Third Estate

Auguste Couder: <em>Opening of the Estates-General, May 5, 1789</em>Opening of the Estates-General, May 5, 1789, oil on canvas by Auguste Couder, 1839; in the Museum of the History of France, Palace of Versailles.

Third Estate, in French history, with the nobility and the clergy, one of the three orders into which members were divided in the pre-Revolutionary Estates-General. It represented the great majority of the people, and its deputies’ transformation of themselves into a National Assembly in June 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Heather Campbell.
Citation Information
Article Title: Third Estate
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 22 April 2016
Access Date: February 21, 2025