Western Civilization II / Unit 7 WC2 0603 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Two Hundred Thousand Nobles and a Third of the Land
Captions available
The idea
About two hundred thousand nobles in a population of twenty-six million, the anchor's count, held every senior post in administration, army, navy and church, about a third of the land outright, and lordly rights over most of the rest. They blocked every reform that would have taxed them.
In practice
Versailles's pageantry continued while the treasury emptied.
Where people slip
Privilege, not poverty, is the anchor's cause.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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