History of tennis royal families of Europe were besieged and real tennis was largely abandoned. Real tennis played a minor role in the history of the French Revolution, through the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge signed by French deputies on a real tennis court, which formed a decisive early step in starting the revolution. In England, during the 18th and early 19th centuries as real tennis declined, three other racquet sports emerged: racquets, squash racquets, and lawn tennis (the modern game). The modern sport is tied to two separate inventions. Between 1859 and 1865, in Birmingham, England, Major Harry Gem, a solicitor, and
Tennis Court Oath oath "". The only person who did not join was Joseph Martin-Dauch from Castelnaudary, who would only execute decisions made by the king. Before the Revolution, French society—aside from royalty—was divided into three estates. The First Estate comprised the clergy; the Second Estate was the nobility. The entire rest of France—some 98% of the population—was the Third Estate, which ranged from very wealthy city merchants to impoverished rural farmers. The three estates met from time to time in the Estates General, a legislative assembly. Although the Third Estate was the overwhelming majority of the French population, the makeup of the