French revolution Questions 3marks

 Short Answer Type Questions

1. What was the subsistence crisis? Why did it occur in France during the Old Regime?

Answer: Definition- Subsistence crisis can be defined as an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.

Reason- The population of France was on the rise. It rose from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.

This led to an increase in the demand for food grains. The production of food grains could not keep pace with the demand and the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. The wages also did not keep pace with the rise in prices. This led to the subsistence crisis in France.

2. What was the system of voting in the Estates General? What change did the Third Estate want in this system?

Answer: Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. Members of the Third Estate demanded that voting must now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. 

This was according to the democratic principles put forward by philosophers like Rousseau in his book “The Social Contract”.

3. What were ‘natural and inalienable rights’?

Answer: The constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law were established as ‘natural and inalienable rights’, i.e., 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.

4. What was the importance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man? 

Answer: The document ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man” passed by France’s National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, hit the prevailing European system which was based on privileges. It is a fundamental document of the French Revolution that granted civil rights such as faith in equality, liberty and fraternity. It was a remarkable declaration and is regarded as ‘‘gospel of modern time” although it excluded a significant segment of the French population.

5. Discuss the role of women in the French Revolution.

Answer: Women were active participants in the events related to the French Revolution of 1789. Most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living as seamstresses, flower-sellers, vegetable and fruit sellers. They led a hard life, and were paid lower wages. So to discuss and voice their interests they began their own newspapers and political clubs. They put forward their political and economic demands.

6. Who were the people who comprised the Third Estate? Who paid the taxes and to whom?

Answer: The people who comprised the Third Estate were big businessmen, merchants, lawyers, peasants, artisans, small peasants, landless labour and servants. These were 95 percent of the population. They had to pay taxes to the state. Taxes included taille, tithes and a number of indirect taxes. 

7. Who formed the National Assembly? On which day is ‘Bastille Day’ celebrated and why?

Answer: The representatives of the Third Estate assembled at Versailles on 20 June 1789 and declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France. The Bastille Day is celebrated on 14th July every year because on this day the unruly Paris mob stormed and attacked the prison of Bastille which was considered a symbol of terror and despotism.

8. Name three famous writers and philosophers who influenced the French Revolution. What were their ideas?

Answer: Jean Jacques Rousseau – A French Swiss philosopher. His main idea was – man is naturally good and that society of civilisation makes man anxious and unhappy.

Mirabeau- He brought about a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds at Versailles.

Voltaire – A famous French writer. He exposed the evils prevailing in the Church and administration.

9. Who were the sans culottes? Who were able to control them in the end?

Answer: A large among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers. To set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of the society, especially nobles, who wore knee breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by wearers of knee breeches. These Jacobins came to be known as the sans culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’. After the fall of Jacobins, power was seized by the wealthier middle class.

10. Which single event turned the revolution into a Reign of Terror? Describe the role of Robespierre in it.

Answer: The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the ‘‘Reign of Terror’’. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. All these he saw as enemies of the republic.

Examples: Nobles, clergymen and other party members, with whom he did not agree were arrested, imprisoned, tried and guillotined if found guilty. He pursued his policies relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.

11. Describe the role of the Bourbon kings in the French Revolution.

Answer: The Bourbon kings maintained an extravagant court. They lived and spent lavishly. The many wars and their lavish style of living had drained the financial resources of France. The treasury was empty. France was under a debt of more than 2 billion livres. 

To meet expenses the state under Louis XVI, who was only 20 years of age when he ascended, increased taxes. There was a steep rise in prices, extreme shortage of food, low wages, the gap between the rich and the poor widened. All this finally led to the French Revolution.

12. How was French Society organised? What privileges did certain sections of society enjoy?

Or

How far was the French society responsible for the drastic changes brought about by the revolution?

Answer: French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three Estates-two privileged estates, i.e. the clergy and the nobility, and the Third Estate comprising businessmen, traders, lawyers, peasants, workers, poor people. Out of these, only the members of the Third Estate paid taxes. 

The maximum burden of taxes was borne by the common people, which gave rise to the ‘subsistence crisis’. The growth of an enlightened, educated middle class plus the role of philosophers like Locke and Rousseau, together brought about the changes caused by the revolution.

13. 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 out 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.

14. What was the Estates General? Which demand of the Third Estate did Louis XVI reject?

Answer: The estates general was a political body of France to which the three estates sent their representatives which would then pass the proposal of new taxes.

The Third Estate demanded that voting in the assembly should be conducted as a whole and each member should have one vote. This was rejected by King Louis XVI.

15. What is the significance of ‘The Tennis Court Oath’ in the French Revolution?

Answer: The representatives of the Third Estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. On 20th June, 1789, they assembled in the hall of on indoor tennis court in the grommets of versailles. They declared themselves a national assembly and score not the disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes.

16. Write three main features of the French constitution of 1791.

Answer: (a) The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main objective was to limit the powers of the monarch.

(b) The power to make laws was vested in the National Assembly. Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the assembly.

(c) Rights like the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights. It as the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.

17. What was the contribution of Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes to the French Revolution?

Answer: On 20 June, 1789, the representatives of the Third Estate had assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes. Himself from a noble family, Mirabeau was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privileges. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles. Abbe Sieyes, originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?

18. How was the Church responsible for the French Revolution? Mention three points.

Answer: (a) 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.

(b) The church was the owner of a big chunk of land in France. It maintained a federal set up.

(c) The church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants. Apart from 

this, the church also collected several other dues.