https://youtu.

be/o4FSq5Wq65Q

​FRENCH REVOLUTION
YEAR​ 1789
KING OF FRANCE AT THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION​: LOUIS XVI came to power in
1774
Belonged to Bourbon Dynasty

IMPORTANT TERMS
OLD REGIME​: THE PERIOD BEFORE THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
ESTATES:​ French society was divided into 3 groups which were called Estates
LIVRE​currency of France Till 1794
SUBSISTENCE CRISIS-​Extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are
endangered
ESTATE GENERAL​A Political body to which all the three Estates sent their representatives
ESTATES​French Society was divided into groups.These groups were called Estates

Political Condition/Causes
-Louis XVI believed in the divine rights of the king
-All high positions in administration was given to friends and relatives
-The administration was corrupt
-Queen Marie Antoinette interfered in the affairs of the court
-King wasted money on luxurious lifestyle

SOCIAL CONDITIONS/CAUSES
1.The French society was divided into classes known as estates There were three estates-
-The First estate comprise of clergy (churchmen)
-Second estate comprised of nobility( nobles) -Third estate comprised of peasants
merchants traders doctors professionals
2.The members of the first two states, namely the clergy and nobility, enjoyed privileges by
birth.
- a) The most important was exemption from paying taxes to the state.
- b) They could also extract dues from the peasants The Church levied a tax called ​Tithe​on
the peasants.
3.The nobles also extracted feudal dues from the peasants
4.The members of the third estate also had to pay a direct tax to the state call ​Taille
5.They also paid a number of indirect taxes Therefore the burden of taxes fell on the third
estate

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS/CAUSES
-Louis XVI led a luxurious life and spent on festivities which led to an empty treasury
-Louis XVI also gave help to 13 American colonies to gain Independence which added to the
economic burden
-The treasury was empty due to long wars
-To meet the expenses of maintaining a large army and running the government the state
was forced to raise taxes
-The burden of taxes fell on the third estate

SUBSISTENCE CRISIS
-Between 1715 to 1728 the population of France rose very rapidly
-Production could not keep pace with the demand so the prices of the bread rose sharply.
-The wages of the workers were fixed. It did not keep pace with the rise in prices
-The situation became worse when there was drought or hail which further reduced the
harvest
-This led to subsistence crisis which occurred frequently in France during the old regime

RISE OF MIDDLE CLASS

The 18th century saw the emergence of a new social group called the middle class
They earned wealth through overseas trade and manufacturing of goods which were
exported
In addition to merchants and manufacturers the third estate included professions such as
lawyers or administrative officials
They all were educated and believed that no group in society should enjoy privileges based
on birth

PHILOSOPHICAL CAUSE/ROLE OF REVOLUTIONARIES

-The French philosophers like Locke Montesquieu,Voltaire wall Rousseau put forward the
ideas of society based on Freedom and Equal opportunities for all
-Locke in his book 'Two Treatises of Government' disagreed with the doctrine of Divine
Rights of the king
-Rousseau in his book 'Social Contract' proposed a form of government based on a contract
between people and their representatives
-Montesquieu in the book 'Spirit of Laws' proposed the division of power between the
legislature,executive and Judiciary
-Voltaire exposed the evils in the church and administration. He believed that the new age
could be brought about if the old ideas and Institutions were rooted out

IMMEDIATE CAUSE
-Due to severe winters there was a bad harvest and the prices of bread rose
-There were protests against the high prices and the king ordered his troops to move into
Paris
-The angry crowd stormed stormed into Bastille the state prison and destroyed it
-The fall of Bastille marked the beginning of the French revolution and the end of French
autocracy.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FALL OF BASTILLE

-Bastille was the state prison and was symbol of the autocratic rule of the king
-It's fall marked the end of French autocracy
-It resulted in the transfer of political authority to the National Legislature.
EVENTS LEADING TO THE TENNIS COURT OATH
-Louis XVI had to increase taxes.For this he had to call the meeting of the Estate General
(5th May 1789). (The estate general was a political body to which the three estates sent their
representatives)
-In past voting in the Estate General was conducted on the principle that each estate had
one vote but, the members of the third estate demanded that voting now should be on the
basis that each member would have one vote
-The king rejected this proposal.The members of the third estate walked out of the assembly
in protest .
-The representatives of the third estate assembled in a hall of a Tennis Court at Versailles
and declared themself as a National Assembly.
-They swore to draft the constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch
-At the same time due to severe winter there was a bad harvest and the prices of bread rose

DECREE OF 4th AUGUST 1789

Facing revolt Louis XVI gave recognition to the National Assembly.
On 4th August 1789 the Assembly passed a decree abolishing -
-the feudal system of obligations and taxes
-Members of the clergy were forced to give up their privileges.
-Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the church were confiscated

Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyyes

The representatives of the third estate who assembled the Tennis Court at Versailles were
led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyyes
Mirabeau
-Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced to do away with a Society of feudal
privileges.He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds
assembled in Versailles.
Abbe Sieyyes
Abbe Sieyyes, originally a priest, wrote a pamphlet called What is the Third Estate?

CONSTITUTION OF 1791
OR
FRANCE BECOMES A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
The national assembly completed the draft of the Constitution in 1791

Features of the Constitution of 1791

-Its main objective was to limit the powers of the king
-Powers were separated between legislature executive and Judiciary
-It gave the power to make laws to the national assembly which was indirectly elected
-Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to 3 days wages were given the right
to vote. They were known as active citizens
-To qualify as an elector and then as the member of the Assembly a man had to belong to
the highest bracket of tax payers -Declaration of rights of man and citizen. These were
natural and inalienable rights like the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion,
equality before law. These belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken
away.
Limitations of the Constitution of 1791
-Monarchy was not completely abolished
-Only men with property were given the right to vote
-Remaining men and women were denied the right to vote and were called Passive Citizens
-France became Constitutional Monarchy

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FROM 1789 -1791

-Constitutional Monarchy was established in France
-Privileges of nobility and clergy were abolished
-Burden of taxes was equally shared by all
-Declaration of rights of Man and Citizens

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZENS AND ITS

SIGNIFICANCE/IMPORTANCE
-This were inalienable rights which every human enjoys since birth
-These include right to freedom of speech right to life, right to freedom of expression,right to
freedom of opinion etc
-These rights belong to each human beings by birth and cannot be taken away
-It was the duty of the state to protect each citizens natural rights
Significance
-It was the first attempt to outline the universal rights on such a wide scale
-It laid emphasis on the principles of Liberty equality and fraternity
-These principles were adopted by all the democratic countries of the world

​Worksheet 1
See the video and answer the following questions
1 How many Estates was the French Society divided into? Name them
2.​List the members of the Third Estate.?
3.Who wrote the pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?
4.When did the French Revolution begin?Which event marked the beginning of the French
Revolution ?
5.The word ​livres ​stands for:__________
6.Mention any one effect of the rise of population of France from about 23 million in 1715 to
28 million in 1789?
7.State the name of tax which was directly paid to the state by the Third Estate.
8.List the social groups that emerged in 18th century France.
9 What was the demand of the members of the Third Estate in the meeting of the Estates
General?
10.Who were the Active Citizens?
11.Differentiate between Estates and Estate-General

Draw the Political symbols of the French Revolution stating the meaning of each
below it