Ancien Regime 【HOT】

This group held the highest positions in government, the military, and the courts. They owned about 25% of the land and enjoyed significant tax exemptions and the right to collect feudal dues from peasants.

Politically, the Ancien Régime was defined by the "Divine Right of Kings." The monarch, most notably Louis XIV (the "Sun King"), centralized power to an extreme degree. By housing the nobility at the Palace of Versailles, the crown stripped them of regional power, turning them into courtiers dependent on royal favor. However, this centralization created a bottlenecked bureaucracy that was slow to react to national crises. The Catalyst for Collapse ancien regime

Making up 98% of the population, this group included wealthy bourgeois merchants, urban workers, and rural peasants. Despite their numbers and economic contribution, they bore the brunt of the nation's taxation and had virtually no political voice. Political Absolute Monarchy This group held the highest positions in government,

Massive debt from wars (including support for the American Revolution) and a series of poor harvests led to widespread famine and skyrocketing bread prices. By housing the nobility at the Palace of