Estates-General was a French representative assembly that met irregularly between 1302 and 1789. It consisted of the delegates of three groups called estates. The first estate was the clergy, the second the nobility, and the third the common people. The Estates-General came into being as French kings began to invite leaders from each of the three estates to meet and discuss financial matters. The assembly never won the power to make laws, nor did it ever establish itself permanently.
The Estates-General was summoned repeatedly in the late 1500’s, during the Wars of Religion—a series of civil wars between French Catholics and Protestants. However, King Henry IV, who ruled from 1589 to 1610, never called the Estates. Under his son Louis XIII, the Estates met only once, in 1614. The Estates-General was not called again until May 1789, shortly before the start of the French Revolution. That year, the government was almost bankrupt, and King Louis XVI could borrow more money or raise taxes only by calling a meeting of the Estates-General.
The royal government, in response to popular pressure, asked the French people to elect delegates to the Estates-General and to prepare lists of grievances along with suggestions for reforms. The government granted the third estate, which represented more than 95 percent of the people, twice as many delegates as each of the other estates. However, the third estate also demanded that all delegates receive the right to vote individually, rather than each estate receiving one vote. The king and the first and second estates resisted this demand.
On June 17, 1789, the third estate declared itself the National Assembly of France. It was soon joined by representatives of the other two estates. On June 20, the members of the new Assembly found themselves locked out of their meeting room. They then met on an indoor tennis court and swore that they would not disband until they had written a constitution for France. This vow became known as the Oath of the Tennis Court. Eventually, King Louis realized that he had to accept popular pressure for change, and the National Assembly gained control of France.
