Outbreak of the Revolution (1789)
- Old Regime: French society divided into Three Estates:
- First Estate (Clergy) and Second Estate (Nobility) enjoyed birth privileges and tax exemption.
- Third Estate ($97\%$ population - peasants, merchants) bore the entire tax burden (Tithe to Church, Taille to State).
- Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789): Paris citizens stormed the fortress-prison Bastille, symbolizing the fall of absolute monarchical tyranny.
