Sansculottes is who? What is this estate?

The Great French Revolution of 1789 left a significant mark in European history. Participants in revolutionary action were different sections of the population of France, including sansculottes. This word, probably, was heard by few of the people in our country. Not all teachers of history will immediately be able to say who it is.

The meaning of the word "sansculottes"

In French, the word is written as sans-culottes. What kind of mysterious unique personality? Sansculottes - this is the name of representatives of the so-called "third estate." Non-noble people in the time of the French Revolution were especially revolutionary in relation to the monarchy, therefore they were often the most active in the events. According to the social status, the "third estate" in the 18th century included artisans and the petty bourgeoisie. It was these layers of French society that at that time bore the name "sansculottes".

The name comes from the style of clothing

The French historical tradition provides for each social layer a certain style of clothing. Based on this, we will try to understand the origin of this word. Representatives of the elite of the French society (men) in virtually all the paintings are depicted in the "culottes." These are short, narrow pants, which only the representatives of the upper classes had the right to wear.

Accordingly, persons who do not have a special legal status (belonging to a certain high class were necessarily documented), could not wear such pants. They usually wore long pants.

The role of the sansculottes in the revolution

Sansculottes are the most active participants in the uprising. It was they who were able to break into the Armory on July 14, 1789, where they were able to procure more than 30,000 muskets. For revolutionary forces, weapons were vital, so the question that the sansculottes solved was extremely important. The seizure of so many muskets largely determined the success of most of the future actions of the revolutionaries.

It was the sansculottes, who distributed the captured weapons between the divisions, organized the capture of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. In addition, the "third estate" was the base for the formation of the National Guard. The storming of the Tuileries Palace also organized sansculottes. This event, as is known, led to the fall of the monarchy in France.

When forming local self-government bodies, representatives of the monarchical elite could certainly not receive important posts, therefore, the craftsmen, the poor and the petty bourgeoisie became the social basis for selecting candidates for these structures.