Chapter-1
FRENCH REVOLUTION Page-1
Q.1) Explain the following terms:-
a) Guillotine
Ans) The guillotine
is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person
is beheaded. It was
named after Dr .Guillotine who invented it.
b) Subsistence crisis
Ans) the population
of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 2 8million 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 owners fixed
their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices so
the gap between poor
and rich widened .Things became worse whenever drought or
hail reduced the
harvest. This led to subsistence crisis:- an extreme situation where the basic
means of livelihood is endangered.
c) Declaration
of the rights of man and citizen
Ans) The Constitution
of 1791 began with the declaration of the rights of man and
citizen. Rights such
as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality
before the law, were
established as 'natural and inalienable' rights, that is, they
belonged to each
human being by birth and couldn’t be taken away. it was the duty of
the state to protect
each citizen's natural rights.
d) Directory
Ans) The fall of
Jacobin govt. allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A
new constitution was
introduced which denied the vote to non prosperous sections of
thesociety.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.
Q.2) Explain the ideas put forward by the following
philosophers in their books?
Ans) (a) Jean Jacques
Rousseau- Rousseau proposed a form of government based on a social contract
between people and their representatives in his book 'The Social Contract'.
(b) Montesquieu-in
the 'Spirit of the laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power
within the govt
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.
(C) John Locke- In
his 'Two Treatises of government', Locke sought to refute the
doctrine of the
divine and absolute right of the monarch.
Q-3) What were the taxes that the middle class had to pay
during the Old Regime?
Ans) The two types of
taxes were:-
1. Tithes: - A tax
levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.
2. Taille: - All the
members of third estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included
a direct tax, called
Taille,and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of
everyday consumption like
tobacco or salt.
Q.4) Write a short note on 'Reign of Terror'?
Ans) The period from
1793-94 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre
followed a policy of
severe control and punishment.
All those whom he saw
being the 'enemies' of the republic-ex nobles and clergy,
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.
The govt. 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 the prices fixed
by the government.
The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden ,all citizens had to eat
plain d'egalite (equality bread). Instead of Monsieur(sir) and Madame(madam)all
French men
and women were
henceforth citoyen and citoyenne. Churches were shut down and their buildings
were converted into barracks or offices.
Q.5) Describe the legacy of French Revolution for the
people of the world during 19th
and 20th century?
Ans) The ideas of
liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of French
revolution. These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the
nineteenth century,
where feudal systems were abolished. Colonised people reworked the idea of
freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation
state.
Q.6) Who were allowed to vote for the formation of the National
Assembly?
Ans)Only men above
25years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a
labourers wage were
given the status of active citizens, that is they were entitled to vote. The
remaining men and
women were classified as passive citizens. The active citizens
voted for a group of
electors ,who in turn choose the assembly.
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.
Q.7) What was the immediate cause of French Revolution?
Ans) The population
of France rose from about 23million in 1715 to 28million in
1789.This led to a
rapid increase in the demand for food grains. Products of grains
could not keep pace
with the demand, so the price of bread which was a 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 rich and poor
widened. Things
became poorer whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. This led to subsistence
crisis.
Q. 8) What were the main objectives of the constitution
of 1791 of France?
Ans) The main
objectives of the constitution of 1791 were:-
1.It vested the
powers to make laws in the National Assembly which was indirectly
elected. That is,
citizens voted for a group of electors who chose the assembly, only
ACTIVE CITIZENS:-Men
above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days
of a labourers wage
could vote. The others PASSIVE CITIZENS-Remaining men and all
women couldn’t vote.
2. The constitution
began with a Declaration of rights Man and Citizens. Rights such as
right to life,
freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before the law, were
established as
natural and inalienable right, that is , they belonged to each human being
by birth and couldn't
be taken away. It was the duty of state to protect each citizen's
natural rights.
Q.9) Describe the causes leading to the French Revolution? Ans)
POLITICAL CAUSE:- =>In 1774,Louis XVI of the Bourbourn family of kings
ascended the throne
of France. Upon his accession he 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.
=)Under Louis XVI ,France
helped the 13 American colonies to gain independence from
Britain. The war
added more than a billion livers to a debt that had already risen to
2billion lives.
=) To meet its
regular expenses-cost of maintaining an army, the court, running
government offices,
universities, the state was forced to increase the taxes.
SOCIAL CAUSES:-
=) French society in
the 18th century was divided into three estates, and only the
members of the third
estate had to pay taxes.
=)In France about
60%of land was owned by nobles, the church and other rich of the
members third estate
while very little land was owned by peasants who made up about
90%of the population.
=) The members of the
first two estates i.e.: the clergy and nobility, enjoyed certain
privileges by birth
like exemption from paying taxes to the state.
ECONOMIC CAUSES:-
=)Only the members of
the third estate paid taxes. The church extracted its share of
taxes called Tithes
from the peasants comprising one-tenth of the agriculture produced. Also,
all members of the
third estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included a direct tax
called Taille, a
number of indirect taxes levied on articles of everyday consumption like
salt or tobacco.
=)The members of the
1st two estates i.e.-the clergy and nobility enjoyed certain
privileges by birth.
The most important of these was exemption from paying tax to the
state. The nobles
further enjoyed feudal privileges including feudal dues, which they
extracted from
peasants. Peasants were obliged to render services to the lord-work in
his house,
fields-serve in army.
GROWING MIDDLE CLASS
AND PHILOSOPHERS:-
=)The 18th century
witnessed the emergence of social groups termed middle class, who
earned their wealth
by expanding their overseas trade and manufacturing goods.
=) The third estate
included professionals-lawyers, or administrative officials .All of
these were educated
and believed that no group in the society should be privileged by
birth.
=)There were ideas
put forward by philosophers .In his' Two Treaties of Government'
John Locke sought to
refute the doctrine of divine and absolute right of monarch.
=) Jean Jacques
Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of govt. based on
social contract
between people and their representatives.
=) In 'The Spirit of
the Laws' Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the
government between
legislative, executive and judiciary.
IMMEDIATE CAUSE:-
=)The population of
France rose from 23million in 1715 to 28million in 1789.This led to
a rapid increase in
demand for food grains .Production of grains couldn't keep pace with
demand. So the price
of bread, the staple diet of majority rose rapidly.
=) Most workers were
employed as labourers in workshops whose owners fixed their
wages. But wages did
not keep pace with the rise in prices. =) So the gap between the poor and rich
widened. Things became worse whenever a drought or hail occurred which reduce
the harvest. This led to subsistence crisis.
Q.10) Describe the role of middle class in the French
Revolution?
Ans) The 18th century
witnessed the emergence of social group termed the middle
class,who earned
their wealth by expanding overseas trade and from manufacture of
goods like woolen and
silk textiles that were either imported or brought by the richer
members of the
society.
The third estate also
included professionals such as lawyers, administrative officials,
merchants and
manufacturers. They were educated and believed that no group in
society should be
privileged by birth. Rather, a person's social position must depend upon high merit.
Q.11) Who were Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes?
Ans)=)The
representatives of the third estate declared themselves a National Assembly
and swore not to
disperse till they have drafted a constitution for France that would limit
the powers of the
monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe' Sieyes.
=) Mirabeau was born
in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a
society of feudal
privilege. He bought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to
the crowd assembled
Versailles.
=)Abbe Sieyes,
originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called' What is the Third
Estate'.
Q.12) What is Marseillaise?
Ans)=) The National
Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and
Austria. Thousands of
volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the army.
They saw this as a
war of the people against kings and aristocrats all over Europe.
=) Among the
patriotic songs the song was the Marseillaise composed by Roget de
L'Isle. It was sung
for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into
Paris.
=)Marseillaise is now
the national anthem of France.
Q.13) Desribe the role of women in the French Revolution?
Ans)=)In order to
discuss and voice their interests women started their own clubs and
newspapers.
=) About sixty
women's clubs came up in different French cities. The society of
Revolutionary and
republican women was the most famous of them.
=) One of their main
demands was that women enjoy the some 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 Assembly and to hold political
office. Only then,
they felt, would their interests be represented in ,the new govt.
=) Women's movements
for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next
200 years. It was
finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.
Q.14) What did the third estate women do for their
living? Briefly describe the laws introduced
to improve their lives?
Ans) =)Most women of
the third estate had to work for living. They worked as
seamstresses, old
flowers, fruits &vegetables in market or were employed as domestic
servants in the
houses of prosperous servants.
=) Most women didn't
have access to education, job training. Only wealthier members
sent their daughters
to convent after which they were married.
=) Working women also
had to care for their families, cook, fetch water, queue up for
bread. Their wages
were lower that of men.
=) With the creation
of state schools. Schooling was , made compulsory for all the girls.
=) Their fathers
could no longer force them into marriage which was made a contract
entered into freely
and registered under civil laws.
=) Divorce was legal.
Women could be trained for jobs, become artists or run small business.
Q.15) Name one important law that came into effect soon
after the storming of Bastille in the summer of 1789?
Ans ) The Abolition
of censorship.
Q.16 ) How would you explain the rise of Napoleon
Bonaparte?
Ans) In 1804,
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as an emperor of France. He set
out to conquer the
neighbouring European countries, dispossessing dynasties & creating
kingdoms where he
placed members of his family.
=) He saw his role as
a moderniser of Europe. He introduced many laws such as the
protection of private
property & a uniform system of weights and measures provided by
decimal system.
=) Initially many saw
him as a liberator but soon his armies came to be viewed as an
invading force.
=) He was finally
defeated at Waterloo in 1815.Many of his measures had an impact on
people long after
Napoleon had left
