what happened on 5th may 1789
- Louis XVI called together an assembly of Estates General in order to pass proposals for new taxes
- The Estates General was a political body to which the Three Estates sent their representatives
- A resplendent hall was prepared to hold delegates
- The 1st and 2nd estates sent 300 representatives who were seated in rows facing each on two sides
- The 600 members of 3rd estate stand at their back
- The 3rd estate were represented by prosperous and educated members
- Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry into the assembly
- Their grievances and demands were listed in around 40,000 letters which the representatives had brought with them
- Earlier, voting in Estates General had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote
- Louis XVI decided to continue the same practice but the members of 3rd estate demanded that voting should be conducted by the assembly as a whole, in which each member had a vote
- When the king rejected the proposal, members of the 3rd estate walked out of the assembly in protest