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→France: Removed exaggeration re guillotine
===France===
===France===
The French Revolution is the most famous in all of world history. It started out with the hope and promise of the American Revolution, but ended up with nearly everyone being executed by the guillotine. There was a “Reign of Terror” which was exactly what it name implies: terrifying chaos when anyone and everyone could be killed at any time, for any reason or no reason at all.
The French Revolution is the most famous in all of world history. It started out with the hope and promise of the American Revolution, but ended up with thousands of people being executed by the guillotine. There was a “Reign of Terror” which was exactly what it name implies: terrifying chaos when anyone could be killed at any time, for any reason or no reason at all.
In its Old Regime prior to the revolution, France had three tiers or levels in its social system: the First, Second and Third Estates. The First Estate was only 1% of the population but it controlled 10% of the land. This was the clergy and they paid no taxes. To be fair, however, much of this land was church land made available to the public, and clergy do not pay any taxes today in the United States either. The Second Estate was only about 2% of the population but they controlled 20% of the land. This was the landed nobility, and they paid very little in taxes. The Third Estate was everyone else: the peasants, the merchants and the laborers, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch, King Louis XVI. Recall that taxes were a major cause of the American Revolution also.
In its Old Regime prior to the revolution, France had three tiers or levels in its social system: the First, Second and Third Estates. The First Estate was only 1% of the population but it controlled 10% of the land. This was the clergy and they paid no taxes. To be fair, however, much of this land was church land made available to the public, and clergy do not pay any taxes today in the United States either. The Second Estate was only about 2% of the population but they controlled 20% of the land. This was the landed nobility, and they paid very little in taxes. The Third Estate was everyone else: the peasants, the merchants and the laborers, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch, King Louis XVI. Recall that taxes were a major cause of the American Revolution also.