Chapter-1

The French Revolution

1. 14th July 1789

2. The troops

3. Rumours spread in Paris that king had commanded his troops to move in the city
and he would soon order the troops to open fire upon the citizens.

4. Some 7000 men and women

5. In search of arms and hoarded ammunition

6. In search of hoarded ammunition

7. Seven

8. Because it stood for the despotic power of the king.

9. Those who wished to keep the souvenir of its destruction.

10. Louis XVI

11. The king belonged to the bourbon family.

12. 20 years old when he became the king of France.

13. He was married to Marie Antoniette.

14 He found an empty treasury.

15. France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain independence.

16. The term Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of
France before 1789.

17. 90%.

18. The tax taken by the churches from peasants was called tithes.

19. Clergy and Nobility.

20. Taille

21. The third estate alone had the burden of taxes.

22. The services rendered by the peasants are – to work in his house and fields, to
serve in the army or to participate in building roads.

23. 23 million

24. 28 million

25. Bread

26. An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered is
called subsistence crisis.

27. John Locke sought to refute the Doctrine of Divine and absolute right of the
monarch.

28. He gave the idea that there should be a relation between people and their
representatives.

29. Montesquieu gave the idea of the division of power within the government
between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

30. The ideas of the philosophers were discussed in salons and coffee houses.

31. Because he had to call the estates general to pass the proposal for new taxes.

32. In 1614

33. On 5th May 1789

34. A resplendent hall in Versailles was prepared to host the delegates.

35. 300.

36. The representatives of the first and the second estates were seating in rows
facing each other on two sides.

37. 600

38. The representatives of the third estate.

39. The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated members.

40. Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly.

41. 40000 letters containing the grievances and demands of those who could not
come.

42. On the principle that each estate had one vote.

43. The representatives of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted
by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote.

44. The members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest.

45. The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the
whole French Nation.

46. They assembled on 20th June on the ground of Versailles.

47. The newly elected National Assembly swore that they would not disperse till
they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the
monarch.

48. Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.

49. Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away
with a society of feudal privilege.

50. Mirabeau brought a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds
assembled at Versailles.

51. Abbe Sieyes was a priest.

52. “What is the third estate” was an influential pamphlet written by Abbe Sieyes.

53. In drafting constitution at Versailles.

54 Severe winter

55. After spending hours in long queues at bakery, crowds of angry women stormed
into the shops.

56. Bastille was stormed by the agitated crowd on 14th July 1789.
57. In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of manor
had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.

58. Peasants

59. Peasants

60. The peasants looted the hoarded grain.

61. The peasants burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.

62. A large number of nobles fled from their homes and many of them migrated to
neighbouring countries.

63. Louis XI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the
principle that his powers would from now be checked by a constitution.

64. The assembly abolished the feudal system of obligation and taxes by passing a
decree on the night of 4th August 1789.

65. Clergy

66. Lands owned by church were confiscated.

67. 1791.

68. The main object of the constitution was to limit the powers of the monarch.

69. Powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now
separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, the executive and
the judiciary.

70. Powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now
separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, the executive and
the judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy.

71. Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the National Assembly.

72. Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a
labourers wage were given the status of Active Citizens, that is, they were entitled
to vote.
73. The remaining men and all women who did not pay taxes equal to at least 3 days
of a lobourers wage were given the status of Passive Citizens.

74. To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the National Assembly, a man
had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers.

75. The constitution of France began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man &
Citizen.

76. Rights such the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality
before law, were established as “Natural & Inalienable” rights, that is, they
belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.

77. State

78. The broken chain stands for the act of becoming free.

79. It means that one rod can be easily broken, but not an entire bundle. Strength lies
in unity.

80. The all – Seeing Eye stands for knowledge. The rays of the sun will drive away
the clouds of ignorance.

81. Sceptre.

82. It is a symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end.

83. It was the cap worn by a slave upon becoming free.

84. Blue, White and Red are the National Colours of France.

85. It means that law is same for all, and all are equal before it.

86. After signing the constitution, Louis XVI entered into secret negotiations with
the king Prussia.

87. The National Assembly declared war against Prussia & Austria.

88. The National Assembly declared war against Prussia & Austria in April 1792.

89. The rulers of other neighbouring countries were worried by the developments in
France because they thought that like the citizens of France their citizens might also
revolt.
90. The kings of the neighbouring countries had planned to send troops to put down
the events that had been taking place in France since the summer of 1789.

91. Roget de L’isle.

92. The Volunteer who came to join the army sang Marseillaise for the first time
while marching towards Paris from Marseilles.

93. France.

94. While the men were away fighting at the front, women were left to cope with
tasks of earning a living and looking after the families.

95. The constitution of 1791 in France gave political rights only to richer sections of
society.

96. Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to
discuss government policies and plan their own forms of actions.

97. Jacobin Club

98. St. Jacob

99. The women had been active throughout the period. They formed their own
political clubs.

100. The members of the Jacobin Club were belonged mainly to the less prosperous
sections of society like small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry
cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily wage workers.

101. Maximilian Robespierre

102. A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped
trousers similar to those worn by dock workers.

103. The Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those
without knee breeches.

104. Sans-culottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolized liberty.

105. The women were not allowed to wear red cap.

106. In the morning of August 10 they stormed the palace of Tuileries, massacred
the king’s guards and held the king himself as hostage for several hours.

107. The assembly voted to imprison the royal family.

108. Convention.

109. On 21 September 1792

110. A republic is a form of government where the people elect the government
including the head of the government.

111. Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason.

112. Louis XVI was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde on 21st January
1793.

113. The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the reign of terror.

114. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.

115. Robespierre saw ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political parties, even
members of his own party who did not agree with his methods as being enemies of
the republic.

116. Those whom Robespierre saw as being enemies of the republic were arrested,
imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If the court found them
guilty, they were guillotined.

117. Guillotine was a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a
person was beheaded.

118. Dr. Guillotine

119. The device got its name by Dr. Guillotine who invented it.

120. The peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at
prices fixed by the government.

121. The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden.

122. All citizens were required to eat the pain d’egalite (equality bread), a loaf made
of whole wheat.
123. Equality was also sought to be practiced through forms of speech and address.

124. Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men
& women were henceforth called Citoyen & Citiyenne (citizen).

125. The buildings of the churches were converted into barracks and offices.

126. Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began
to demand moderation.

127. Robespierre was convicted by court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day
sent to the guillotine.

128. Middle classes

129. After the fall of the Jacobin Government the new constitution denied the non-
propertied sections of society right to vote.

130. The new constitution provided for two elected legislative councils.

131. Directory.

132. Five

133. The directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to
dismiss them.

134. The political instability of the directory paved the way for the rise of a military
dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

135. From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which
brought so many changes in the French society.

136. Most women of the third estate had to work for a living.

137. The women involved in the revolution hoped that their involvement would
pressurize the revolutionary government.

138. The women worked as seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and
vegetables at market or were employed as domestic servants in the houses of
prosperous people.

139. Most women did not have access to education or job training.
140. Only the daughters of nobles or wealthier members of the third estate could
study at a convent, after which their families arranged a marriage for them.

141. Working women had also to care for their families, that is, cook, fetch water,
queue up for bread and look after their children.

142. Women started their own political clubs and newspapers in order to discuss
and voice their interests.

143. About sixty women’s clubs came up in different French cities.

144. The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Woman was the most famous
women’s club.

145. One of the main demands of the women was that women enjoy the same
political rights as men.

146. Women were disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to
Passive Citizens.

147. The women wanted the right to vote, to be elected to the assembly and to hold
political ofiice.

148. Together with opening of the state schools, schooling was made compulsory for
all girls.

149. In early years the revolutionary government introduced laws to improve the
lives of women.

150. The girls could no longer be forced into a marriage against their will by their
fathers.

151. Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under
civil law. Divorce was made legal.

152. Divorce now could be applied for by both men and women.

153. Women could now train for job, could become artists or run small businesses.

154. During the reign of terror the new government issued laws ordering closure of
the women’s clubs and banning their political activities.

155. Many prominent women were arrested and many of them were executed.
156. Women’s movements for voting rights and equal wages continued through the
next two centuries in many countries in the world.

157. The fight for vote was carried through an International Suffrage Movement
during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.

158. The example of the political activities of the French women was kept alive as an
inspiring memory.

159. In 1946

160. One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin Regime was the
abolition of slavery in French colonies.

161. The colonies in the Caribbean – Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo
were important suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee.

162. The reluctance of Europeans to go and work in distant and unfamiliar lands
meant a shortage of labour on the plantations.

163. Seventeenth century.

164. The slave trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas is known as the
triangular slave trade.

165. The French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux and Nantes to the
African coast where they bought slaves from local chieftains.

166. Branded and shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for three
months long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.

167. The plantation owners bought the slave from the French merchants in the
Caribbean.

168. The growing demand in European markets for sugar, coffee and indigo was
met by the exploitation of slave labour.

169. Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owned their economic prosperity to the
flourishing slave trade.

170. The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man
should be extended to all French subjects including those in the colonies.
171. The convention

172. Napoleon Bonaparte

173. The plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to
enslave African Negros in pursuit of their economic interests.

174. In 1848.

175. The revolutionary governments took it upon themselves to pass the laws that
would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.

176. One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of Bastille in
the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship.

177. The Declaration of the rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech
and expression to be a natural right.

178. “Freedom of Press” means that opposing views of events can be expressed.

179. Plays, songs and festive processions attracted a large number of people.

180. Napoleon Bonaparte

181. Napoleon Bonaparte set out to conquer neighbouring European countries,

dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed member of his
family.

182. Napoleon saw his role as a modernizer of Europe.

183. Napoleon introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and
a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.

184. Many people saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the
people.

185. Soon the Napoleonic Armies came to be viewed as an invading force.

186. 1815.

187. The revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws had an impact on people
long after Napoleon had left.
188. The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of
the French Revolution.

189. Tipu Sultan and Raja Ram Mohan Roy