The States General of 1789 arrive at the school
Last week, the 4th grade ESO students were invited by the French King Louis XVI to participate in the meeting of the States General that took place in Paris in May 1789 and which, exceptionally, was able to be recreated from new to our school. After the students in each class were divided according to the social estates of the 18th century (nobility, clergy, and third estate), each of them went down to the assembly hall and sat down according to the group they belonged to. So the king's chamberlain received them and indicated where they should stand. Afterwards, the same personage gave entrance to the king, for which the whole audience stood up.
As had happened years before, the king exposed to his subjects the problem France had with finances, state coffers that were empty due to the many wars in which France had been participating. To be able to move forward and not be beaten by the other European countries, France needed to have more money, so the king asked the advice of each estate about 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 in which France found itself. In the new audience they had with the king, the estates explained the agreements they had reached and proceeded to vote. Was the king's proposal to raise taxes on the whole society accepted, as he and his ministers requested? Or was it rejected and alternatives had to be sought? History will help you uncover the unknown...
