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The First Estate was a social level in pre-revolutionary [[France]].  It consisted of the clergy, which while only onstituting about 1% of the population controlled 10% of the land.

The '''First Estate''' was a social level in pre-revolutionary [[France]].  It consisted of the "higher" and "lower" clergy, and owned about 10% of the land,<ref>http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture11a.html</ref> upon which no property tax was payable.

Before we condemn this practice, it is helpful to realize that in America, 1% of the population controls 30% of the land.

Their responsibilities included the registration of births, marriages and deaths; collecting [[tithe]]s; they censored books and served as the moral police; ran schools and hospitals; and distributed relief to the destitute.