3.1- The Three Estates
Revolutions
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Venal Office and Upward Mobility
- In pre-revolutionary France, venal offices (government positions that could be purchased) offered a path to upward mobility for the bourgeoisie.
- Many of these offices came with privileges like ennoblement (often after a few generations or immediately for certain positions, such as King's Secretary) and tax exemptions.
- These offices became a form of property themselves, increasing in price with demand from the expanding bourgeoisie.
- For those at the top of the third estate who could live off investments and rents, buying a venal office was often a stepping stone to joining the second estate (the nobility).
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