Arthur Young, Plight of the French Peasants

Arthur Young, excerpts from his Travels

[Perry pp. 100-102]

In his travels throughout the French countryside, Englishman Arthur Young

observes the struggles of the Third Estate and blames their deplorable
condition on the negligence of aristocratic and governmental institutions.
The author's perspective
1. As an Englishman: it is reasonable to assume that he is biased against France simply
because of the intense rivalry which existed between that country and Great Britain. However,
he likely offers a more objective assessment than most Frenchmen because he was not directly
involved in the conflict.
2. As an agricultural expert: Eventually appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Young was
intimately acquainted with both the social and economic implications of agriculture in his own
country. Thus, he has enough credibility to be trusted as a valid source about government
policy.

Injustices committed against the French Peasants

He mentions many, including:
1. An unfair tax code which makes the lower classes bear the brunt of the tax burden
2. A unnecessarily harsh legal code
3. Capitaineries, or exclusive hunting rights, which indirectly lead to the decimation of crops
4. A legal system completely ignorant of the Third Estate's concerns

All these atrocities are caused by an oppressive social system

Young traces all the problems back to the institutions of French society: nobility, and
government
Neither, he argues, is connected enough to society to adequately serve the Third Estate
Interestingly enough, he argues that the regionalized system of authority (with the intendents)
actually exacerbates the oppressiveness of government
He quickly realizes that these obsolete vestiges of a feudal system, long since eliminated across
the Channel, were leading France on a path to destruction