14 july 1789 = bastille day
5 may 1789 – 9 nov 1799= French revolution
Third Estate formed the National Assembly in
France – 1789
Freeing of slaves laws = 1794
Which philosopher had forwarded the
principle of voting by the assembly as a
whole, where each member should have one
vote, during the rule of louis XVI?
Answer:
Rousseau.
in which book did Rousseau mention the idea
of one person, one vote?
Answer:
The Social Contract.
What was the theme of the book ‘The Spirit of
the Laws’ written by Montesquieu?
Answer:
Montesquieu proposed division of power
within the government between the
legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
Battle of Waterloo- 1815
France abolish the monarchy and became
republic = 21 sept 1792
Society of Revolutionary Republican women.
‘Two Treatises of Government’?
Answer:
John Locke.
.
Question 2.
How was the French society organised before the
revolution of 1789 ?
Answer:
The French society was divided into
sections called ‘estates’ namely first estate
consisting of the clergy, second estate
comprising the nobility and the third estate
comprising all commoners including big
businessmen, traders, merchants, court
officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans,
labourers and servants.
The members of the first two estates, that
is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed
certain privileges by birth. They were
exempted from paying taxes to the state.
The members of 3rd estate had no political
rights and social status.
The entire burden of taxation fell on the
third estate. All economic functions were
performed by them.
Question 5.
Write a short note on the document ‘Declaration of
the Rights of Man and citizen.’
Answer:
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and
expression to be natural rights.
Censorship was abolished. Newspapers,
books and pamphlets flooded French
towns and reached the countryside as well.
Events and changes taking place in France
were frankly discussed.
Plays, songs and festive processions
attracted large number of people. Thus,
people could identify with ideas of liberty
and equality easily.
Question 6.
How was the Church responsible for the French
Revolution ?
Answer:
The members of the church, clergy
belonged to the First Estate. The clergy
enjoyed all privileges with no obligations.
They lived in pomp and extravagance
which led to resentment among the
members of the Third Estate.
The church was owner of a big chunk of
land in France.
The church too extracted its share of taxes
called tithes from the peasants. Apart from
this, the church also collected several other
taxes.
Question 7.
State the election process of the National
Assembly in France.
Answer:
The constitution of 1791 vested the power to
make laws in the National Assembly, which was
indirectly elected. Citizens voted for a group of
electors, who in turn close the assembly. All
citizens did not have 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 tax
payers.
Question 8.
What were the main ideas behind the French
Revolution ?
Answer:
The main ideas behind the French Revolution
were :
The revolutionary ideas in France were
propagated and preached by the famous
thinkers and philosophers like Rousseau,
Montesquieu. They favoured the abolition
of such a social system that supported
political, social and economic injustice and
discrimination.
The French revolutionaries were also
influenced by the triple ideals of the
American Revolution, i.e., Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity and they opposed the
privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the
nobles.
Question 10.
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 of 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.
Question 11.
What was subsistence crisis ? Mention two factors
responsible for this crisis ?
Answer:
Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where
the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
Two factors responsible for this crisis were :
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 foodgrains. 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 or
hail reduced the harvest. This led to a
subsistence crisis, something that
occurred frequently in France during the
Old Regime.
Question 13.
What were the causes of the empty treasury of
France under Louis XVI ?
Answer:
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. Under Louis XVI, France
helped the thirteen 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 percent interest on loans. 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.
Question 14.
Write the importance of Napoleon Bonaparte in the
History of France and the world.
Answer:
Napoleon saw himself as a moderniser of Europe.
He introduced many laws such as protection of
private property and uniform system of weights
and measures provided by the decimal system. He
carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and
modern laws to other parts of Europe which he
conquered. They had a great impact on people. He
was a great general too.
Question 15.
Which laws were introduced by revolutionary
government to improve the condition of women in
France ?
Answer:
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
1)
Describe the circumstances leading to the
outbreak of revolutionary protest in France.
Answer:
The circumstances which led to the outbreak
of revolutionary protest in France were a
combination of social, economic, political and
Intellectual circumstances. These are
discussed below
(i) Social
The social order consisted of many
inequalities. The privileged classes were the
clergy and noblemen, the First and Second
Estate respectively. They were exempt from
paying taxes. The rest of the citizens
belonged to the Third Estate and constituted
the majority of the population.They did not
have any political rights or social status, but
paid all the taxes. So, they were very
discontented.
(ii) Economic
There was a financial crisis as the king's
treasury was empty, The king's luxurious style
of living and involvement in wars had made
France very poor. There was no money to feed
the poor when there was a bad crop.
(iii) Political
The king ruled like an autocrat and the people
had no voice in any decisions. The Estates
General (French Parliament) had not been
convened for many years. The administration
was inefficient, corrupt and disorganized.
(iv) Intellectual
At that time a number of philosophers
refuted the theory of the divine right of kings
to rule. They proclaimed a doctrine of
sovereignty of the people and equality of all
men. They stoked the fires of discontent by
exposing the evil actions of the king and
nobility.
