Economic and Social Conditions in France During the Eighteenth Century.
La France Économique
Siècle, written by Henri Sée, 1927. A description of the economic and political circumstances of France under Louis XIV, XV, and finally, Louis XVI, the ancien regieme.
Prior to the revolution of 1789, France consisted of three estates - the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate. Between them existed barriers that resulted in social discontent. The nobility and clergy were the privileged classes, the burden of paying for the state fell upon the laboring classes.
The Seven Years' War (1754 - 1763) a conflict which France lost, was characterized in Europe by the siege of towns and massacres of the inhabitants, as well as open battles; causing overall the death of more than a million individuals. In 1778, France entered the conflict between the Americans and the British.