CH 1 -THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
EXTRA QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
Q1. Discuss the fall of Bastille.
Ans: On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The king had commanded troops
to move into the city. Rumors spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens. Some
7,0oo men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people's militia. They broke into
a number of government buildings in search of arms. Finally, a group of several hundred people marched
towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, where they hoped to find
hoarded ammunition. In the armed fight that followed, the commander of the Bastille was killed and the
prisoners were released.
Q.2. Why was the prison of Bastille hated by all?
Ans: The Bastille was hated by all because it stood for the despotic power of the king.
Q.3. Why were the people protesting in Paris?
Ans: Most people were protesting against the high price of bread.
Q.4. When did Louis XVI ascend the throne of France?
Ans: In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France.
Q.5. Whom did Louis XVI marry?
Ans: Louis XVI married to the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
Q.6. What did the new king find upon his ascession?
Ans: Upon his accession the new king found an empty treasury. Long years of war had drained the financial
resources of France. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of
Versailles.
Q7. Why was France forced to increase the taxes?
Ans: Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from the
common enemy, Britain. The war added more than a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to more than
2 billion livres. Lenders, who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans. So the
French government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone. To
meet its regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government offices or
universities, the state was forced to increase taxes.
Q.8. During the eighteenth century, France was divided into how many classes?
Ans: French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates, and only members of the third
estate paid taxes.
Q9. What did the first estate comprise of?
Ans: The first estate comprised of clergy.
Q.10 What did the second estate consist of?
Ans: The second estate consisted of nobility.
Q.11. Who was included in the third estate?
A: Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants and artisans etc. were included in the third
estate.
Q12. Which term is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789?
Ans: The society of estates was part of the feudal system that dated back to the middle ages. The term Old
Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789.
Q13. Who owned the lands in French society?
Ans: Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned the
land they cultivated. About 6o per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer members
of the third estate.
Q.14. Which privileges was enjoyed by the first two estates?
A: The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth.
The most important of these was exemption from paying taxes to the state. The nobles further enjoyed feudal
privileges. These included feudal dues, which they extracted from the peasants. Peasants were obliged to render
services to the lord, to work in his house and fields to serve in the army or to participate in building roads.
Q.15. What was the tax collected by Church known as?
Ans: The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants.
Q.16. What is Livre?
Ails: Livre was unit of currency in France, it was discontinued in 1794.
Q.17. What is meant by Subsistence crisis?
Ans: Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
Q.18. Discuss the situation that led to subsistence crisis.
Ans: The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. This led to a rapid
increase in the demand for food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. So the price
of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. Most workers were employed as labourers in
workshops whose owner fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap
between the poor and the rich widened. Things became worse whenever drought reduced the harvest. This led
to a subsistence crisis.
Q.19. Discuss the rise of middle class in France.
Ans: The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence ot social groups, termed the middle class, who earned
their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as woolen and silk
textiles that were either exported or bought by the richer members of society. In addition to merchants and
manufacturers, the third estate included professions such as lawyers or administrative officials.
Q.20. What was the belief of the educated middle class?
Ans: The newly formed middle class were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged
by birth. Rather, a person’s social position must depend on his merit. These ideas envisaging a society based on
freedom and equal rights and opportunities for all, were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and
Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Q.21. Which thought was put forward by John Locke in his book Two Treatises of Government?
Ans: In his Two Treatises of Government Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of
the monarch. Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract
between people and their representatives.
Q.22. Which thought was put forward by Montesquieu?
Ans: In the Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the
legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
Q.23. How did political thinkers in France influence USA?
Ans: Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive
and the judiciary. This model of government was put into force in the USA, after the thirteen colonies declared
their independence from Britain. The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an
important example for political thinkers in France.
Q.24 What was the cause of anger and protest against the system of privileges?
Ans: The news that Louis XVI planned to impose further taxes to be able to meet the expenses of the state
generated anger and protest against the system of privileges.
Q.25. Why French monarch had to call the meeting of the Estates General?
Ans: In France of the Old Regime the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will
alone. Rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates General which would then pass his proposals for new taxes.
The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives. However, the
monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body.
Q.26. How many delegates were present in an assembly called by Louis XVI to increase taxes?
Ans: The first and second estates sent 3oo representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on
two sides, while the 6oo members of the third estate had to stand at the back. The third estate was represented
by its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the
assembly. However, their grievances and demands were listed in some 40000 letters which the representatives
had brought with them.
Q.27. Why did members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest?
Ans: Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate
had one vote. This time too Louis XVI was determined to continue the same practice, but members of the third
estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have
one vote. This was one of the democratic principles put forward by philosophers like Rousseau in his book The
Social Contract. When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in
protest.
Q.28 Why did representatives of the third estate declare themselves as National Assembly?
Ans: The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. On
2o June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared
themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had dratted a constitution for France that
would limit the powers ot the monarch.
Q.29 Who led third estate as National Assembly?
Ans: The representatives of the third estate were led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès.
Q.30 Who was Mirabeau?
Ans: Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal
privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
Q.31 Who wrote all influential pamphlet called “What is lhe Third Estate”?
Aiis: Abbé Sieyès, originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called
Q.32. What led to uprising in Paris?
Ans: While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with
turmoil. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest: the price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation
and hoarded supplies. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into
the shops. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed
and destroyed the Bastille
Q.33. Why did peasants in several districts seized hoes and attacked chateaux?
ANS : In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of
brigands, who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several
districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux. They looted hoarded grain and burnt down
documents containing records of manorial dues. A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many of them
migrating to neighboring countries.
Q.34. Define Chateau.
Ans: Chateau means castle or stately residence belonging to a king or a nobleman.
Q.35. Why did Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly?
Ans: Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National
Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a
constitution. Q.36. When was
Feudal system abolished in France?
Ans: On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations
and taxes. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges. Tithes were abolished and lands
owned by the Church were confiscated.
Q.37. When was the draft of constitution completed by National Assembly?
Ans: The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the
powers of the monarch.
Q.38. How did France become a constitutional monarchy?
Ans: The powers of the monarch was curtailed, instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were
now separated and assigned to different institutions like The legislature, executive and judiciary. This made
France a constitutional monarchy.
Q.39. Who was given the power to Make laws in the National Assembly?
Ans: The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly
elected. That is, citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly.
Q40 what qualifications were needed to become a voter in France?
As: Not all citizens, however, had the right to vote. 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. The
remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens. To qualify as an elector and then as a member
of the Assembly, a man had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers.
Q.41 Which rights were established as natural and inalienable rights?
Aiis: The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to
life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law, were established as .natural and inalienable
rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away. It was the duty of the
state to protect each citizen's natural rights.
Q.42 How were important ideas communicated to the people?
Aiis: The majority of men and women in the eighteenth century could not read or write. So images and symbols
were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas.
Q.43 Why did the National Assembly declare war against Prussia and Austria?
ANS: The situation in France continued to be tense during the following years. Although Louis XVI had signed
the Constitution, he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia. Rulers of other neighboring
countries too were worried by the developments in France and made plans to send troops to put down the events
that had been taking place there since the summer of 1789. Before this could happen, the National Assembly
voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria.
Q.44. Which is the national anthem of France?
Ans: The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.
Q.45. How did revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people?
Ans: The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. While the men were away
fighting at the front, women were left to cope with the tasks of earning a living and looking after their families.
Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further, as the Constitution
of 1791 gave Sans Culottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolized liberty.
46. Which was the most successful political club?
Ains: The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent
of St Jacob in Paris.
Q.47. Who were members of the Jacobin club?
Aiis: The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society. They
included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as
servants and daily-wage workers. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.
Q.48. Why Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes?
Axis: 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 knee 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 symbolised liberty.
Q.49. When did men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote in France?
Ans: 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 1o 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. Elections were held. From now on all men of 21 years and above,
regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
Q.50. What was newly elected assembly called?
Ains: The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
Q.51. When was France declared as republic?
Ans: On 21 September 1792 the newly elected assembly abolished the monarchy and declared France a
republic.
Q.52. Why was Louis XVI executed?
Ans: Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason. On 21 January 1793 he was
executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde. The queen Marie Antoinette met with the same fate shortly after.
Q.53. Why is the period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror?
Ans: The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy of
severe control and punishment. All those whom he saw as being .enemies of the
Republic i.e. 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.
Q.54. What is the guillotine?
Aiis: The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was
named after Dr Guillotin who invented it.
Q.55. Discuss in detail Robespierre's policy.
Aiis: Robespierre's 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. The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden; all citizens were required to eat the pain
(equality bread), a loaf made of whole wheat. Equality was also sought to be practiced through forms of speech
and address. Instead of the traditional Monsieur and Madame all French men and women were addressed as
Citoyen and Citoyenne meaning Citizen. Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks
or offices.
Q.56. Why was Robespierre executed?
Ajns: Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.
Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.
Q.57. what was new constitution introduced in France?
Ains: The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A new
constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society. It Provided for two
elected legislative councils.
Q.58. What was a Directory?
Atis: A Directory was an executive made up of five members. This was meant as a safeguard against the
concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins.
Q.59. What paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte?
Ails: The Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them. The political
instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Q.60. Which was the most famous women's club?
Ains: The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous women's club.
Q.61. Why did women start their own political clubs and newspapers?
Axns: In order to discuss and voice their interests women started their own political clubs and newspapers.
About sixty women's clubs came up in different French cities. One of their main demands was that women
enjoy the same political rights as men. Women were disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to
passive citizens. They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office.
Only then, they felt, would their interests be represented in the new government.
Q.62. Which 1aws were introduced by the revolutionary government to improve the condition of women
In France?
Ans: In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped improve the lives of
women. Together with the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls. Their fathers
could no longer force them into marriage against their will. Marriage was made into a contract entered into
freely and registered under civil law. Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by both women and
men. Women could now train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses.
Q.63. When did women in France won the right to vote?
Ans: It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.
Q.64. Which was the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime?
Ains: One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime was the abolition of slavery in the
French colonies.
Q.65. Write a note on a triangular slave trade.
Ans: The colonies in the Caribbean, Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo were important suppliers of
commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee. But the reluctance of Europeans to go and work in
distant and unfamiliar lands meant a shortage of labour on the plantations. So this was met by a triangular slave
trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Q.68 . When did Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France?
Aim: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804
Q. 69. Write some of the main features of the French Constitution of 1791.
Answer:
The main features of the French Constitution of 1791 were :
• The constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly
elected. Its main objective was to limit the powers of the monarch.
• The citizens of France voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly. Only men above 25
years of age who paid taxes were entitled to vote.
• The constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizens.
• The constitution declared that it was the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights
Q.70. How did a directory rule in France? Explain.
Or
Write a short note on the Directory.
Answer:
• The new constitution made provision for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a
Directory, an Executive made up to five members. This was meant as a safeguard against the
concentration of political power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins.
• The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon
Bonaparte.
• Through all these changes in the form of government, the ideals of freedom, of equality before the law of
the land and of fraternity remained inspiring ideals that motivated political movements in France and the
rest of Europe during the following century.
Q.71. Which laws were introduced by revolutionary government to improve the condition of women in
France?
• In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped to improve the lives of
women. Together with the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
• Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will.
• Marriage was made into a contract entered freely and registered under civil law. Divorce was made legal
and could be applied for by both women and men.
• Women could now train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses
Q.72. Explain the role of philosophers in the French Revolution of 1789.
Answer:
The role of philosophers in the French Revolution of 1789 were :
• In Two Treaties of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of
the monarch.
• Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between
people and their representatives.
• In the Spirit of the laws Moritesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the
legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
• The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensely in salons and coffee-houses and spread among
people through books and newspaper.
• Patriotic song Marseillaise composed by poet Roget de Lisle. It was sung for the first time by volunteers
from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so got its name. The Marseilles is now the national
anthem of France.
Q.73. Did women have a revolution in 1789 and after it?
Answer:
• Most of the historians believe that from the very beginning women were active participants in the events
related with the French Revolution of 1789.
• Before and during the days of Revolution, most of the women of France did not have access to good job
training or education.
• The women were paid lower wages than those of men.
• In order to discuss and voice their interests, women began their own newspapers and political clubs. The
Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
• They demanded the right to vote and right to contest elections as well as the right to hold political office.
Women’s movement for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next two hundred years in
many countries of the world.
