 This was a consequence of the fact that peasants and, to a lesser extent, the "bourgeoisie", were burdened with ruinously high taxes levied to support wealthy aristocrats and their sumptuous lifestyles.Historians explain the sudden collapse of the Ancien Régime as stemming in part from its rigidity.Aristocrats were confronted by the rising ambitions of merchants, tradesmen, and prosperous farmers, who were allied with aggrieved peasants, wage-earners, and intellectuals influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers.