What was the immediate reason for the calling of the Estates General in May 1789?
a. A new tax, according to the feudal system, left over from the middle ages, could only be approved by the estates general. England had gone through this in the 1200’s when the kings of that time wanted special grants of money. In England, things proceeded slowly at first, with the first two estates of clergy and nobles meeting to vote the money and the commons called in later to approve the grant. Later, in England, the commons wanted more to say about things as they voted the money, and the speaker of the commons expressed the commons concern to the king’s government. By contrast, in France, there had not been a meeting of the estates general since the middle ages. So when the royal government tried to dissolve them, they (the estates general) adjourned to a nearby tennis court to meet and take an oath to seek equity. That was the beginning of the French Revolution. “The Oath on the Tennis Court.
