The Advent School, Haridwar

History Class – 9th

The French Revolution
The French Revolution is regarded as a remarkable
event in the history of the world. The storming of the
Bastille

prison on 14 July 1789 marked the beginning of the

French Revolution.

Causes of the French Revolution

• Inequalities in French Society
❖ French society was divided into three estates. The
first estate consisted of the clergymen, the second
estate consisted of the nobles and the third estate
consisted of the common people most of whom
were peasants.
❖ While the peasants comprised about 90% of the
French population, only few owned lands. 60% of
the land was owned by the members of the first two estates.
❖ One of the many reasons why the revolution broke out was because only the members of the third
estate paid taxes to the state. The members of the first and second estates were exempted from
paying any taxes to the king.
❖ The nobility and the clergy enjoyed many privileges in French society. The nobles extracted feudal
dues from the peasants. The latter were also compelled to provide services to the noblemen by
working in his fields and house. They also had to serve in the army.
❖ The church also collected religious taxes from the people known as ‘tithes.
The members of the third estate had to pay direct tax to the state known as ‘taille’.
Indirect taxes were imposed on tobacco, salt and many other everyday items. Thus, the third estate
was seething with financial difficulties.

Subsistence Crisis
A subsistence crisis is a situation
where the basic means of
livelihood are threatened, often
due to a shortage of food or
other essential resources. In the
context of the Old Regime in
France (before the French
Revolution), it meant a situation
where people struggled to afford basic necessities, especially food, due to rising prices, poor harvests,
and insufficient wages.

Causes of the Subsistence Crisis in France:

• Population Growth:
 France's population increased significantly from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million by 1789, leading to a
surge in demand for food.
• Food Price Increases:
The rising population led to a greater demand for food, particularly bread, which was the staple diet
of the majority. However, the production of grains could not keep pace with this demand, causing
prices to rise rapidly.
• Wages Lagging Behind:
While most workers were employed as labourers in workshops, their fixed wages did not keep pace
with the rising prices of goods, especially bread. This widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
• Ineffective Governance:
The existing social and political structures in France were seen as inadequate to address these issues,
contributing to the widespread poverty and social unrest.

In essence, the subsistence crisis was a result of a complex interplay of population growth, rising food
prices and a government that struggled to address the needs of the common people. This situation
significantly contributed to the growing tensions that ultimately led to the French Revolution.

Growing Middle Class

a. The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class,
who earned their wealth through overseas trade, from manufacturing of goods and
professions.
b.
This class was educated believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
c.
They were inspired by the ideas put forward by the various philosophers and became a matter
of talk intensively for these classes in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people
through books and newspapers.
d.
The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example
for political thinkers in France.

Philosophers and their contribution in revolution

•John Locke: (written a book named ‘Two Treatises of Government’) in which he criticized the
doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.

• Jean Jacques Rousseau (written a book named ‘Social Contract’) in which he proposed a form of
government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.

• Montesquieu (written a book named ‘The Spirit of the Laws’) in which he proposed a division of
power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
The Revolt Breaks

• Louis XVI called an assembly of the Estates General to pass

his proposals to increase taxes on 5th May 1789.

• 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.

• The third estate was represented by its more prosperous

and educated members only while peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly.

• 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. But members of the third estate
demanded individual voting right, where each member would have one vote.

• After rejection of this proposal by the king, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in
protest.

• On 20th June, the representatives of the third estate assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in
the grounds of Versailles where they declared themselves a National Assembly and vowed to draft a
constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.

• Mirabeau, a noble and Abbé Sieyès, a priest led the third estate.

• While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France was in
trouble.

• Severe winter destroyed the food crops which resulted in increase in the prices. The bakers also
hoarded supplies of breads for making greater profit.

• 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.

• In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor were on their way
to destroy the ripe crops through their hired gangs.

• Due to fear, peasants in several districts attacked the castle of nobles, looted hoarded grain and burnt
down documents containing records of manorial dues.

• Large numbers of noble fled from their homes and many migrated to neighbouring countries.

• Louis XVI finally recognised the National Assembly and accepted the constitution.

• On 4th August, 1789, France passed the law for abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes.
• The member of clergy was also forced to give up their privileges.

• Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

• The National Assembly consisting of
the members of the third estate
drafted the Constitution which
limited the powers of the king, and
the executive, legislative and
judicial powers were assigned to
different institutions.
• The National Assembly had the
powers to frame laws for the
country. The members of the
National Assembly were elected by
the body of electorates. This body
of electorates was elected by
citizens who paid taxes to the
Government who were termed
active citizens. Other men and all women had no voting rights.
• The Constitution of France guaranteed the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and
equality before law.

Abolition of Monarchy in France

• Because the powers of King Louis XVI were reduced, he asked for help from the Prussian and
Austrian monarchies. However, the revolutionaries in France formed a large army and declared a
war against Prussia and Austria.
• The Jacobin Club in France was formed by the revolutionary forces of the country. It included small
shopkeepers, watch makers, pastry cooks, printers, daily wage earners and servants.
• In 1792, when the supplies of bread reduced, the Jacobins along with people stormed the Tuileries
Palace and imprisoned the royal family of France.
• This development led to the changes in the Constitution. Elections were held and everyone more
than 21 years of age was given the right to vote. Monarchy was abolished and France became a
republic.
• King Louis XVI was executed publicly on 21 January 1793 on the charges of treason. His queen, Mary
Antoinette was also executed later.

Reign of Terror
• The period from 1793 to 1794 is called the Reign of Terror. Robespierre, the head
of the Jacobin Club, followed the policy of severe control and punishment.
Clergymen, nobles and people who were considered enemies to the republic
were guillotined. He even ordered the killing of his own party members who did
not agree to his methods and ways.
 • Robespierre’s government put a definite limit on the wages and the prices of
essential goods. Meat and bread were rationed. Peasants were also forced to sell
grains at a price fixed by the Government. Churches were closed.
• Robespierre followed his policies so strictly that even his supporters turned against
him. Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794 and was guillotined.
• After the fall the Jacobin Government, the wealthier middle class took the power
into their own hands. They introduced a constitution which did not give voting
rights to the non-propertied class.

Women’s Participation in the Revolution

• Women were active participants in the French Revolution. Women in France were not
Empowered
• Most of the women of the third estate had to work to earn their livelihood. They worked as
seamstresses, sold flowers and vegetables or worked as domestic servants in the houses of
wealthy families.
• Women started their own clubs in order to raise their own voices. A famous women’s club
was the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women. This club demanded that women be
given the same political rights as men. Women till now had no right to vote.
• In the beginning, many laws were implemented to improve the condition of women in
French society. Schooling was made compulsory for all girls. Fathers could no longer marry
off their daughters without obtaining their consent. Divorce was made legal, and women
began to be trained for various jobs.
• During the Reign of Terror, many laws were issued which ordered the closing of women’s
clubs. Many women were tried and guillotined.
• Women’s struggle to demand equal voting rights however continued. The French
women were finally granted voting rights in 1946.

The Abolition of Slavery

• One of the important reforms of the Jacobin Club was the abolition of slavery in
French colonies.
• Slaves were brought from Africa by the Europeans and were then sold to plantation
owners. Because of the employment of slaves in the colonies, the growing demands
 for sugar, coffee and indigo by the European markets were met.
• The system of slavery was hardly criticised in France. This was because slaves were
important in the plantations.
• After being banned by the
Jacobins, slavery was again
reintroduced by Napoleon
Bonaparte.

The Impact of the French

Revolution
• The political instability in France
paved a way for the rise of military
dictatorship under
Napoleon Bonaparte.
• He along with his troops carried on the ideas of the French Revolution in Europe. He
introduced laws such as protection of private property and the uniform systems of weighs
and measurements.
• Many of his measures that carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern
laws to other parts of Europe had an impact on people long after Napoleon had left.
• However, he also placed his successors on the throne of the countries which he invaded.
He thus came to be regarded as an invader.

The ideas of liberty, equality and democratic rights were the greatest gifts of the
French Revolution to the world.
In India, Tipu Sultan and Raja Ram Mohan Roy keenly observed the French Revolution
and exalted the ideals of the French Revolution.

Compiled by - Kushagra