Question

In the context of France, what was ‘tithes’?
(A) A tax levied by the Church
(B) Direct tax levied by the states
(C) The tax levied on the articles of everyday consumption
(D) None of these

Answer 1

Hint: France is one of the oldest nations in the world, the result of an alliance in the middle Ages of duchies and principalities under a single ruler. It is one of the prominent agricultural producers in Europe and one of the leading industrial forces in the world.

Complete answer:
Tithe:
The tithe was a tax, in which one-tenth portion of agricultural produce was paid to the church, collected by clergy. Hence, in the sense of France, 'Tithe' was a religious tax imposed by the church, comprising one-tenth of agricultural produce.
The Difference between the tithe and the taille tax:
Tithe:
The tithe is a one-tenth portion of anything paid to the government as a donation to a charitable group or as a forced fee.
The tithe was determined to be the one-tenth portion of everything.
Taille:
Taille was a direct tax on land.
Taille was levied on each household on the basis of the amount of land owned

Hence, Option A is the correct answer.

Note:
1. The king's seigneurial taille, raised from his territory, was expanded across France during the Hundred Years ' War (1337-1453) to cover costs, and it grew into the royal taille.
2. The taille had become an indispensable source of royal revenue and continued to be obtained by the French kings until the Revolution at an ever-growing pace.
3. Two approaches were used to extract the taille. In the districts of the taille personnelle (i.e., northern France) it was levied on an individual basis; in other districts, it was levied on non-privileged land.