Source+C

Homebased Learning! Source C

The Third Estate desires that instead of all the taxes which it is forced to pay, they should be reduced to one, which the Third Estate desires shall be paid equally by Lords, Churchmen and the Third Estate according to the possessions of each.... They beg also that the King should regard his people with pity and liberate them from this miserable scourge of the //gabelle*// which, by its name alone, makes the universe tremble ... The Third Estate also beg His Majesty to lift from us the //banalite#// of ovens and mills; in doing this, Sire, you would liberate your people from a great scourge, because it does happen that, thanks to the //banalite,// a miller can rob a subject, and he dares not object.
 * Preliminary //cahier// (list of grievances) of the parish of Boisse in France in 1788.**


 * a tax on salt
 * 1) the use-for-payment of the lord's mill to grind grain and his oven to bake bread

Type in your answer here:

Source C supports the statement that the French Revolution was due to the deteriorating economic conditions for it can be inferred that the unequal distribution of the many direct and indirect taxes imposed on the people caused widespread unhappiness, and this contributed greatly to help trigger the French Revolution. The fact that the unfair distribution of taxes, which is desired to "be paid equally by Lords, Churchmen and the Third Estate according to the possessions of each", is reflected in the //cahier// of the people reflects the large extent to which the people felt the injustice and unfairness of the //ancien regime.// Furthermore, the people were unhappy with the many taxes which they had to pay, for they wished to be "liberate(d) from...miserable scourge of the gabelle which, by its name alone, makes the universe tremble" as well as from the "banalite of ovens and mills". These can be supported by contextual knowledge, which shows that the First and Second Estates often had privileges denied from the Third Estate. For instance, they were exempted from the //taille,// a direct tax on land or income, while the peasantry and bourgeoisie of the Third Estate were required to pay it in full. Hence, the unfair distribution of the taxes amongst the Estates created resentment among the Third Estate, and this deteriorating economic condition contributed to the triggering of the French Revolution. (Cheah Qinrong, 301)

Source C supports the statement that the French Revolution was due to the deteriorating economic conditions as it reflects the desperation that the third estate members were in because of the overwhelming amounts of taxes. The taxes include gabelle and banalite, which taxed the third estate for their daily necessities such as salt, and overn to bake bread. This put a heavy economic burden on the already poor parish of the third estate. The desperation of the third estate can be seen from the source as they "beg" the king to "pity" them, and to "liberate the from a great scourge". Such tone of despair and earnest request showed the the urgent need for improvement of current situation. According to contextual knowledge, however, the king not only did not realise their request, but also did not solve the problem of skyrocketed food price then, stretching the parish's meagre income and making their lives very difficult. The crushing burden of the taxes were too much for the third estate to bear, especially at a time of economic crisis. Thus, the heavy burden of the taxes and king's inaction to abolish the taxes pushed the third estate into riots and this eventually led to the French Revolution. (karen liu 301)

Source C supports the statement that the French Revolution was due to the deteriorating economic conditions as it states that the people from the third estate had been suffered from the burden of the taxation system. It can be inferred from this statement “liberate your people from a great scourge, because it does happen that, thanks to the banalite, a miller can rob a subject, and he dares not object.” Taxes like a scourge torched the peasants. People were so poor that they even rob when they dared not object. It revealed peasants live in grinding poverty and desperation facing by the peasants. It could be cross-referred to contextual knowledge, from Arthur Young’s view of French peasants, 1787 to 1790. The conversation between them revealed the pathetic peasants’ lives suffered from heavy tax, it said, ‘They only had a morsel of land and they had to pay feudal dues to the lord and very heavy taxes to the king’s tax collector. These taxes are crushing them.’ It confirms that with limited resources and bad harvest, the peasants suffered greatly under the heavy taxes posed by the government. Due to the chaotic and inefficient tax system, the government exploited the peasants. The peasants suffered from deteriorating economic condition and their resentment of the heavy tax system and the inaction of the government triggered off the revolution.

(Chen jiayi 301)