French Revolution Notes

Q1.On ascending the throne of France, Louis XVI found the treasury was empty. Why was
the treasury empty?
Ans. Causes for empty treasury:
(i) The financial resources of France had drained to the long years of war.
(ii) The high cost of maintaining extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles.
(iii) France had helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from
Britain.
Q.2 Which three causes led to the ‘subsistence crisis’ in France during the Old Regime?
Ans. Causes for subsistence
(i) The population of France increased from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.
This led to the increase in demand for food grains.
(ii) When the production of food grains could not keep pace with the growing demand,
the price of bread which was the staple food increased rapidly.
(iii) On the other hand, wages could not keep pace with the rise in prices.
(iv) At the time of drought or hail, harvest reduced and things got worse.
(v) Thus, the gap between the poor and the rich widened and this led to the
subsistence crisis.

Q.3.Describe the middle class.

Ans:
(i) The middle class was a social group that emerged in France in the 18th century.
(ii) This class made money through an expanding overseas trade and manufacturing
goods like wollen and silk textiles.
(iii) The middle class consisting of merchants, manufacturers, professionals like
lawyers and administrative officials.
(iv) All these people were educated and believed that no group in society should be
privileged by birth and a person’s position in society should be based on his merit.

Q.4.How did philosophers influence the thinking of the people of France?

Ans.
(i) Philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau put forward ideas
envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all.
(ii) In ‘Two Treatises of Government’ , John Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the
divine and absolute rights of the monarch.
(iii) His ideas were carried forward by Rousseau as he was proposing a form of
government based on social contract between the people and their representatives
in his book ‘Social Contract’.
(iv) In ‘The Spirit of the Laws’, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the
government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
(v) The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-
houses and were spread among people through books and newspapers.

Q.5.What were the main causes of the French Revolution?

Ans: The following are the causes of the French Revolution:
(i) Despotic rule of Louis XVI: He became the ruler of France in 1774. He had
drained the financial resources of France in wars. For the cost of his regular
extravagant expenses, he increased taxes which were paid by the third estate.
 (ii) Division of French society: The French society was divided into three estates;
first, second and third estates, respectively. Among them, First and Second
Estates had 10% of the total population and were the clergy and nobles. They
enjoyed all privileges. Rest of the 90% was of the third estate, which paid all
kinds of direct or indirect taxes. This kind of discrimination led to the
revolution by the third estate.

(iii) Rising prices: The population of France had increased. This resulted in more
demand for food grains. So, the price of bread rose rapidly, which the poor
could not afford to buy. This resulted the gap between the rich and poor.

(iv) Inspiration of the philosophers: Philosophers like John Locke, Jean Jacques
Rousseau and Montesquieu propagated the ideas of having a society where
people would enjoy freedom, equal laws and equal opportunities. Their ideas
inspired the people of France to realise their dreams.

(v) Role of the middle class: The 18th century witnessed the emergence of social
groups termed as the middle class, who earned their wealth through an
expanding trade of the manufactured goods, being exported. There were other
professionals also like lawyers, administrative officials who were all educated.
They believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.

Q.6.Write about 1789 Estate General?

Ans:
(i) The Estate General was a political body to which the three estates sent their
representatives.
(ii) Louis XVI called an assembly of the Estates General to pass his proposals to
increase taxes on 5th May 1789.
(iii) The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated
in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 members of the third
estate had to stand at the back.
(iv) The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated
members only while peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the
assembly.
(v) Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to
the principle that each estate had one vote and same practice to be
continued this time.
(vi) But members of the third estate demanded individual voting rights, where
each member would have one vote.
(vii) After rejection of this proposal by the king, members of the third estate
walked out of the assembly in protest.

Q.7. Write a note about the National Assembly.(or) What was the ‘Tennis Court
Oath’?

Ans.
(i) The 3rd estate people assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court on
20 June 1789 and declared themselves as the National Assembly.
(ii) They swore not to disperse until they had drafted a constitution which
would limit the powers of the monarch.
(iii) They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.
(iv) Thus, they helped in the awakening of the French people to revolt against
the oppression by the privileged classes and this ultimately led to the
French Revolution.
 Q.8.How was the National Assembly recognized and how did it start exercising its
power?
Ans.
(i) Faced with revolting people, Louis XVI recognized the National Assembly
and accepted that his powers would from now on be checked by the
constitution.
(ii) On the night of August, 1789, the Assembly passed the law for abolishing
feudal system of obligations and taxes, the clergy members were also forced
to give up their privileges.
(iii) Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were seized and all
this resulted in acquiring assets worth at least 2 billion livers.

Q.9. Describe how the new political system of constitutional monarchy worked
practice in France.
Ans.
(i) The constitution of 1791 had given power to make laws to the National
Assembly.
(ii) The right to vote was given to 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, i e.,they were entitled to vote.
(iii) The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens .
(iv) Highest taxpayers will get a chance to become an elector or a member of the
assembly.

Q.10.Write a short note on national and inalienable rights(Declaration of rights).

Ans.
(i) The constitution of France began with a Declaration of the Rights of Men
and Citizens.
(ii) Rights such as right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality
before law were established as national and inalienable rights.
(iii) These rights belong to each human being by birth and could not be taken
away.
(iv) It is the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s national rights.

Q.11.List the successful achievements of the National Assembly from 1789-1791.

Ans.
(i) Adoption of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
(ii) Abolished Feudal system and reduced the burden of taxes.
(iii) A new constitution was framed and implemented where the powers of the monarch
are limited and the legislative powers are given to the National assembly.

Q.12.Write a short note on Marseillaise.

Ans.
(i) Marseillaise is the national anthem of France.
(ii) It was written by Rogetde L’Isle during the French Revolution.
(iii) It was first sung by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so
got its name.
(iv) This song raised patriotism among French people.

Q.13.Who were Jacobins? What was their role in the emergence of France as a Republic?
Ans.
 (i) The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections
of society.
(ii) They included small shopkeepers, artisans, servants and daily wage workers.
(iii) Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre
(iv) They used to wear long striped trousers like dock workers. So they called
themselves sans-culottes means ‘those without knee breeches’.
(v) Angered by the short supplies and high prices of food-grains, Jacobins stormed the
Palace of the Tuileries on 10 August 1792.
(vi) The king’s guards were killed and the king was held hostage for several hours. The
assembly later voted to imprison the royal family.
(vii) Elections were held in which every man of 21 years and above got the right to vote.
(viii) The Convention known as newly elected assembly, which abolished monarchy and
declared France a Republic on 21 September1792.

Q.14. Explain the “Reign of Terror” in brief.

Ans.
(i) The period from 1793 to 1794 referred to as the Reign of Terror.
(ii) Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
(iii) The people whom he sees as enemies were arrested and imprisoned and were tried
by a revolutionary tribunal.
(iv) If the court found them ‘guilty’ they were guillotined.
(v) The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is
beheaded invented by Dr.Guillotin.

Q.15.Explain the changes made by Robespierre’s government in France.

Ans.
(i) Laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
(ii) Meat and bread were rationed.
(iii) Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed
by the government.
(iv) Use of expensive white flour was forbidden.
(v) Equality bread (Pain d’igalite) was implemented.
(vi) Sir and Madam titles removed and Citoyen (Citizen of France), Citoyenne words
started.
(vii) Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
(viii) It was the period of severe control and punishment. So called as Reign of Terror.

Q.16. What do you mean by Directory? Why was it removed from France?
Ans.
(i) The Directory was a five-member committee which governed France when political
power was passed into the hands of the wealthier middle class.
(ii) It was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in the hands of
one-man executives as under the Jacobins.
(iii) The Directors often clashed with the legislative councils.
(iv) This led to political instability in France and paved the way for the rise of a military
dictator called Napoleon Bonaparte.

Q.17.How did the women suffer in France during the Old Regime? (or)
Evaluate the role of women in France before revolution.
Ans.
(i) During the old Regime, most women worked to earn a living. They worked as
seamstresses or laundresses or domestic servants in the houses of rich people.
 (ii) Many sold fruit, flowers and vegetables at the market to earn money.
(iii) Working women had to take care of their families too.
(iv) They had to fetch water, queue up for bread, cook and look after their children.
(v) Most of them were not educated or trained to do any job. Only the daughters of rich
people could study.
(vi) No right to choose their husband. No legal and political rights. Therefore, it can be
said that women suffered a lot during the Old Regime.

Q.18. Which changes brought by French Revolution in women’s life?

Ans.
(i) The revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped to improve the lives of
women.
(ii) By creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for girls.
(iii) Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will.
(iv) Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by both women and men.
(v) In order to discuss and voice their interest women started their own political clubs
and newspapers.
(vi) One of the major demands was the right to vote. Finally in 1946 women got the
right to vote in France.

Q.19.What was the triangular slave trade?

Ans.
(i) The triangular slave trade was conducted between Europe, Africa and the
Americas.
(ii) Since the 17th century, French merchants travelled from the ports of Bordeaux and
Nantes to Africa where they bought slaves from the local chieftains.
(iii) From there, the slaves were branded, shackled, packed tightly into ships from the
three- month long voyage and sent off to the Caribbean to be sold off to the
plantation owners there.
(iv) Such exploitation of the slaves from Africa made it possible for the European
markets to flourish with commodities like sugar, indigo and coffee.
(v) Temporarily it was abolished in 1794 by Convention of Jacobins, but Napoleon
reintroduced slavery.
(vi) Slavery was finally abolished in 1848.

Q.20.How did the Revolution affect the everyday life of the French people? Discuss (HOTS)
Ans.
(i) Revolutionary ideas of equality and liberty transformed the clothes people wore, the
language they spoke and books they read.
(ii) With the abolition of censorship in1789 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen in1791, freedom of speech became a natural right. This led to the
growth of newspapers, books, pamphlets and printed pictures.
(iii) Freedom of the press enabled voicing of opinions and counter options.
(iv) Art flourished in the form of paintings, plays, songs and festive processions.
(v) Visual and oral art form enabled even the common man who could not read and
write to relate with the ideas of liberty, equality and justice.

Q.21.Write a short on Napoleon Bonaparte.

Ans.
(i) Napoleon came to power as a result of an unstable directory that ruled France.
(ii) In 1804, he crowned himself as the Emperor of France.
(iii) Adopted the policy of conquest and creating new kingdoms.
 (iv) Initially he was seen as a modernizer and liberator.
(v) Introduced laws like protection of private property, uniform system of weights and
measures etc.
(vi) Later came to be viewed as an invader. He soon became a threat for the kings in
Europe who decided to come together and defeat him.
(vii) Finally, he was defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

Q.22.What was the impact of French Revolution on France?

Ans.
(i) French Revolution marked the end of absolute monarchy and paved the way for the
republican government.
(ii) It also helped to uphold the theory of popular sovereignty and laid the foundations
of democratic principles.
(iii) The slogans of equality, liberty and fraternity became the watchwords of freedom
loving people all over the world.
(iv) Feudalism and serfdom were abolished and the power of clergy curbed.
(v) People were given the right to vote during the Jacobins.
(vi) New reforms were introduced in education of girls during Jacobins time.
(vii) Napoleon also performed legal system by reorganizing it and brought a progressive
legal system.
(viii) He also introduced economic reforms like a fair tax system, increased trade and
development of French luxury industries fashions, films, perfumes etc.
.
Q.23.Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the people of the world during the
19th and 20th centuries.
Ans.
(i) The French Revolution paved to the most important event in the history of the
world.
(ii) The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the
French Revolution.
(iii) These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the 19th century, where
feudal systems were abolished.
(iv) Colonized peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements
to create a sovereign nation state.
(v) The impact of the French Revolution would be seen in India too. Tipu Sultan and
Raja Ram Mohan Roy got deeply influenced by the ideas of the revolution.
(vi) In the end we can say that after the French Revolution people all over the world
became aware of their rights.