court. There they created the Tennis Court Oath, which declares the Third estate to meet until the establishment of the constitution of France. That’s how it happened.
I definitely was really happy because this was a huge step for us. I believed that the Third Estate can finally have some power on France and that the National Assembly can make a change within the rule of the government. We all thought that this event represented a new beginning for the Third Estate. As a young fisherman, I couldn’t do much to help at that time, but I was willing to do anything I had