The Peasantry in Rural France

Rural france was entering a crisis in the late eighteenth century, and that would be a decisive factor in the coming revolution. It wasn't rents that drove people into poverty; it was taxes and feudal dues. Many peasants were unable even to provide for their own basic needs. The rral peasantry has a small impact on our story relative to its size, but we shouldn't forget they're there, even if they're often in the background.