The Estates General of 1789 arrive at school
Last week, the students of 4th ESO were summoned by the French King Louis XVI to participate in the meeting of the Estates General that took place in Paris in May 1789 and that, exceptionally, could be recreated again in our school. After the students of each class were divided according to the classes of 18th century society (nobility, clergy and third estate), each of them went down to the assembly hall and sat according to the group to which they belonged. Thus, the king's chamberlain received them and indicated where they should sit. Immediately afterwards, the same character gave entrance to the king, for which the entire audience stood up.
As had happened years before, the king explained to his subjects the problem that France had with its finances, state coffers that were empty due to the numerous wars in which France had been participating. In order to move forward and not be defeated by other European countries, France needed to have more money, so the king asked for the advice of each estate on the situation. For this reason, the estates drew up a memorial of grievances in which they had to explain to the king what their proposals were to get out of the difficulty that France was in. In the new audience they had with the king, the estates presented the agreements they had reached and proceeded to vote. Was the king's proposal to raise taxes on all of society accepted, as he and his ministers requested? Or was it rejected and was it necessary to look for alternatives? History will help you uncover the unknowns...
