Stage 1: Reign of Louis XVI
We gathered at the Palace of Versailles, and sat amongst King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Controller-General, the Clergy, the Noble Lords and us peasants. The King and Queen sat at their thrones, and everyone else sat in their spots, as we peasants sat on the floor next to our lord. We spent our time producing as much tithe (also known as taxes of France) as we could while the rest of the Estates sat, watched, or walked around saying "encouraging" words. When we were done we gave all of our tithe to our lord. Then the General came around and collected. Our lord kept the most of it, and split the rest of the earnings between the three of us peasants. Little by little we saw our food disappear. At the end, each of us peasants got six earrings at the most when we produced around seventy.
Being a Peasant is a life full of inequality. None of us chose to be poor and live in this Monarchy government. But we still work hard for this unbalanced lifestyle so that we, and most importantly, our families do not go hungry. The church has the most power AND money and pay no taxes. We peasants own nothing, have no power, and pay the MOST taxes. Having a society like this is easy for the 1st and 2nd estate because they get to sit back and get everything handed to them on a golden platter. But it's hard for the 3rd estate because they are the one's putting in work for 1st and 2nd estate's needs. We Peasants work the hardest but get the least. While the First and Second Estates sit around, we work for their pleasure. And at the end of the day we barely get anything for ourselves.
The picture on the left represents how the French Monarchy actually works. On the bottom is third estate. He is carrying 1st and 2nd on his back, symbolizing how 3rd estate are the weakest but still do all the work in the society. As you can see, the peasant is not dressed as fancy as the two men he is carrying on his back. It is that way because he is the poorest out of the three. The two estates on his back look very pleased to sit back and do nothing as the 3rd estate struggles to even stand. Although he looks very tired, he would do anything for the two because, they give him very little, which to him, is much better than getting nothing at all.
The picture on the right shows peasants working. All day, from when the sun comes up until you see the moon up. There is no other estates to be seen, at least not out of their houses clearly. They are probably inside doing something to entertain their rich lifestyle. You even see a mother laying on the ground with blankets, as if that was her bed spot, trying to entertain her child. Children look like they are also helping. You would never see any children from another estate do such things.
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Stage 2: The National Assembly
This time we all sat with a certain group according to our Estates. Of course the king and queen sat at their thrones, the controller- general sat by himself next to them, and first estate sat on the left side of the room, the second estate sat on the right, and we, 3rd estate STOOD in the back of the room. We were not allowed to sit for any reason but everyone else got to. Looking around the room, it was obvious that third estate was the biggest. King Louis XVI stood and we sat up and kneeled before him. He gave his speech and he said that there was a famine and he was open to any suggestions and that he'll think about if he would actually accept it or not. We all applauded after he finished his speech. We went our separate ways to the estate we belonged to combine ideas to present to the king. We the 3rd Estate, decided to vote by head, because we had the most people in our estate and that we already have the most to pay although we are the poorest. We made a little banner that had a symbol and slogan representing our idea. One by one, each estate had a representative of their estate to kneel down and present their idea to King Louis. Of course the 1st and 2nd estate decided to vote by order so that they can keep their privileges and especially their money. They made excuses that it was not fair to vote by head because there is a lot of us. But then it is NOT fair that they pay no taxes and THEY are the richest. They had to somewhat team up so that they would win two against one for the vote. It felt good to see our representative go up and present our vote. Whether we win or not, it felt like for the first time we had a voice to let them know we ARE apart of this society. But unsurprisingly King Louis kept the vote by order. It did not feel right to see these estates blinded by their own selfishness to let the poor pay the most taxes just so they can keep living their lavish lifestyles. It felt like we peasants had no control over anything. It was as if anything we say wouldn't matter even if we said it out loud or not. Because we have no power against the first and second estate even though we have the most people. No matter what, it seemed like 1st and 2nd estate will always get the better "prize" which is more equality. And we choose equality over anything else. In reality, we were locked out of the meeting of the Estates general and had to meet at the Tennis Courts for the Tennis Court Oath which was a promise to meet until they changed the constitution. We broke into the Bastille because of all the gunpowder hidden in there, which is later known as the Storming of Bastille. The March of Versailles was when an angry mob of armed women marched around Versailles.
Stage 3: Reign of Terror
Like always the king and queen sat at their thrones and the Controller-General sat by them, the rest of the estates were scattered around the room in the rows of seats. But there was a cemetery in the back of the room. Again. King Louis makes a speech about the financial crisis and wants more suggestions. This time, the same people that played peasants were now Commoners. We all applauded after his speech. We then discussed with our fellow members of possible solutions to present to the king. After that, one by one a random person was selected to kneel before him and propose his or her solution. About seven people came up and announced their proposal and every single suggestion was vetoed by the King. Then Robespierre stood up and announced dramatically that the king does not actually care for us and that we should put King Louis on trial. Everyone agreed to his idea, except of course King Louis and a few others. Later on he was executed on the guillotine. Anyone else that supported the king was known as a traitor and also executed. We were all happy to know that everyone that made our lives harder were gone forever! We felt no sympathy for the King, the first and second estate and ESPECIALLY for the queen. She had put us through hell, just so she can gamble, host luxurious balls live lavishly with her ugly head dresses. We, a new member of the Jacobins, then talked to people around us about the new Radical Republic. It seemed that anything someone said could cost our life. We were all scared seeing innocent people dying, it could've been our lives taken away from us if the wrong person heard. The Committee of Public Safety formed the government in France during the Reign of Terror. Almost 40,000 French women and men were executed, most were innocent and some were even Robespierre's friends. Soon after, the French realized that Robespierre was being unreasonable and he also was executed. We then gathered at the National Assembly. After the execution of Robespierre, Napoleon Bonaparte then became ruler of France.
The guillotine was a device used to behead people. It consists of a tall, upright frame in which a weighted and angled blade is raised to the top and suspended. It was used a lot during the Reign of Terror