Q. Consider the following statements with respect to the French Revolution:

1. At the time of French Revolution, Habsburg kings were ruling France.
2. Before the French Revolution, French society was divided into three estates.
3. Before the French Revolution, both clergy and state levied taxes on common people.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Only 2 and 3
Notes: In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France. Bourbon dynasty had been ruling France for a while. Louis XVI was a very powerful Bourbon King. So, statement 1 is incorrect. The term Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789.The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. Rest of the population, which was more than 90% of the total, belonged to the third estate, which included big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artists, landless labourers, servants etc. So, statement 2 is correct. The Church extracted its share of taxes called tithe from the peasants, and all the members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included a direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco. So, statement 3 is correct.