ACADEMIC SESSION: 2021-2022

CLASS: IX
SUBJECT: SOCIAL SCIENCE (HISTORY)
NOTES
CHAPTER 1- THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. State the events that led to the formation of the National Assembly.

Ans. The events that led to the formation of the National Assembly can be stated as follows:
(a) The Estates General was a political body of France to which the three estates sent their
representatives. The voting in it had been conducted according to the principle that each estate
had one vote.
(b) This time too when Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General, he decided to continue
the same old practice.
(c) But the members of the Third Estate demanded that voting now be conducted on the democratic
principle of one person, one vote.
(d) When the king rejected this proposal, the members of the Third Estate walked out of the
assembly in protest.
(e) They assembled on 20 June, 1789 in the hall of an indoor tennis court in Versailles. These
representatives of the Third Estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for whole French nation.
They declared themselves a National Assembly.

Q2. How was the French society organized? What privileges did certain sections of the society
enjoy? Describe.
Or
‘Social disparity was one of the major causes of the French Revolution.’ Justify by giving
examples.
Ans. This can be explained as follows:
(a) Division of the society into three Estates:
(i) The First Estate: It consisted of the clergymen and church-fathers.
(ii) The Second Estate: It consisted of landlords, men of noble birth and aristocrats.
(iii) The Third Estate: It consisted of the vast majority of the common masses, the landless
peasants, servants, etc.

(b) Heavy Burden of Taxes on the Third Estate:

(i) The members of the first two Estates were exempted from paying taxes to the state.
(ii) So all the taxes were paid by the people of the Third Estate.

(c) Wide Gap between People of Different Estates:

 (i) Most of the people of the Third Estate were employed as labourers in workshops with
fixed wages.
(ii) The wages failed to keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap between the poor and
rich widened.

(d) No Political Rights:

(i) Out of the total population, the first and the second estates had share of 2%. The
remaining people belonged to the Third Estate.
(ii) Although the upper two classes made up only a small fraction of the total population, yet they
were the people who controlled the political and economic system of the nation.
(iii) They enjoyed all the rights and privileges. The entire machinery of the government was
designed to protect their interests and privileges.
(e) Unequal Distribution of Wealth:
(i) In the French society, peasants made up about 90% of the population. However, only a
small number of them owned the land they cultivated.
(ii) About 60% of the land was owned by nobles, the church and other richer members of the
Third Estate.

Q3. Explain the role of Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s in the French Revolution.
Ans. Their role can be explained as:
(a) Both Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s were great political thinkers.
(b) They were the leaders of the National Assembly which was formed in 1789 after the failure of
the meeting of the Estate General.
(c) Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of
feudal privilege.
(d) He brought out a journal, and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
(e) Abbe’ Sieye’s originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called, ‘What is the Third
Estate?’.

Q4. Explain triangular slave trade carried on during 18th and 19th century.
Ans. This can be explained as follows:
(a) The triangular slave trade was carried between Europe, Africa and America.
(b) The slave trade began in the seventeenth century. French merchants sailed from the ports of
Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains.
(c) Branded and shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage
across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to plantation owners.
(d) The exploitation of slave labour made it possible to meet the growing demand in European
markets for sugar, coffee and indigo.
(e) Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave
trade.

Q5. Explain the events that led to the insurrection of 1792 in France.
Ans. The following events led to the insurrection of 1792 in France:
 (a) Dismantling the Assembly of the Estates and raising of voice by Third Estate for their rights.
(b) The Third Estate was determined to form National Assembly and draft a Constitution for the
nation so that everyone in the country enjoys equal rights.
(c) There was turmoil in France when everyone was busy drafting the constitution at Versailles. This
was due to the bad harvest.
(d) On 14th July, 1789 the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. After this National
Assembly came into power.
(e) France became a Republic: In 1792 the Jacobins held the king hostage and declared to form a new
government. The newly elected Assembly was called the Convention. On 21st September, 1792 it
abolished the monarchy and declared France as a republic.

Q6. Explain how the new political system of Constitutional monarchy in France worked.
Or
Explain any five features of the Constitution drafted in 1791.
Ans. The features are:
(a) The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly,
which was indirectly elected.
(b) With the new Constitution the powers of govern the country were assigned to different
institutions, i.e., the legislature, executive and the judiciary.
(c) The judiciary and the legislature were elected by the people. Only men above 25 years
of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage were given the status
of active citizens, that is, they were entitled to vote.
(d) Under this system the powers of the monarch were limited. Most of the powers were in
the hands of legislatures.
(e) The ministers were also answerable to the legislature. The king enjoyed the veto power.

Q7. What was the role of Jacobins during the French Revolution?
Or
Explain the role of Jacobins in the French Revolution.
Ans. Their role can be explained as follows:
(a) Middle Class: The members of the Jacobins club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections
of the society. They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks,
watch- repairs, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. Their leader was Maximilian
Robespierre.
(b) Different Clothes: A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to
those worn by dock workers. This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society,
especially nobles, who wore knees breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power
wielded by the wearers of knee breeches. These Jacobins came to be known as the sans culottes,
literally meaning — those without knee breeches. Sans culottes men wore in addition the red cap
that symbolized liberty.
 (c) Carrying the Revolution: They were the people who believed that the revolution had to be
carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of
society.
(d) Storming the King’s Palace: In the summer of 1792 the Jacobins planned an insurrection of a
large number of Parisians who were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food. On the
morning of August 10 they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards and
held the king himself as hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal
family.
(e) France became a Republic: Elections were held. From now on all men of 21 years and above,
regardless of wealth, got the right to vote. The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
On 21 September, 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

Q8. How was slavery abolished in France?

Ans. Slavery was abolished in the following manner:
(a) One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime was the abolition of slavery
in the French colonies.
(b) Throughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery in France. The National
Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all French
subjects including those in the colonies. But it did not pass any laws, fearing opposition from
businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade.
(c) It was finally the Convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas
possessions.
(d) This, however, turned out to be a short term measure. Ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced
slavery.
(e) Plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to enslave African Negroes in
pursuit of their economic interests. Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Q9. Explain any five features of the Constitution of 1791 framed by the National Assembly in
France.
Or
Highlight any five features of the constitution of 1791 in France.
Ans. Features of the Constitution of 1791:
(a) It declared France a constitutional monarchy.
(b) Powers of the king separated and assigned to the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
(c) Laws to be made by the National Assembly.
(d) Only men above 25 years of age, who paid taxes equal to atleast 3 days of a labourer’s wage, were
entitled to vote.
(e) Many rights were given to the people.
(f) To qualify as an elector and as member of the Assembly, a man had to belong to highest bracket
of tax payer.
 Q10. Who was Robespierre? Describe any four steps taken by him to bring equality.
Ans. Maximilian Robespierre was the leader of Jacobin Club. The steps taken by him can be described as
follows:
(a) The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a
policy of severe control and punishment.
(b) All those whom he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic-ex-nobles and clergy, members
of other political parties, even members of his own party who did not agree with his
methods were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If the court
found them guilty they were guillotined.
(c) Robespierre government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices. Meat
and bread were rationed. Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it
at prices fixed by the government.
(d) Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.

Q11. Describe the conditions of women during the period of French Revolution.
Ans. Conditions of women during the period of French Revolution are:
(a) From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which brought about major
changes in the French Society.
(b) Most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living as seamstresses or laundresses. They even sold
flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market.
(c) They were employed as domestic servants in the house of prosperous people.
(d) They started their own political clubs and newspapers in order to voice their interests.
(e) They demanded the right to vote to be elected to the Assembly and hold political office.
(f) They did not have access to education or job training. Only daughter wealthier members of the
Third Estate could stay at convent.
(g) Working women had also to take care of their families. Their wages were lower than those of men.
 EXTRA QUESTIONS

Q1. Compare the political, economic and social conditions of France before and after the
revolution.
Ans.

Before Revolution After Revolution

Political Conditions :

France was under the rule of a

(i) France became a Republic.
monarch, Louis XVI.

All the political powers were in the

(ii) Political powers were given to the Third Estate.
hands of the first two Estates.

Economic Conditions :

All the taxes were paid by the people Taxes were levied according the to income
(i)
.of the Third Estates. and wealth. The right to votewas linked to
taxes.

(ii) The government was under heavy debt. The economic condition of government improved.

Social Conditions :

All were given equal rights irrespective of

(i) People of Third Estate were
discriminated. the Estate.

All the written materials and cultural The censorship on written materials and
(ii) activities could be published or performed cultural activities was lifted. Now all were free

only after an approval from the king. to write and speak.

Q2. List the time line of the chapter.
Ans.