Important Questions for Chapter 1 The French Revolution Class 9 History
Important Questions1
When did the French Revolution begin?
Answer
The French Revolution began on 14th July 1789 with the storming of Bastille fortress prison.
VSAQ
2
Which ruler came to power in France in 1774?
Answer
Louis XVI of Bourbon family came to power in France in 1774
VSAQ
3
Whom did Louis XVI get married to?
Answer
Louis XVI get married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
VSAQ
4
Which classes formed the privileged estates?
Answer
The clergy and the nobility classes formed the privileged estates.
VSAQ
5
Which estate of French society paid all taxes?
Answer
Third estate of French society paid all taxes.
VSAQ
6
Which was treasury empty when Louis XVI ascended the throne?
Answer
Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France therefore, Louis XVI found an empty treasury when he ascended the throne.
VSAQ
7
What was the name of direct tax collected by the state from the peasants in the 18th Century of France?
Answer
Tax named Taille was collected by the state from the peasants in the 18th Century of France.
VSAQ
8
What was ‘tithe’?
Answer
Tithe was a tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.
VSAQ
9
What do you mean by ‘Subsistence Crisis’?
Answer
Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
VSAQ
10
Which social group emerged in the 18th Century in France?
Answer
In the 18th Century, social group termed as middle class emerged in France.
VSAQ
11
What was proposed by the Montesquieu in his book ‘The Spirit of the Laws’?
Answer
Montesquieu in his book ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
VSAQ
12
In which book Rousseau mentioned the idea of one person, one vote?
Answer
Rousseau in his book Two Treatises of Government mentioned the idea of one person, one vote.
VSAQ
13
Name one right which was termed as ‘natural and inalienable rights’ according to French Constitution.
Answer
Right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law.
VSAQ
14
What was the Estates General?
Answer
The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.
VSAQ
15
What do you know about Abbé Sieyès?
Answer
Abbé Sieyès was originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?
VSAQ
16
What was the main object of the National Assembly while drafting the Constitution in 1791?
Answer
The main object of the National Assembly while drafting was to limit the powers of the monarch.
VSAQ
17
Who could qualify as an elector?
Answer
To qualify as an elector, a man had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers.
VSAQ
18
What do you mean by Political clubs?
Answer
Political clubs were formed by the people to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action.
VSAQ
19
Who was the leader of Jacobin Club?
Answer
Maximilian Robespierre was the leader of Jacobin Club.
VSAQ
20
Who abolished monarchy in France and declare it republic?
Answer
The newly elected assembly called Convention on 21 September 1792 abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.
VSAQ
21
Who were ‘Sans-Culottes’?
Answer
Those Jacobins were known as ‘Sans-Culottes’ who were without knee breeches and wore red cap that symbolised liberty.
VSAQ
22
Who seized power after the fall of Jacobin Government?
Answer
The fall of the Jacobin Government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power.
VSAQ
23
What do you mean by Directory?
Answer
Directory was an executive made up of five members.
VSAQ
24
When was slavery finally abolished in the French colonies?
Answer
Slavery was finally abolished in the French colonies in 1848.
VSAQ
25
When did women finally get the right to vote in France?
Answer
The women in France finally got the right to vote in 1946.
VSAQ
26
Name an important political club formed by women in France to fight for their political rights.
Answer
The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women.
VSAQ
27
The triangular slave was held between which three continents?
Answer
The triangular slave was held between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
VSAQ
28
When did Napoleon Bonaparte crown himself Emperor of France?
Answer
In 1804.
VSAQ
29
When and where was Napoleon Bonaparte defeated?
Answer
Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
VSAQ
30
Name the most important legacy of French Revolution.
Answer
The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
VSAQ
31
Name two individuals who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.
Answer
Tipu Sultan and Rammohan Roy.
VSAQ
32
Who declared themselves as National Assembly?
Answer
Third Estate.
VSAQ
33
Why Bastille fortress prison was hated by all?
Answer
The Bastille fortress prison was hated by all, because it stood for the despotic power of the king.
VSAQ
34
Which French emperor helped the American colonies to gain independence?
Answer
Louis XVI was the French emperor who helped the American colonies to gain independence.
VSAQ
35
What is the national anthem of France and who composed it?
Answer
The national anthem of France is Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roget de L’Isle.
VSAQ
36
Why Bastille most hated prison in France?
Answer
Bastille was the most hated prison in France because it stood for the despotic power of the king.
VSAQ
37
What do you mean by the term ‘Reign of Terror’?
Answer
The period from 1793 to 1794 when Robespierre followed the policy of severe control and punishment is referred as ‘Reign of Terror’.
VSAQ
38
What was Guillotine? Who invented it?
Answer
The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was invented by Dr Guillotine.
VSAQ
1
Describe the division of French society before French revolution?
Answer
Before French revolution, French society was divided into three Estates:
• First Estate (Clergy): It comprised of persons who were involved in the functions of church. They were exempted from paying taxes and enjoyed certain privileges by birth.
• Second Estate (Nobility): It comprised those persons who had high social and political rank. They enjoyed certain privileges based on birth and also exempted from paying taxes. They also enjoyed feudal privileges. They extract feudal dues from the peasants.
• Third Estate: It comprises of big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, small peasants, landless labourers and servants. They pay direct tax to state called taille and a number of indirect taxes, levied on articles of everyday consumption. Peasants also pay called tithes to church.
SAQ
2
How did the political system work in France under the constitution of 1791?
Answer
• The Constitution of 1791 gave the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected.
• Citizens were given the right to vote for an electoral group which in turn, elected the Assembly.
• But all the citizens were not given this right. Only those men older than 25 years who paid taxes equal to minimum 3 days of a labourer's wage were given this right.
• Rest of the men and women were classed as passive citizens and not given right to vote.
SAQ
3
How was slavery abolished in France?
Answer
• The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all French subjects including those in the colonies but it did not pass any laws, fearing opposition from businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade.
• It was finally the Convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions.
• However, ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
• Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.
SAQ
4
Describe the concept of active and passive citizens of France.
Answer
• Active citizens were those who 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.
• Passive citizens were the remaining men and all women. They had not right to vote.
SAQ
5
What was the importance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
Answer
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man did away all the privileges based on the birth which was prevailing in the old regime.
• It considered rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law as basic and natural rights that 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.
SAQ
6
What was the Estates General? Which demand of the Third Estate did Louis XVI reject?
Answer
The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates i.e., the clergy, the nobility and the third estate sent their representatives.
• In the past, voting in the Estates General had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote.
• But the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote.
SAQ
7
Describe briefly the contribution of Mirabeau in the formation of National Assembly.
Answer
• Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege.
• On 20 June, representatives of the third estate led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès, assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
• Mirabeau brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
SAQ
8
How did peasants protest against the feudal lords or nobles in the countryside of France?
Answer
• In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired people who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.
• Due to 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 neighbouring countries.
SAQ
9
How did women suffer in France?
Answer
Most women of the third estate had to work for a living.
• They worked as seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market, or were employed as domestic servants in the houses of prosperous people.
• Most women did not have access to education or job training.
• Working women had also to care for their families, that is, cook, fetch water, queue up for bread and look after the children.
• Their wages were lower than those of men.
SAQ
10
What were the causes for the empty treasure of France under Louis XVI? Assess any three causes.
Answer
• Under Louis XIV, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from the common enemy, British. The war added more than a billion lives to a debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion lives.
• Lenders who gave the state credit began to charge 10 percent interests on loans which made large percentage of French government’s budget on interest payments alone.
• There were also expenses on cost of maintaining army, the court, government officials and universities.
SAQ
11
Describe directory in France and why was it removed?
Answer
• After the fall of the Jacobin government, wealthier middle class seized the power and introduced a new constitution which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society.
• It provided for two elected legislative councils which then appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members.
• However, 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.
SAQ
12
What is the significance of ‘The Tennis Court Oath’ in the French Revolution?
Answer
• On 20 June representatives of the third estate assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles and declared themselves a National Assembly. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès.
• They swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.
• Thus, the ‘The Tennis Court Oath’ ultimately ended all the privileges based on birth and introduces natural and basic rights.
SAQ
13
Explain the condition which led to the rise of Jacobins.
Answer
• Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society.
• Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins.
• On August 10, the Jacobins stormed the palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king's guards and held the king himself hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family.
• Elections were held and the newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
SAQ
14
Why did National Assembly of France declare war against Prussia and Austria? How it was achieved?
Answer
The National Assembly declared war against Prussia and Austria because:
• Louis XVI had signed the Constitution but he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia.
• Rulers of other neighbouring 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. It was achieved by:
• Thousands of volunteers from the provinces started joining the army.
• They saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all over Europe.
SAQ
15
Explain the emergence of the middle class in the 18th Century.
Answer
• In the 18th Century, social groups termed as middle class emerged who earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as woollen and silk textiles that were either exported or bought by the richer members of society.
• All of 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.
SAQ
16
Why did women start their own political clubs?
Answer
• The women started their own political cubs in order to discuss and voice their interests.
• 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.
SAQ
17
How the abolition of censorship changed the lives of men, women and children after revolution?
Answer
• Before French Revolution, all written material and cultural activities, books, newspapers, plays could be published or performed only after they had been approved by the censors of the king.
• After the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.
• Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside in which they described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.
• Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.
SAQ
18
Highlight the three laws enforced by the Napoleon to modernize France?
Answer
The three laws enforced by the Napoleon to modernize France were:
• He introduced Civil Code of 1804 which did away with all privileges based on birth and established equality before the law.
• The protection of private property.
• A uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.
SAQ
1
Explain the impact of French Revolution on France in everyday life of people.
Answer
• In the Old Regime all written material and cultural activities could be published or performed only after they had been approved by the censors of the king but after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.
• Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside.
• They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.
• Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.
• Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large numbers of people.
LAQ
2
Why was the reign of Robespierre termed as ‘reign of terror’ despite various reforms introduced by him?
Answer
• Robespierre’s government adopted various reforms such as maximum ceiling on wages and prices, rationed meat and bread, fixed prices of grains, made whole-wheat bread compulsory for all and converted buildings of churches into barracks or offices.
• However, his period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror because Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
• All those whom he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic – 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.
• Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.
LAQ
3
What measures were taken by the Robespierre to bring about equality in the French society?
Answer
• 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 and all citizens were required to eat a loaf made of whole wheat.
• Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
• Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
LAQ
4
Explain the role of philosophers in the French Revolution.
Answer
• The philosophers presented idea of a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all.
• John Locke in his book ‘Two Treatises of Government’, 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’, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
• The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers.
LAQ
5
Describe the social circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in France.
Answer
• The first two estates of French Society that is the clergy and the nobility enjoyed certain privileges based on earth such as exemption from paying taxes.
• Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population but about 60 per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer members of the third estate.
• The nobles enjoyed feudal privileges including feudal dues, which they extracted from the peasants.
• The Church also extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants.
• A direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco. Thus, the burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.
LAQ
6
Explain the events that led to the formation of the National Assembly?
Answer
• On 5th May 1789, Louis XVI called together an Assembly of the Estates General to pass proposal for new taxes.
• The First and Second Estates sent 300 representatives each to the assembly while 600 members of the third estate were present. Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each Estate had one vote.
• 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.
• As King rejected the proposal, members of the Third Estate walked out of the Assembly in protest.
• On 20th June in the Tennis Court of Versailles, they declared themselves a National Assembly and swore to draft the constitution and limit the powers of the Estate.
LAQ
7
What changes were brought in France after the fall of Robespierre's government? How did it lead to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte?
Answer
• 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. These then appointed a Directory, 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.
• However, 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.
LAQ
8
Highlight and five features of the Constitution of 1791 in France.
Answer
• The constitution of 1791 limited the powers of the monarch.
• To avoid the concentration of powers in one hands, powers were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy.
• 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.
• All the citizens not had 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 Constitution granted rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law as natural and birth right of every human.
LAQ
9
Explain the legacy of the French Revolution to the society of the world.
Answer
The legacy of the French Revolution to the society of the world are:
• French revolution inspired the people of the different countries and generated the feeling of nationalism among them.
• The ideas of liberty and democratic spread from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal systems were abolished.
• Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation state.
• The revolution gave the ideals of freedom, of equality before the law and of fraternity which inspired political movements in France and the rest of Europe.
• It also inspired social and economic reforms in the world.
LAQ
1
‘While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil.’ Elucidate.
Answer
• While drafting constitution, a severe winter resulted in bad harvest. The price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies.
• Crowds of angry women stormed into the shops after spending hours in long queues at the bakery
• 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 that the lords of the manor had hired people who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.
• Due to fear, peasants attacked castles of noblemen and looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.
HOTS
2
How did the American War of Independence inspire the French Revolution?
Answer
• France helped the thirteen in gaining independence from the Britain.
• After the independence, the government proposed by the Montesquieu in which division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary was put into force in the USA.
• As the people of France was under monarchy rule and facing social and economic difficulties, they saw this as problem to their solution.
• The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example for political thinkers in France.
HOTS
3
Explain the significance of French Revolution in the history of France.
Answer
• The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were introduced.
• This marks an end to the privileges based on birth.
• The revolution also gave blow to the practice of feudalism.
• The authority of the clergy reduced in the administration and checking on income of church started.
• A society on the basis of liberty, equality and fraternity was established.
HOTS
4
Why many people did believe Napoleon as a liberator?
Answer
• There are various social and economic reforms introduced by the Napoleon.
• He introduced Civil Code of 1804 which did away with all privileges based on birth and established equality before the law.
• He also introduced the protection of private property.
• A uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system was adopted.
• Through these reforms many people did believe Napoleon as a liberator.
• But soon the Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force.
HOTS
5
Differentiate between the constitution of 1791 and the convention of 1792 in France.
Answer
The Constitution of 1791
• Only men above 25 years of age, and who paid taxes equivalent to three-days of labourers wage were allowed to vote.
• It declared France to be a Constitutional Monarchy.
• It limited the powers of king.
The Convention of 1792:
• Allowed all men above 21 years of age to vote.
• There is no hereditary monarchy.
• It abolished monarchy and made France republic.
HOTS
6
How was the Church responsible for the French Revolution?
Answer
• The Church was not only focused on the religious matter but also influence administration matters.
• The Church also justified the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• The Church also owned lots of land and also extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants.
HOTS
1
Emergence of middle class and their belief gave last blow to monarchy rule in France. Explain.
Answer
• In the past, peasants and workers had participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity. But they were lacked the means and programmes to carry out full-scale measures.
• The middle class earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods.
• All of these 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 wanted a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all which were put forward by philosophers. Thus, they revolted against the cruel regime.
VBQ
2
How was French Society organised? What privileges did certain sections of society enjoy?
Answer
The French society was organised into three estates.
• First Estate (Clergy): It comprised of persons who were involved in the functions of church.
• Second Estate (Nobility): It comprised those persons who had high social and political rank.
• Third Estate: It comprises of big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, small peasants, landless labourers and servants.
• The First two estates that is the clergy and the nobility enjoyed certain privileges based on birth. They were exempted from paying taxes. The nobles enjoyed feudal privileges which included feudal dues, which they extracted from the peasants.
VBQ
3
What were ‘natural and inalienable rights’?
Answer
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.
VBQ
4
How the policy of taxation was responsible for French Revolution?
Answer
• French Society was divided into three estates that is the clergy, the nobility and the third estate.
• The first two estate that is the clergy and the nobility were exempted from paying taxes.
• All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state in the form of direct tax called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption.
• The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants.
• The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.
VBQ
5
Which laws were introduced by the revolutionary government to improve the status of women in the French society?
Answer
• With the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
• The fathers could no longer force girls 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.
VBQ