CLASS 9
HISTORY CH – 1 The French Revolution
Part - 1
The French Society during the Late 18th Century-
The French Society comprised:
1st Estate: Clergy
2nd Estate: Nobility
3rd Estate: Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, peasants, artisans, landless labourers,
servants, etc.
Some within the Third Estate were rich and some were poor.
The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone.
The Struggle for Survival: Population of France grew and so did the demand for grains. The gap
between the rich and poor widened. This led to subsistence crises.
The Growing Middle Class: This estate was educated and believed that no group in society should be
privileged by birth. These ideas were put forward by philosophers such as Locke the English philosopher
and Rousseau the French philosopher. The American Constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was
an important example of political theories of France. These ideas were discussed intensively in salons and
coffee houses and spread among people through books and newspapers. These were even read aloud.
The Outbreak of the Revolution
The French Revolution went through various stages. When Louis XVI became the king of France
in 1774, he inherited a treasury which was empty. There was growing discontent within the society
of the Old Regime.
1789: Convocation of Estates General. The Third Estate forms National Assembly, Tennis Court
Oath the Bastille is stormed, peasant revolts in the countryside, Assembly issues Declaration of
the Rights of Man.
1791: A constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king and to guarantee the basic right to all
human beings.
1792-93: Convention abolishes Monarchy; France becomes a republic. The Jacobin Republic
overthrown, a Directory rules France.
1795: New Constitution is adopted. A new Convention appointed a five-man Directorate to run the
state from 26th October 1795. Churches reopened.
1799: The Revolution ends with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon’s coup abolishes
Directory and establishes Consulate.
Time Line: The French Revolution
1770s-1780s: Economic decline: French Government in deep debt. In 1774, Louis XVI ascends
to the throne.
1788-1789: Bad harvest, high prices, food riots.
1789, May 5: Estates-General convened, demands reforms.
1789, July 14: National Assembly formed. Bastille stormed on July 14. French Revolution starts.
1789, August 4: Night of August 4 ends the rights of the aristocracy, the surrender of feudal rights.
1789, August 26: Declaration of the Rights of Man
1790: Civil Constitution of the Clergy nationalizes the Church.
1791: Dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly.
1792: Constitution of 1791 converts absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy with limited
powers.
1792: Austria and Prussia attack revolutionary France, Robespierre, elected the first Deputy for
Paris to the National convention.
1793: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed.
1792-1794: In 1793, the Reign of Terror starts. Austria, Britain, the Netherlands, Prussia, and
Spain are at war with France.
Robespierre’s Committee of Public Safety repels back foreign invaders.
Executes many ‘enemies of the people’ in France itself.
1794: Robespierre is executed. France is governed by a Directory, a committee of five men. The
Reign of Terror ends.
1795: National convention dissolved.
1799: Napoleon Bonaparte becomes the leader of the French Revolution ends.
V.SAQ
1. When did the French Revolution begin?
Or
When was the Bastille Prison stormed?
Answer: It began on 14th July, 1789 with the storming of the Bastille prison
just outside Paris.
2. Louis XVI belonged to which dynasty?
Or
Which ruler came to power in France in 1774?
Answer: Louis XVI belonged to the Bourbon dynasty. He became the king of
France 1774.
3. Who belonged to the third estate?
Or
Which estate of the French society paid all taxes?
Answer: The third estate comprised all the people of France except the
clergy (first estate) and the nobility (second estate), i.e., all those who paid
taxes.
4. The new Constitution of France drafted in 1791 immediately after
the revolution made France what kind of state?
Answer: It made France a Constitutional monarchy, with the powers of the
king severely limited.
5. Who was the author of the pamphlet called ‘What is the Third
Estate’?
Answer: Abbe Sieyes, originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet
called ‘What is the Third Estate’.
6. Who did lead the representatives of the third estate in Versailles
on 20th June, 1789?
Answer: The representatives of the third estate were led by Mirabeau and
Abbe Sieyes.
7. Which social groups emerged in the 18th century?
Answer: The 18th century witnessed the emergence of social groups,
termed the middle class, as well as lawyers and administrative officials.
8. What was the name of the direct tax collected by the state from
the peasants in 18th century France?
Or
What was taille?
Answer: These included A direct tax, called taille was collected by the state.
9. Name the symbol of eternity in the French society.
Answer: Snake biting its tail to form a ring is the symbol of eternity in the
French society.
10. Which section of French society was forced to give up their
power after the French Revolution?
Answer: First and second estates were forced to give up their power after
the French Revolution.
11. Whom did Louis XVI get married to?
Answer: Louis XVI was married to Princess Marie Antoinette of Austria.
12. Why was the Bastille hated by all?
Or
What did the fall of the Bastille signify?
Answer: The Bastille, the fortress prison was hated by all, because it stood
for the despotic power of the king.
13. Name the classes which formed the privileged estates.
Answer: The clergy and the nobility constituted the privileged estates.
14. Name the authors of these following books.
(i) The Social Contract
(ii) The Spirit of Laws
Answer:
(i) ‘The Social Contract’ was written by Jean Jacques Rousseau.
(ii) ‘The Spirit of Laws’ was written by Montesquieu.
15. Explain the terms Liberty, Equality and Fraternity of French
Revolution.
Answer: The term ‘Liberty’ means freedom, Equality stands for being equal
and Fraternity stands for brotherhood.
16. What was the most important legacy of the French Revolution?
Answer: The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important
legacy of the French Revolution.
17. What was tithe?
Answer: It was a tax levied by the church, comprising at least one tenth of
the agricultural produce by the farmers.
18. What do you know about Abbe Sieyes.
Answer: Abbe Sieves was originally a priest. He wrote an influential
pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’.
19. What was the Estates General?
Answer: The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates
sent their representatives.
20. How was division of power suggested by philosopher
Montesquieu?
Answer: Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government
between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
21. Why was Bastille Prison attacked?
Answer: The revolutionaries stormed the Bastille prison with a hope to find
hoarded ammunition for the revolution.
22. What does ‘subsistence crisis’ mean?
Answer: It is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood were
endangered.
23. What was the Bastille?
OR
Who had stormed the Bastille during the last years of the 18th
century?
Answer: The Bastille was the fortress-prison that was stormed by the
people of Paris on 14 July 1789.
