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Some Aspects of French Revolution: WBBSE Class 9 History notes
Get textual answers, explanations, solutions, notes, extras, MCQs, PDF of (Chapter 1) Some Aspects of French Revolution: WBBSE Class 9 History (English medium). However, the educational materials should only be used for reference, and students are encouraged to make necessary changes.
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Summary
The chapter, “Some Aspects of French Revolution,” explores the conditions leading to and shaping the French Revolution. Before the revolution, France was described as both a “political prison” and a “museum of economic errors.” The monarchy wielded unchecked power, often imprisoning critics without trial. Economically, the system was deeply flawed, with peasants bearing heavy taxes while the clergy and nobility were exempt. Corruption further deepened the financial crisis, as much of the revenue was lost to dishonest officials.
French society was divided into three estates: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). The Third Estate included merchants, peasants, and urban workers, who carried the burden of taxes and often faced poverty. Kings like Louis XVI ruled by divine right, believing they were answerable only to God. However, the inefficiency and weakness of the monarchy increased dissatisfaction. Philosophers like Rousseau and Montesquieu criticized absolutism and argued for liberty, equality, and governance based on the consent of the people. Economic hardship, political corruption, and growing awareness of inequality drove widespread discontent.
The Estates-General, convened in 1789, signaled the start of revolutionary changes. Frustrated with their limited role, the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing to draft a new constitution. The storming of the Bastille soon followed, symbolizing the collapse of royal authority and sparking peasant uprisings across the countryside. Events like the women’s march to Versailles over bread shortages highlighted the severity of public unrest.
The National Assembly abolished feudal privileges, declared individual rights, and introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. This document proclaimed liberty, equality, and fraternity, though it restricted voting rights to property-owning men. The monarchy was dismantled, and King Louis XVI was executed in 1793. Political struggles between the Jacobins and Girondins intensified, with the Jacobins taking control and instituting the Reign of Terror. This period of harsh measures aimed to stabilize the revolution amidst threats of foreign invasion and internal rebellion.
The chapter also notes the contributions of various groups. Peasants, urban workers, and women played significant roles in the revolution, expressing their grievances through protests and uprisings. Although the revolution dismantled feudal structures and promoted the ideals of equality, it shifted power to the middle class, leaving many issues unresolved. However, the chapter highlights how the revolution’s principles inspired democratic movements beyond France, leaving a lasting impact on the world.
Textual Questions, Answers (Oriental)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. To whom of the following went the benefit of the increase in tax rate prior to 1789?
A. The French government
B. The aristocrats
C. The farmers-general
D. The Church
Answer: C. The farmers-general
2. Corvée was a tax levied and collected as:
A. Income tax
B. Property tax
C. Labour service
D. Estate duty
Answer: C. Labour service
3. Which of the following was a direct tax collected by the French government?
A. Taille
B. Aides
C. Gabelle
D. None of these
Answer: A. Taille
4. Of the following, who were not included in the Third Estate?
A. Peasantry
B. Workers
C. Labourers
D. Clergymen
Answer: D. Clergymen
Very-short Answer Type Questions
5. Who brought the ideas released by the contemporary thinkers down to the common people?
Answer: The pamphleteers of the Third Estate brought the ideas released by contemporary thinkers, such as ‘citizen’ and ‘general will’, down to the common people, turning them into street-level slogans and rallying-calls for political action.
6. Who prepared the plan for financial reforms for approval to the Council of Notables?
Answer: Calonne, the Finance Minister of Louis XVI, prepared the comprehensive plan of financial reforms that was placed before the Council of Notables for approval.
7. The threat of what brought about the fall of the monarchy in France?
Answer: The threat of foreign invasion brought about the fall of the French monarchy.
8. Which document condemned the ancient regime?
Answer: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen condemned the practices of the ancient regime. It, indeed, was a death certificate of the old regime and the monarchical absolutism in France.
9. Who became the active propagandists of the revolutionary ideas?
Answer: The foreigners who came to Paris, observed the political struggles, and attended debates in revolutionary clubs became the active propagandists of the Revolutionary ideas in their respective countries.
Short Answer Type Questions
10. What is meant by ‘feudalism’?
Answer: Feudalism refers to the system under the Ancient Regime where lords held power over agriculture, imposing burdens like fees and dues payable by peasants. It involved privileges for the nobility, such as rights of private justice, specific rights on land (some usurped or acquired violently), titles, the privilege of price-fixing, levying corvee (a kind of forced labour), and exclusive rights like keeping pigeons and shooting rabbits. The abolition of feudalism marked the end of these practices and privileges, leading to a new concept of property and the transfer of political and social power from the aristocracy to the middle class.
11. What is indirect tax?
Answer: Indirect taxes were taxes levied on consumer goods. Examples include the infamous and inequitable salt tax (gabelle) and internal custom duties (traites). Miscellaneous excise duty (aides) also yielded revenue. However, due to a faulty collection system, including leasing out collection to powerful financiers (farmers-general), increased amounts often went into the pockets of dishonest revenue-collectors rather than the government.
12. How did the French kings consider themselves?
Answer: The French kings considered themselves to be the representative of God on the earth, based on their belief in the ‘Divine Right of Kingship’. Consequently, they did not feel they were answerable to the people for their deeds or misdeeds, but rather answerable only to God whom they represented.
13. Who was Louis XVI?
Answer: Louis XVI was the King of France during the period leading up to and during the French Revolution. He was considered a weak and inefficient ruler compared to his predecessor, Louis XIV. Under pressure, he summoned the States-General in 1789, which marked the beginning of the Revolution. He faced conflict with the Third Estate over voting procedures. After the women’s march to Versailles, he was forced to move to Paris and agree to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. He attempted to flee Paris in June 1791 but was caught at Varennes, which led to a loss of his remaining popularity. Accused of liaising with foreign powers against France, his monarchy was overthrown on 10 August 1792 following the storming of the Tuileries palace. The Legislative Assembly dismissed him, and the National Convention later declared France a republic. Louis XVI was subsequently tried and guillotined on 21 January 1793.
14. What was the position of middle class in the pre-revolutionary France?
Answer: The position of the middle class (or bourgeoisie) in pre-revolutionary France was within the Third Estate. Although they were often superior to the aristocracy (Second Estate) in many respects and were the wealthiest part of the Third Estate, their social position was in the third rank, which wounded their sentiment. This group included a variety of people residing in towns who earned their living through mental skill rather than physical labour, such as teachers, doctors, lawyers, office-holders, businessmen, and merchants. There was no fundamental hostility between the nobility and the bourgeoisie in the pre-revolutionary era, and many bourgeoisie had forefathers who earned fortunes through commercial activities, providing opportunities for advancement.
15. Who said, the king was the creation of the society?
Answer: Jean Jacques Rousseau said that the king was the creation of the society and that he was to rule with the consent of the people.
16. When was the king Louis XVI executed?
Answer: King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793.
17. Who was Robespierre?
Answer: Robespierre was the most important Jacobin leader during the French Revolution. He invited the Parisian mob (sans-culottes) to insurrect against the Girondin representatives on 26 May 1793. Along with Carnot and St. Just, he was one of the main organizers of the Reign of Terror, executed through the Committee of Public Safety. The Reign of Terror ended with his own execution by guillotine on 28 July 1794.
Long Answer Type Questions-I
18. Discuss the structure of pre-revolutionary society.
Answer: Pre-revolutionary French society, besides the King, constituted of three orders or estates which originated in the medieval times. At that time distinction had been made between those who prayed, those who fought in battle, and those who worked to provide a living for the others.
The King was at the top. The kings of France were believers in the ‘Divine Right of Kingship’, considering themselves representatives of God on earth and answerable only to God. Under King Louis XIV, France displayed a disciplined administration, but his successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI, were weak and inefficient, converting the despotic monarchy into a machinery of autocratic oppression.
The society was divided into three classes or Estates: the clergy, nobility, and the commoners.
The First Estate comprised the clergy (priests and the Church officials), occupying a position next to the King. Prior to the revolution, the clergy became very corrupt and used to luxurious life. The Church’s wealth came from land ownership and tithes (a tax on religion), most of which went to the higher clergy rather than local priests, poor relief, or church upkeep. The clergy belonged to the ‘Privileged class’ and were immune from paying taxes.
The Second Estate was the aristocracy or nobility. They occupied the second position in the social scale and performed no duty towards the state. As part of the ‘privileged class’, the aristocracy was immune from paying tax. There were two divisions: Noble of the Sword and Noble of the Robe, with jealousy between them. The aristocracy was very conscious of their privileges and was the first to rebel when their tax exemption was threatened.
The Third Estate included the commoners, comprising almost every class of people who did not enjoy the status of clergy or noble. This included the middle class (bourgeoisie), peasants, urban workers, sans-culottes (urban workers, wage earners, and others), etc. The bourgeoisie, commonly translated as the ‘middle class’, resided in towns and earned their living through mental skill rather than physical labour, including teachers, doctors, lawyers, office-holders, businessmen, merchants, etc. Their forefathers often earned fortunes through commercial activities. There was no fundamental hostility between the nobility and the bourgeoisie in the pre-revolutionary era. The middle class was a much superior lot compared to the aristocracy in all respects, yet their position was third, wounding their sentiment. The middle class was the wealthiest part of the Third Estate. The peasantry was by far the most numerous part of the Third Estate. About a quarter were landless labourers living in chronic uncertainty. Urban workers, mostly unskilled and poor, lived in unhealthy conditions in crowded towns. The Third Estate was responsible for paying tax to the royal government. H. A. Taine calculated that four-fifths of the income of the French peasantry was exhausted to meet the revenue burden.
19. Analyse the taxation system of the pre-revolutionary france.
Answer: The chief weakness of the government of the pre-revolutionary France was the faulty finance. Throughout the 17th-18th centuries, the French government had been under serious annual deficit. Owing to a faulty system of collection of revenue as also the tax-immunities enjoyed by the privileged classes (the clergy and the nobility), it was unable to meet the deficit. It was not possible to increase the already high tax burden on the common people, particularly the peasants, whose financial burden was crushing. In the years prior to 1789, there had been an increase in the rate of taxes, but the benefit of the hiked revenue went into the pockets of the revenue-collectors (called farmers-general). Another faulty system was the leasing out of indirect taxes to a group of powerful financiers. In view of such disparity in levying taxes, France became, as it were, the ‘Museum of Economic Errors’.
Taxes were broadly divided into indirect and direct taxes:
a. Indirect Taxes: These included the infamous and inequitable salt tax (gabelle) and internal custom duties (traites), collected on consumer goods. Miscellaneous excise duty (aides) yielded increased revenue due to price hikes and urban population rise. However, owing to the faulty collection system, the increased amount went to dishonest revenue collectors.
b. Direct Taxes: There were inequalities in the imposition of direct taxes from region to region. In northern France, the taille was a tax levied on total income, while in the southern region, it was charged on income from landed property. Capitation (poll-tax) was originally levied on all Frenchmen but later collected only from the commoners. Vingtieme was levied on income from real estate; the aristocracy or nobles were exempt from paying this tax.
Additionally, Corvee was a labour service demanded on royal highways, which became very important in the eighteenth century. Landowners beside roads had to provide transport for construction materials, placing the cost on common people. Over time, Corvee became a regular part of the tax system, payable in cash. Peasants also paid taxes to the Church (tithes) and fees and dues to local lords under the feudal regime.
20. Discuss in brief about three Estates in France.
Answer: In the pre-revolutionary French society, apart from the King, there were three classes or Estates: the clergy, nobility, and the commoners.
The First Estate consisted of the clergy (priests and Church officials). They held a position next to the King and belonged to the ‘Privileged class’, being immune from paying taxes. Before the revolution, they were known for corruption and luxurious living, funded by Church lands and tithes.
The Second Estate comprised the nobility or aristocracy. They held the second position socially, performed no state duties, and were also part of the ‘privileged class’, exempt from taxes. This Estate had divisions like the Noble of the Sword and Noble of the Robe. They fiercely guarded their privileges.
The Third Estate included all others who were not clergy or nobility – the vast majority of the French people. This diverse group ranged from professional people like teachers and doctors (bourgeoisie or middle class) at the top, down to peasants, urban workers (including sans-culottes), and even vagabonds. The Third Estate bore the burden of paying taxes to the royal government. The middle class, though often wealthy and capable, resented their third-rank status. The peasantry formed the most numerous group, often burdened by taxes and dues, with many being landless labourers. Urban workers were largely unskilled and poor.
21. Why the philosophers against French absolutism and Fiscal policies ?
Answer: The writers (philosophes) who appeared in France during the late eighteenth century prepared the ground for revolution by mentally preparing the French people. They popularized certain ideas that made French monarchical absolutism irrelevant and criticized the King’s fiscal policy.
Montesquieu pointed out that the rule of one individual person not restrained by law was arbitrary, and under such a rule, no one could feel secure. Jean Jacques Rousseau stated that the king was the creation of society and should rule with the consent of the people, even suggesting the people had the right to dethrone a king. Some believed absolute monarchy should be tempered due to the miseries faced under Louis XVI.
Regarding fiscal policies, Vauban, a French military engineer, hoped for a just system of taxation and criticized the tax immunities of the clergy and aristocracy. Economists called the physiocrats sought to apply rationalism in the economic sphere, directing blows against governmental regulation. Their watchword was Laissez-faire (free-trade), advocating for the distribution of wealth by natural law without government interference. These thinkers collectively challenged the foundations of absolute rule and the inequitable financial system.
22. Discuss the aristocratic revolt in the pre-revolutionary France.
Answer: Faced with economic bankruptcy, Calonne, the Finance Minister of Louis XVI, drew up a comprehensive plan of financial reform. Apprehending that the Parlement of Paris (a law court, not a modern parliament) would oppose the proposed fiscal measures, the plan was placed before the Council of Notables, a body nominated by the King and expected to be docile. However, the Notables expressed their inability to approve the proposed reforms.
As financial problems deepened, the new Finance Minister, Brienne, placed the reform measures before the Parlement of Paris for approval. The Parlement of Paris refused to approve the plan of reforms and instead pressed for the summoning of the States-General (or Estates General), which had last met in 1614. This refusal by the Parlement of Paris (representing aristocratic interests) to approve the proposed fiscal programme of reforms is regarded as what constituted the Aristocratic Revolt (1788). The showdown of the aristocracy brought together the middle-class and popular discontent with common aims against common enemies, the King and the existing system.
23. Discuss the background of the fall of Bastille ?
Answer: The course of events after the summoning of the States-General in May 1789 proved that the representatives of the Third Estate were determined to become the law givers of the nation, leading to the conversion of the States General into the National Constituent Assembly. However, before the Assembly could proceed with drawing up a constitution, the country faced outbreaks of violence, the most important being the storming of the Bastille.
On 14 July 1789, a violent mob attacked the Bastille, an old fortress used as a prison, and razed it to the ground. The crowd was fearful of a government counter-attack and searched for arms. Their primary object was to seize the muskets, gunpowder, cartridges, etc., stored in the fortress. The release of the prisoners was a secondary issue. The Bastille also stood as a symbol of royal despotism that supplied guns for suppressing the suburb town of Saint-Antoine. The crowd included artisans, masters, locksmiths, cobblers, shopkeepers, and similar others. The fall of the Bastille marked the end of royal absolutism in France, encouraged peasants to revolt, and paved the way for the end of feudalism.
24. Write in brief about the National Constituent Assembly.
Answer: Following the Tennis Court Oath on 20 June 1789 and the King’s subsequent agreement for the three Estates to sit together and vote individually, the States-General was converted into the National Constituent Assembly. This Assembly was tasked with drawing up a constitution for France. Its representatives were initially not merely tax-payers but were determined to become the law givers of the nation.
The Assembly laboured for two years (1789-1791) and completed its work in 1791. Its first great achievement was the destruction of feudalism and serfdom, substituting an individualist society for the traditional class society. The members proclaimed individual rights and liberties in the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The constitution provided for separation of power, vesting legislative power in the Legislative Assembly. It reflected ideas from philosophers like Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. Religious toleration was proclaimed, Church property was confiscated, and the clergy became part of the civic body responsible to the state. The Assembly formally adopted the new Constitution for France on 30 September 1791. However, the government it provided for was short-lived due to rising radicalism, financial difficulties, food scarcity, and the King’s attempted flight.
25. Write a note about abolition of feudalism.
Answer: As per the new Constitution adopted by the National Constituent Assembly in 1791, feudalism was abolished. The nobility lost all the privileges they had enjoyed for a long time, including their rights of private justice. Rights on land that were usurped or acquired by violent means were taken away. Their titles were abolished, reducing the formerly privileged nobility to the simple status of citizen, thus achieving the common people’s demand for social equality. Furthermore, the privilege of price-fixing and levying corvee (a kind of forced labour) were abolished. Exclusive rights enjoyed by the nobility, such as keeping pigeons and shooting rabbits, were also taken away. These measures marked the end of feudalism. However, the abolition of feudalism also gave rise to a new concept of property – total liberty in the use of property – which benefited the middle class more than the commoners, and marked a transfer of political and social power from the aristocracy to the middle class.
26. What were the democratic rights of citizens ?
Answer: Democracy is a system of government where sovereignty is vested with the people, associated with choosing governments through the election of representatives. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed that all citizens had the right to participate in the making of the law. However, the new Constitution of 1791 restricted the voting rights. It split the citizens of France into two categories: ‘Active Citizens’ and ‘Passive citizens’. The right to vote was granted only to the Active Citizens, who were defined as property holders. This provision in the Constitution deprived the larger part of the citizens, the Passive citizens, from participation in the election and thus limited the practical application of democratic rights initially proclaimed.
27. Write a note about the Sans Culottes.
Answer: Sans culottes were a combination of social forces that emerged in Paris during the course of the French Revolution. They despised the nobility and refused to wear breeches, known as ‘culottes’ in French, which had been the fashion of the aristocrats. Instead, they wore trousers, acquiring the name ‘sans culottes’, meaning ‘without breeches’.
Sans culottes made up the bulk of the population of Paris and other towns. They included a wide range of people, from wage-earners at the bottom to wealthier individuals like brewers or furniture contractors at the top. Some were clerks or former professional soldiers. While a few were rich, the bulk of the Parisian sans culottes consisted of tradesmen, shopkeepers, and craftsmen. During the critical years after the fall of the monarchy in France, the sans culottes played an important role. For instance, on 10 August 1792, the Parisian mob (sans-culottes, a combination of urban workers, wage-earners, vagabonds, etc.) broke into the royal palace at Tuileries, leading to the dismissal and imprisonment of King Louis XVI. They were also instrumental in the expulsion of the Girondins from the National Convention under pressure from the Parisian mob mobilized by Jacobin leaders like Robespierre.
Long Answer Type Questions-II
28. What was the main conflict of the Royalty with the third estate in France ? Discuss about the effect of the conflict.
Answer: The main conflict between the Royalty and the Third Estate in France arose immediately after the opening of the States-General on 5 May 1789, centering on the procedure of voting. According to the prevalent practice, the elected representatives were assigned one vote to each Estate (vote per order). This meant that despite the Third Estate having 621 representatives compared to the First Estate’s 308 and the Second Estate’s 285 (totaling 1214 representatives), the total number of votes stood at only 3. The newly elected members of the Third Estate refused to accept this pattern of voting and demanded ‘vote per capita’ (one man one vote). The King refused to concede this demand, supported by the First and Second Estates who favoured the King due to self-interest against the Third Estate members. The Third Estate members refused to vote by Estates, fearing their reforms would be outvoted two to one.
The effects of this conflict were significant. On 20 June 1789, finding their Assembly hall closed, the Third Estate members assembled in an adjacent tennis court and took the ‘Tennis Court Oath’, vowing ‘never to separate … until the constitution of the kingdom shall be established.’ This Oath was a ‘declaration of the end of the absolute monarchy’ and the beginning of people’s sovereignty. Although the King initially remained adamant and commanded the Estates to sit separately, the defiant attitude of the Third Estate, who declared they were there by the will of the people and would only leave if forced, had the desired effect. The King reversed his earlier decision and agreed the three Estates should sit together and vote individually as members of a National Constituent Assembly. This set the stage for a radical change in the political institution and social structure of the ancient regime and marked the conversion of the States General into the National Constituent Assembly. The conflict and its resolution proved doubtlessly that the King, despite enjoying absolute power, had failed to rule the country and had to give in to the wishes of the people. It marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Furthermore, the showdown brought together the middle-class and popular discontent with common aims and enemies. Before the Assembly could proceed with constitution-making, the country faced outbreaks of violence, most importantly the storming of the Bastille.
29. Write briefly about the Jacobins and the Girondists.
Answer: The Jacobins and the Girondins were the most important political clubs that began to form soon after the States-General were in session. As there were no political parties at that time, these clubs played an important part in moulding the minds of the French people, keeping the public informed of major issues, supporting election candidates, and acting as pressure groups to influence representatives.
Both the Jacobins and the Girondins strongly believed in the Revolution and the Republic. They hated privileges and favoured liberal economic policy. Both were committed to winning the war France was engaged in. However, they differed in their sources of support: the Girondins had support in the provinces, while the Jacobins had solid backing from the clubs and the Parisian mob. Moreover, both groups were suspicious of each other.
The history of the National Convention, particularly during the time France was at war and facing royalist insurrection, became a struggle for power between the Girondins and the Jacobins. The Girondins, generally high-born gentlemen, were for abolishing royalty but not altogether for the murder of the king, and even tried unsuccessfully to get him a reprieve after voting for his death. After the king’s death, the Girondins became increasingly opposed to the Jacobin leaders, who resolved to rid themselves of their rivals. On 26 May 1793, Robespierre invited the Parisian mob (sans-culottes) to insurrect against the Girondin representatives. The mob surrounded the Convention, demanding the expulsion of Girondins. When the Girondins tried to leave, they were forced back. On 2 June 1973, the National Convention yielded to mob pressure, and the Girondin representatives were either expelled or put under arrest. The fall of the Girondins removed the check upon the fierce determination of the Jacobins, who were now free to use power as they wished, leading to the introduction of the system of ‘terror’, known as the ‘Reign of Terror’, to rescue France from her enemies.
30. What was the role of women in the French Revolution ?
Answer: Women of France have not found much space in the history of the French Revolution, with hardly any reference to women individually or as a group, aside from famous aristocrats like Madame Roland. Yet, at a very critical stage of the Revolution, the working women of France played a very crucial role.
A significant instance was the leadership women provided to the menfolk in the great march to Versailles from Paris. The background was hunger stimulating the women of Paris to action in August-September 1789 due to a shortage in the supply of flour for bread, which benefited speculators. Bakers and city administrators were accused of hoarding. Constant bread riots occurred, particularly in Paris and Versailles. Women took the leading part in the agitation; to prevent hoarding by bakers, they seized grain carts. On 5 October 1789, a crowd of women surrounded the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) demanding bread. The same day, thousands of women set off to march to the Royal Palace at Versailles, joined by some men and followed by 20,000 National Guards under Lafayette. The next morning, the King consented to accompany the mob back to Paris. The women marchers compelled the King and his family to accompany them, shouting “We have the baker (King) and the baker’s wife (Queen) and the little cook-by (Prince) – now we shall have bread.” They installed Louis XVI in the palace of Tuileries.
The march of the women to Versailles, along with the fall of the Bastille, were the two events of utmost importance. As a result, the National Assembly became independent of the King and dependent on the populace of Paris. The King promised extra supplies of bread and agreed to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a document he had earlier refused to assent to.
Extras
Additional MCQs
1. What French term describes the old order destroyed in 1789?
A. Ancien Regime
B. Nouvel Regime
C. Vieux Regime
D. Regime Actuel
Answer: A. Ancien Regime
2. In which year did French revolutionaries begin replacing the Ancient Regime?
A. 1787
B. 1789
C. 1791
D. 1793
Answer: B. 1789
3. How many lettres de cachet were issued during the reign of Louis XV?
A. 14 000
B. 50 000
C. 100 000
D. 150 000
Answer: D. 150 000
4. How many lettres de cachet were issued under Louis XVI?
A. 1 400
B. 14 000
C. 40 000
D. 140 000
Answer: B. 14 000
5. Which historian called the French government a “Political Prison”?
A. H. A. Taine
B. Georges Lefebvre
C. William Doyle
D. Jean Jacques Rousseau
Answer: B. Georges Lefebvre
6. What nickname highlighted France’s tax privilege disparity before 1789?
A. Political Prison
B. Museum of Economic Errors
C. Treasury of Privilege
D. Garden of Privilege
Answer: B. Museum of Economic Errors
7. Which groups were exempt from taxation under the Ancient Regime?
A. Peasants and workers
B. Clergy and nobility
C. Bourgeoisie and clergy
D. Workers and nobility
Answer: B. Clergy and nobility
8. What was the name of the salt tax in pre-revolutionary France?
A. Taille
B. Gabelle
C. Corvée
D. Vingtième
Answer: B. Gabelle
9. Which term refers to internal customs duties on consumer goods?
A. Aides
B. Traites
C. Capitation
D. Corvée
Answer: B. Traites
10. What was the excise duty on consumer goods called?
A. Gabelle
B. Taille
C. Aides
D. Capitation
Answer: C. Aides
11. In northern France which direct tax was levied on total income?
A. Vingtième
B. Taille
C. Capitation
D. Corvée
Answer: B. Taille
12. Which poll-tax was later collected only from commoners?
A. Taille
B. Corvée
C. Capitation
D. Vingtième
Answer: C. Capitation
13. What was the tax on real estate income called?
A. Gabelle
B. Vingtième
C. Capitation
D. Taille
Answer: B. Vingtième
14. Which labour service demanded on royal highways became a cash tax?
A. Taille
B. Corvée
C. Aides
D. Capitation
Answer: B. Corvée
15. According to H. A. Taine, what fraction of peasant income was exhausted by taxes?
A. One-half
B. Two-thirds
C. Three-quarters
D. Four-fifths
Answer: D. Four-fifths
16. How many Estates comprised pre-revolutionary French society?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: B. Three
17. Who belonged to the First Estate?
A. Bourgeoisie
B. Clergy
C. Nobility
D. Peasants
Answer: B. Clergy
18. Which group made up the Second Estate?
A. Peasants
B. Urban workers
C. Nobility
D. Clergy
Answer: C. Nobility
19. Who were members of the Third Estate?
A. Clergy
B. Nobility
C. Peasants, bourgeoisie and workers
D. Only peasants
Answer: C. Peasants, bourgeoisie and workers
20. Which doctrine held that kings ruled by divine authority?
A. Social contract
B. Divine Right of Kingship
C. Separation of powers
D. Popular sovereignty
Answer: B. Divine Right of Kingship
21. Under which monarch did France display a disciplined administration?
A. Louis XV
B. Louis XVI
C. Louis XIV
D. Charles X
Answer: C. Louis XIV
22. Under whose reign did autocratic oppression intensify, leading to revolution?
A. Louis X
B. Louis XIV
C. Louis XV
D. Louis XVI
Answer: D. Louis XVI
23. Which two divisions existed within the Second Estate?
A. Sword and Robe
B. Sword and Bourgeoisie
C. Robe and Clergy
D. Bourgeoisie and Peasants
Answer: A. Sword and Robe
24. What name described the urban working class who refused to wear breeches?
A. Bourgeoisie
B. Sans-culottes
C. Vingtième
D. Gabelle
Answer: B. Sans-culottes
25. Which school of economic thought promoted laissez-faire?
A. Mercantilists
B. Physiocrats
C. Scholastics
D. Socialists
Answer: B. Physiocrats
26. Who argued that unrestrained rule by one individual was arbitrary?
A. Rousseau
B. Voltaire
C. Montesquieu
D. Vauban
Answer: C. Montesquieu
27. Who asserted that a king could be dethroned by the people?
A. Montesquieu
B. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
C. Voltaire
D. Vauban
Answer: B. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
28. Which engineer criticised fiscal immunities of clergy and nobility?
A. Vauban
B. Carnot
C. Saint Just
D. Robespierre
Answer: A. Vauban
29. What were the law-courts that acted as a brake on absolutism?
A. Parlements
B. Clubs
C. Estates
D. Councils
Answer: A. Parlements
30. Which body first refused Calonne’s financial reforms?
A. Parlement of Paris
B. Council of Notables
C. National Assembly
D. Estates-General
Answer: B. Council of Notables
31. Which body then rejected Brienne’s reform plan?
A. Council of Notables
B. Parlement of Paris
C. National Constituent Assembly
D. Estates-General
Answer: B. Parlement of Paris
32. In which year did the aristocratic revolt take place?
A. 1787
B. 1788
C. 1789
D. 1790
Answer: B. 1788
33. On which date did the Estates-General open in 1789?
A. 1 May
B. 5 May
C. 10 May
D. 20 May
Answer: B. 5 May
34. What voting system did the Third Estate demand?
A. Vote by order
B. Vote per capita
C. Electoral college
D. Unanimous vote
Answer: B. Vote per capita
35. On which date was the Tennis Court Oath sworn?
A. 14 June 1789
B. 20 June 1789
C. 26 August 1789
D. 14 July 1789
Answer: B. 20 June 1789
36. Where did deputies vow not to separate until a constitution was established?
A. Assembly hall
B. Tennis court
C. Royal palace
D. Church
Answer: B. Tennis court
37. On which date was the Bastille stormed?
A. 14 July 1789
B. 26 August 1789
C. 5 October 1789
D. 10 August 1792
Answer: A. 14 July 1789
38. What was the main aim of the Bastille attack?
A. Free prisoners
B. Seize arms
C. Destroy tapestries
D. Capture governor
Answer: B. Seize arms
39. How long did the National Constituent Assembly draft the constitution?
A. One year
B. Eighteen months
C. Two years
D. Three years
Answer: C. Two years
40. Which document proclaimed individual rights in 1789?
A. Civil Code
B. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
C. Edict of Fraternity
D. Charter of Liberties
Answer: B. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
41. On which date was the Declaration of the Rights of Man approved?
A. 14 July 1789
B. 20 June 1789
C. 26 August 1789
D. 5 October 1789
Answer: C. 26 August 1789
42. How many chambers did the 1791 constitution create?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
Answer: A. One
43. Which body held legislative power under the 1791 constitution?
A. National Convention
B. Legislative Assembly
C. Estates-General
D. Committee of Public Safety
Answer: B. Legislative Assembly
44. On which date did sans-culottes storm the Tuileries Palace?
A. 14 July 1789
B. 5 October 1789
C. 10 August 1792
D. 21 January 1793
Answer: C. 10 August 1792
45. When did France become a republic?
A. 14 July 1790
B. 10 August 1792
C. 20 September 1792
D. 21 January 1793
Answer: C. 20 September 1792
46. On which date was Louis XVI executed?
A. 10 August 1792
B. 20 September 1792
C. 21 January 1793
D. 28 July 1794
Answer: C. 21 January 1793
47. Which edict promised French aid to oppressed peoples?
A. Edict of Tolerance
B. Edict of Rights
C. Edict of Fraternity
D. Edict of Liberty
Answer: C. Edict of Fraternity
48. In which month and year was the Edict of Fraternity issued?
A. August 1792
B. September 1792
C. October 1792
D. November 1792
Answer: D. November 1792
49. What coalition formed against France in 1793?
A. Second Coalition
B. First European Coalition
C. Third Coalition
D. Continental Alliance
Answer: B. First European Coalition
50. On which date were Girondin deputies expelled from the Convention?
A. 26 May 1793
B. 2 June 1793
C. 10 October 1793
D. 28 July 1794
Answer: B. 2 June 1793
51. When did the Committee of Public Safety assume supreme power?
A. 2 June 1793
B. 10 October 1793
C. 21 January 1793
D. 28 July 1794
Answer: B. 10 October 1793
52. What law allowed arrest of suspected counter-revolutionaries?
A. Law of Terror
B. Law of Suspects
C. Law of Rights
D. Law of Equality
Answer: B. Law of Suspects
53. Which body tried anti-revolutionaries during the Terror?
A. Revolutionary Committee
B. Revolutionary Tribunal
C. National Convention
D. Legislative Assembly
Answer: B. Revolutionary Tribunal
54. Which of these was not a main organiser of the Reign of Terror?
A. Robespierre
B. Saint Just
C. Carnot
D. Vauban
Answer: D. Vauban
55. On which date was Robespierre executed?
A. 21 January 1793
B. 10 October 1793
C. 2 June 1793
D. 28 July 1794
Answer: D. 28 July 1794
56. What panic spread in summer 1789 over rumours of brigands?
A. Great Anxiety
B. Great Fear
C. Rural Panic
D. Forest Panic
Answer: B. Great Fear
57. On which date did women march to Versailles?
A. 5 October 1789
B. 14 July 1789
C. 26 August 1789
D. 20 June 1789
Answer: A. 5 October 1789
58. What shortage triggered the march of Parisian women to Versailles?
A. Bread shortage
B. Flour shortage
C. Meat shortage
D. Wine shortage
Answer: B. Flour shortage
59. Which general led National Guards escorting the women’s march?
A. Robespierre
B. Lafayette
C. Saint Just
D. Carnot
Answer: B. Lafayette
60. Which palace did the women’s march target?
A. Tuileries
B. Louvre
C. Versailles
D. Fontainebleau
Answer: C. Versailles
61. Which of these is not a right in the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
A. Liberty
B. Property
C. Education
D. Security
Answer: C. Education
62. Under the 1791 constitution, who could vote?
A. Passive citizens
B. All residents
C. Active citizens
D. Clergy only
Answer: C. Active citizens
63. On which date was the new constitution adopted?
A. 26 August 1789
B. 30 September 1791
C. 1 October 1791
D. 10 August 1792
Answer: B. 30 September 1791
64. When did the Legislative Assembly first convene?
A. 26 August 1789
B. 30 September 1791
C. 1 October 1791
D. 5 October 1789
Answer: C. 1 October 1791
65. Who benefited most from the new concept of property after feudalism ended?
A. Peasants
B. Urban workers
C. Middle class
D. Clergy
Answer: C. Middle class
66. Which slogan summarises the ideals of the French Revolution?
A. Liberty, Justice, Fraternity
B. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
C. Liberty, Union, Fraternity
D. Equality, Justice, Unity
Answer: B. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
67. To which country did France gift the Statue of Liberty?
A. England
B. America
C. Germany
D. Russia
Answer: B. America
68. In which year did America gain independence prompting the gift of the Statue of Liberty?
A. 1776
B. 1789
C. 1792
D. 1804
Answer: A. 1776
69. Which German university city’s students planted a Tree of Liberty?
A. Heidelberg
B. Bonn
C. Tubingen
D. Berlin
Answer: C. Tubingen
70. What form of government did the National Convention declare in 1792?
A. Monarchy
B. Republic
C. Empire
D. Confederation
Answer: B. Republic
Additional Questions, Answers
1. What French term is synonymous with the Ancient Regime?
Answer: The French term Ancien Regime is synonymous with the English Ancient Regime (or old order).
2. In which year did “Ancien Régime” become the standard term for pre-1789 France?
Answer: By 1790, the Ancien Regime became the standard term to describe the situation obtained in France before 1789.
3. What was the infamous salt tax called?
Answer: The infamous and inequitable salt tax was called gabelle.
4. Which direct tax, originally universal, was later levied only on commoners?
Answer: Capitation (poll-tax) was a direct tax which originally was levied on all Frenchmen, but later on it was collected only from the commoners.
5. What was the forced-labour service on royal highways known as?
Answer: The labour service demanded on royal highways was known as Corvee.
6. Which philosopher asserted that sovereignty resides with the people and that they may dethrone a king?
Answer: Jean Jacques Rousseau asserted that the king was the creation of the society and was to rule with the consent of the people, and that the people have the right to dethrone a king.
7. What phrase described France’s deficit-ridden status under unequal taxation?
Answer: In view of the disparity in levying taxes, France became, as it were, the ‘Museum of Economic Errors’.
8. Which three-word slogan encapsulated the ideals of the Revolution?
Answer: The three-word slogan that encapsulated the ideals of the French Revolution was ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’.
9. On what date did the Bastille fall?
Answer: The Bastille fell on 14 July 1789.
10. What panic-driven phenomenon sparked agrarian revolts in 1789?
Answer: The panic-driven phenomenon known as the Great Fear, which was the product of a rumour or story that gave currency to the belief that ‘brigands’, mostly foreigners, were coming to ravage the countryside and destroy the peasants’ property, sparked widespread agrarian revolts in mid-1789.
11. What body did the deputies of the Third Estate form to draft a constitution?
Answer: The conversion of the States General led to the National Constituent Assembly, which proceeded with the work of drawing up a constitution. The National Assembly assumed the name National Constituent Assembly and busied itself in drawing up a constitution for France on and from 12 August 1789.
12. Which assembly formally declared France a republic in September 1792?
Answer: The newly elected assembly known as the National Convention met in session on 20 September 1792 and its first act was to declare France a ‘republic’.
13. Who led the National Guard on the march to Versailles?
Answer: Lafayette led the 20,000 National Guards who followed the women on the march to Versailles.
14. What tribunal tried counter-revolutionaries during the Terror?
Answer: The Revolutionary Tribunal was a sort of criminal court where counter-revolutionaries were brought to trial during the Reign of Terror.
15. Under the revolutionary calendar, which month names the Reaction that ended the Terror?
Answer: According to the new Revolutionary Calendar introduced by the National Convention, Thermidor is the month that names the Reaction that ended the Terror, as the equivalent date of 28 July was 20th Thermidor.
16. Why was pre-revolutionary France described as a “political prison”?
Answer: During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the will of the French monarch had become virtually the law of the land. Any critic of the government or opponent of some noble was liable to be arrested arbitrarily and put to prison without a trial. Some 1,50,000 royal writs known as lettre de cachet (sealed letter) were issued for the arrest of persons during the reign of King Louis XV, and another 14,000 under XVI. Thus symbolically the French government was said to be the ‘Political Prison’ by Georges Lefebvre.
17. How did leasing out indirect taxes to the farmers-general worsen the royal deficit?
Answer: In the years prior to the outbreak of the revolution in 1789, there had been an increase in the rate of taxes. But the benefit of the hiked revenue went into the pockets of the revenue-collectors (called farmers-general). Another faulty system of tax-collection was leasing out of indirect taxes to a group of powerful financiers. Owing to this faulty collection-system, the increased amount went to the pockets of the dishonest revenue-collectors, contributing to the government’s inability to meet its serious annual deficit.
18. Explain the regional inequality in the imposition of the taille.
Answer: In the imposition of the direct tax taille, there were inequalities from region to region. In northern France, the taille was a tax levied on total income. But in the southern region, it was charged on income from landed property.
19. How did the Third Estate’s demand for “vote per capita” challenge the traditional Estates’ voting?
Answer: According to the prevalent practice in the Estates-General, the elected representatives were assigned one vote to each Estate. Thus despite the total number of representatives being 1214 (First Estate 308, Second Estate 285 and Third Estate 621), the total number of votes stood at 3 only. The newly elected members of the Third Estate refused to accept this pattern of voting and demanded ‘vote per capita’ (one man one vote) instead of vote per order. This challenged the traditional system where the First and Second Estates could outvote the Third Estate two to one, ensuring their cherished reforms would not pass.
20. What immediate effect did the Tennis Court Oath have on royal authority?
Answer: The Tennis Court Oath, where members of the Third Estate vowed ‘never to separate … until the constitution of the kingdom shall be established,’ was a ‘declaration of the end of the absolute monarchy’ and the beginning of people’s sovereignty. Although the King initially remained adamant and commanded the Estates to sit separately, the defiant attitude of the Third Estate members, who stated they were there by the will of the people, had the desired effect. The King reversed his earlier decision and agreed the three Estates sit together and vote individually as the National Constituent Assembly, marking a significant concession of royal authority.
21. How did Louis XVI’s flight to Varennes undermine his reign?
Answer: The immediate result of the King’s flight to Varennes, where he was recognized and stopped before being brought back to Paris, was that he lost what remained of his popularity. People now started to talk openly about replacing the monarchy by a republic, thus severely undermining his reign and the institution of monarchy itself.
22. Which measures did the National Constituent Assembly take to abolish feudal dues?
Answer: As per the new Constitution adopted by the National Constituent Assembly, the nobility lost the privileges they had been enjoying. They lost their rights of private justice. Also, the nobility was deprived of the rights on land that were usurped or acquired by violent means. In addition, their titles were abolished. Further, the privilege of price-fixing and levying corvee, a kind of forced labour, were abolished. Besides, the exclusive rights to keep pigeons and shoot rabbits, etc. that had been enjoyed by the nobility were all taken away. These measures marked the end of feudalism.
23. Why did the Edict of Fraternity provoke other European monarchs?
Answer: The National Convention had decreed the Edict of Fraternity in November 1792. The Edict promised French aid to oppressed peoples in any part of Europe who should rise against their rulers. This was a challenge to every European power, provoking the monarchs of Europe who viewed the Revolution, which attacked class-society and absolute monarchy, with grave misgiving.
24. In what ways did the absence of reliable information fuel the Great Fear?
Answer: The mysterious Great Fear was the product of a rumour or story that gave currency to the belief that ‘brigands’, mostly foreigners, were coming to ravage the countryside and destroy the peasants’ property. The rumour spread from market to market and along the course of rivers, inflaming the rural people. The lack of administrative measures and absence of provincial newspapers also helped to propagate the scare and anxiety among the common people, fueling the Great Fear as reliable information was missing.
25. What roles did the Committee of Public Safety and the Law of Suspects play in enforcing the Terror?
Answer: The Committee of Public Safety and the Law of Suspects were two of the three instruments through which the Reign of Terror was executed. The Committee of Public Safety was a special committee entrusted with the supreme power of France, superseding the National Convention for the time being; its duty was to enforce law and order everywhere in the country. The Law of Suspects was the law enforced by the Revolutionary Tribunal (the third instrument); it was applied widely on all persons suspected of anti-revolutionary activities, who were then hauled up and sent for trial, often leading to the guillotine.
26. Analyse the social and economic factors that led to France being dubbed the “museum of economic errors.”
Answer: France came to be dubbed the ‘Museum of Economic Errors’ due to significant social and economic disparities, particularly in its taxation system, during the pre-revolutionary period. Despite the pre-revolutionary government facing a serious annual deficit, extraordinary privileges were possessed by the nobility and the clergy. The most outstanding of these privileges was exemption from the weight of taxation. The financial burden of the peasant, on the other hand, was crushing. Not only did a peasant pay several taxes to the King, but in addition he paid a tax to the Church as also taxes to the local noble.
In view of such disparity in levying taxes, France became, as it were, the ‘Museum of Economic Errors’. The chief weakness of the government was its faulty finance, stemming from a faulty system of collection of revenue and the tax immunities enjoyed by the privileged classes, making it unable to meet the deficit. It wasn’t possible to increase the already high tax burden. Although taxes increased in the years prior to 1789, the benefit went into the pockets of dishonest revenue-collectors (farmers-general) due to faulty collection systems, including the leasing out of indirect taxes to powerful financiers. Indirect taxes like the infamous salt tax (gabelle) and internal custom duties (traites) were collected inequitably on consumer goods. Direct taxes also suffered from inequalities; the taille varied between north and south, capitation tax was eventually collected only from commoners, and the Vingtieme, levied on real estate income, exempted the aristocracy or nobles.
27. Analyse the role of the physiocrats and the concept of laissez-faire in critiquing the Ancien Régime’s fiscal system.
Answer: Of paramount importance in critiquing the Ancien Régime’s fiscal system was a group of thinkers called the physiocrats. These economists sought to apply rationalism in the economic sphere. They directed their blows against every form of governmental regulation in respect of economy. Laissez-faire (free-trade) was the watchword of this economic school. The idea behind this was to allow distribution of wealth by natural law without any interference by governments. This stood in contrast to the existing system burdened by regulations and unequal fiscal policies.
28. Describe the key issues—political, financial and social—that compelled Louis XVI to summon the Estates-General in May 1789.
Answer: Louis XVI was compelled to summon the States-General due to a combination of severe financial crisis, political deadlock, and social pressures. Faced with economic bankruptcy, Calonne, the Finance Minister, drew up a comprehensive plan of financial reform. Apprehending opposition from the Parlement of Paris, the plan was placed before the Council of Notables, a body nominated by the King. However, the Notables expressed their inability to approve the proposed reforms. As financial problems deepened, the new Finance Minister, Brienne, placed the reform measures before the Parlement of Paris. The Parlement refused to approve the plan of reforms and pressed for the summoning of the State-General (or Estates General). This refusal by the Parlement of Paris constituted the Aristocratic Revolt (1788).
Under the pressure of these circumstances, Louis XVI agreed to summon the States-General, which had last met in 1614. The summoning itself was important as it proved doubtlessly that the King, despite enjoying absolute power, had failed to rule the country and had to give in to the wishes of the people. This marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
29. Evaluate the limitations of the Constitution of 30 September 1791 regarding active and passive citizenship.
Answer: While the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed that all citizens had the right to participate in the making of the law, the new Constitution adopted on 30 September 1791 imposed significant limitations regarding citizenship and voting rights. The Constitution restricted the voting rights to those who owned property, described in the Constitution as the ‘Active Citizens’. In fact, the citizens of France were split into two categories—Active and Passive citizens. The right to vote was acceded only to the Active Citizens who were property holders. Such a provision in the Constitution deprived the larger part of the citizens from participation in the election.
30. Assess the impact of the Storming of the Bastille on rural uprisings and the spread of revolutionary fervour.
Answer: The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 had a far-reaching impact, significantly encouraging rural uprisings and spreading revolutionary fervour. The Bastille incident encouraged the peasants to revolt and paved the way for the end of feudalism. The fall was widely acclaimed as heralding the birth of liberty, not only in France, but throughout the world.
In the mid-1789, France was shaken by a series of widespread agrarian revolts. These developed from earlier protests against price rises through attacks on the property of the aristocracy and royal forests. This was partly fueled by a strange phenomenon known as the Great Fear, a product of a rumour that ‘brigands’, mostly foreigners, were coming to ravage the countryside and destroy peasants’ property. The rumour spread and inflamed the rural people, causing peasants to arm themselves and await the invaders, although the ‘brigands’ never materialized. This panic, combined with the news and symbolism of the Bastille’s fall, intensified peasant action against the feudal system and demonstrated the spread of revolutionary sentiment beyond Paris.
31. Evaluate how fiscal crisis, social inequality and Enlightenment ideas together precipitated the French Revolution.
Answer: The precipitation of the French Revolution was significantly influenced by a combination of fiscal crisis, social inequality, and Enlightenment ideas.
France was described as a ‘Museum of Economic Errors’. Despite a serious annual deficit in the pre-revolutionary government, extraordinary privileges were possessed by the nobility and the clergy, the most outstanding being exemption from the weight of taxation. The financial burden on the peasant, however, was crushing, involving several taxes to the King, a tax to the Church, and taxes to the local noble. The chief weakness of the pre-revolutionary government was its faulty finance, marked by a serious annual deficit throughout the 17th-18th centuries. A faulty system of revenue collection, tax immunities for privileged classes, and increased revenue benefiting dishonest revenue-collectors (farmers-general) rather than the state, made it impossible to meet the deficit or increase the already high tax burden. Indirect taxes like the infamous salt tax (gabelle) and direct taxes like the taille, capitation, and vingtieme were levied inequitably, often exempting the aristocracy and nobles. The Corvee, a labour service later paid in cash, further burdened common people. This faulty finance and disparity in levying taxes contributed to the crisis.
Social inequality was deeply entrenched in the pre-revolutionary social structure, which constituted three orders or estates besides the King: the First Estate (clergy), the Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (commoners). The first two Estates belonged to the ‘Privileged class’, immune from paying taxes, while the Third Estate bore the responsibility. The clergy, often corrupt and luxurious, derived wealth from land and tithes. The aristocracy, occupying the second position, performed no duty towards the state and was immune from paying tax. The Third Estate included almost every class, from professionals like teachers and doctors (bourgeoisie) down to peasants and urban workers (including sans-culottes). The middle class (bourgeoisie), though often superior to the aristocracy in respects like wealth, held a third position, wounding their sentiment. Peasants, the most numerous, faced crushing financial burdens, with about four-fifths of their income exhausted meeting revenue demands. Landless labourers and urban workers lived in chronic uncertainty and poor conditions. This system, a ‘land of privileges’ for the few and hardship for the many, fueled discontent.
Enlightenment ideas prepared the French people mentally for the revolution. Writers (philosophes) popularized ideas that made French monarchical absolutism irrelevant. Montesquieu pointed out the arbitrary nature of rule by one person unrestrained by law, under which no one could feel secure. Jean Jacques Rousseau asserted that the king was the creation of society, ruled with the consent of the people, and could be dethroned. Thinkers like Vauban criticized the tax immunities of the clergy and aristocracy, hoping for a just system. Economists called physiocrats applied rationalism to the economy, advocating Laissez-faire (free-trade) against governmental regulation. Concepts like ‘citizen’, ‘general will’, ‘sovereignty of the people’, freedom of the individual, and equality of men were popularized through pamphlets, clubs, lodges, and social gatherings, influencing public opinion and garnering support against the King.
Together, the severe fiscal mismanagement and inequitable taxation, the rigid social hierarchy with its inherent inequalities and privileges, and the spread of Enlightenment ideals challenging absolutism and advocating for rights and reason, created an environment ripe for revolution, bringing together the middle class and popular discontent against the common enemies of the Ancient Regime.
32. Critically assess the extent to which the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen reflected the philosophies of Montesquieu and Rousseau.
Answer: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen significantly reflected the philosophies of Montesquieu and Rousseau, serving as a foundational document that condemned the practices of the ancient regime.
Montesquieu had pointed out that the rule of one individual person not restrained by law was arbitrary and insecure. The Declaration directly addressed this by establishing principles based on law and individual rights. It stated, “No man can be accused, arrested or detained except in cases determined by law.” This reflects Montesquieu’s concern for legal constraints on power to prevent arbitrary action and ensure security. The Declaration’s emphasis on liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression aligns with the broader Enlightenment critique of unchecked power, a theme central to Montesquieu’s thought. Furthermore, the Constitution of 1791, for which the Declaration served as a preamble, provided for the separation of power, an idea strongly associated with Montesquieu, vesting legislative power in the Legislative Assembly.
Jean Jacques Rousseau argued that the king was the creation of society and should rule with the consent of the people, even suggesting the people’s right to dethrone a king. The Declaration echoed Rousseau’s emphasis on popular sovereignty and consent, stating, “Every citizen has the right through his representative to consent to the payment of tax.” While not explicitly mentioning the right to dethrone, the Declaration’s assertion that “Men are born free and equal in their rights” and its focus on liberty and equality reflect Rousseau’s ideas on the social contract and the general will. The Declaration admitted every Frenchman’s right to liberty and equality, condemning the monarchical absolutism and the old regime, which Rousseau’s philosophy directly challenged. The Constitution of 1791, incorporating the Declaration, also reflected ideas propounded by Rousseau.
However, the Declaration also had weaknesses, particularly regarding economic freedom and equality, and it made no mention of slavery or the slave trade, areas where its reflection of universal rights might be seen as incomplete compared to the radical implications of some Enlightenment thought. Despite these limitations, the Declaration fundamentally embodied key Enlightenment principles championed by thinkers like Montesquieu and Rousseau, marking a significant shift towards individual rights, legal limits on power, and popular consent as the basis of governance. It acted as a ‘death certificate’ of the old regime and monarchical absolutism.
33. Analyse the causes, defining features and consequences of the Reign of Terror, including its termination in the Thermidorian Reaction.
Answer: The Reign of Terror was a distinct phase of the French Revolution characterized by systematic state-sanctioned violence, arising from a confluence of crises and culminating in the downfall of its main architect.
The causes of the Reign of Terror stemmed from the severe crisis facing the Revolution after the execution of King Louis XVI in January 1793. France faced external aggression from the First European Coalition (including England, Holland, Spain, Austria, Prussia), leading to military defeats. Internally, there were counter-revolutionary rebellions (like the royalist insurrection), economic troubles, and the discontent of the sans-culottes. This crisis exacerbated the conflict between the moderate Girondins and the radical Jacobins within the National Convention. The expulsion of the Girondins in June 1793 removed checks on the Jacobins, freeing them to use force. The immediate object of the Jacobins was to rescue France from her enemies, both internal and external.
The defining features of the Reign of Terror, which began formally around October 1793 and lasted until July 1794, involved the concentration of power and the systematic use of violence to achieve revolutionary goals. On 10 October 1793, the National Convention entrusted supreme power to a special committee, the ‘Committee of Public Safety’, which superseded the Convention itself. This committee, led by Jacobin figures like Robespierre, Carnot, and Saint-Just, executed the Terror through three main instruments: the Committee of Public Safety itself (to enforce law and order), the Revolutionary Tribunal (a criminal court for counter-revolutionaries), and the Law of Suspects (allowing wide application for arresting and trying persons suspected of anti-revolutionary activities). The objectives were to establish law and order, punish anti-revolutionaries, organize and strengthen military power against foreign aggressors, and essentially save the Revolution through ‘despotism of liberty’ – force and terror. A key feature was the widespread use of the guillotine, a machine of instant death; over 20,000 persons were executed in Paris alone.
The main consequence of the Terror was the consolidation of revolutionary authority and the mobilization of resources that helped France eventually turn the tide against its foreign enemies. However, the intense repression and bloodshed created widespread fear and opposition. The Terror consumed many revolutionaries themselves as internal purges intensified.
The termination of the Reign of Terror occurred as the internal reaction against its excesses grew. The fury finally fell on Robespierre himself. He tried to flee but was caught and guillotined along with 21 associates on 28 July 1794. This event is known as the Thermidorian Reaction, named after the date (20th Thermidor) in the new Revolutionary Calendar. The execution of Robespierre brought an end to the Reign of Terror.
34. Discuss the influence of the Revolution’s ideals—liberté, égalité, fraternité—on subsequent political movements across Europe.
Answer: The French Revolution’s ideals, encapsulated in the slogan ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’, had a profound and lasting influence on subsequent political thought and movements across Europe and beyond.
Liberty implied personal freedom to do whatever does not harm others, including free communication of thought and opinion (speech, writing, publishing), liberty of worship, and the right to property. Equality signified the abolition of privilege, enjoyment of equal status in society, equality in the eyes of the law (with the law being the same for everyone), and equal opportunity for jobs based on ability. Fraternity conveyed a message of brotherhood among peoples, regardless of language or background, aiming to spread revolutionary ideas throughout Europe.
These ideals spread rapidly from the very beginning of the Revolution. They moved other peoples to challenge the absolute power of their monarchs. Paris became a centre attracting poets, thinkers, and enlightened individuals from across Europe, like the English poet William Wordsworth, who sought the meaning of liberty. These foreigners observed the political struggles and debates, becoming active propagandists of revolutionary ideas upon returning to their respective countries.
The influence was particularly notable in Germany, where writers and teachers took up the ideas with great enthusiasm. Students at Tubingen planted a Tree of Liberty in appreciation of the revolutionary ideals released by the French. The middle class and peasantry of different European countries were also not immune from the influence of the French Revolution. The National Convention’s Edict of Fraternity in November 1792, promising French aid to oppressed peoples who rose against their rulers, acted as a direct challenge to European monarchies and aimed to export the Revolution.
Furthermore, the idea of fraternity fostered a sense of shared struggle among peoples seeking liberation. France’s gift of the Statue of Liberty to America, commemorating its freedom from England, symbolized the universal appeal of the ideal of liberty championed by the Revolution. Thus, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ became a powerful and enduring slogan that inspired democratic, liberal, and nationalist movements across Europe throughout the 19th century and beyond, challenging existing political and social orders.
