What was the political issues in france in the 18th century?
I’m doing the Musical ‘Les Miserables’ for musical theatre, and we have an assignment that has many questions such as:
What was the political issues in france in the 18th century?
The education in the 18th century.
What was the living conditions and job roles in the 18th century?
Male and female roles in the 18th century?
Major events that influenced the nature of the poor in France in this period.
If anyone can help with these questions it will be greatly appreciated.
Les Mis is such a great show!
Well, for political issues- the issue was what to do with the government. A lot of political turmoil occurred in France in the 18th century. Namely, the aristocracy was overthrown (including the monarchy- Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette) and then the government went through a few radical changes. A lot of blood was spilled, quite a few heads were severed, and eventually a Republic was set up. Les Mis, however, takes place during the 19th century (in 1815) during a subsequent French Revolution.
Education in the 18th century was not standardized, was not given to the peasantry, and was not offered to the majority of female children. (though there were some exceptions) The aristocracy and the citizens related to the church were offered an education. There was a large gap between the peasantry and the aristocracy and thus, a merchant class didn’t have much access to education either.
- living conditions were quite bad in France if you were not aristocracy. There were famines throughout the 18th century, which fed the fires of revolution. Peasants worked for very small wages, were not allowed to hunt, and barely grew enough food to pay themselves. They paid very, very high taxes for almost everything. They also paid based on number of people per house which was sometimes very high. (no birth control back then)
Jobs: there were three levels of society: The Church ( priests,etc.), the Aristocracy (noble birth), and the peasants. Later, another class called the bourgeoise would emerge. This would be the middle class that would take control of France (until napoleon)
Male/Female roles: traditional. Women were not educated by and large.
Hope that helps some. Check Wiki!