IMPORTANT DATES

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

1. Meeting with the Estates-General, May 5, 1789

2. The Tennis Court Oath, June 20, 1789
3. The storming of the Bastille Prison, July 14, 1789
4. Declaration of the Rights of Man, August 26, 1789
5. Women’s march on Versailles, October 5, 1789
6. The Royal family attempts to escape, June 20, 1791
7. The King’s execution, January 21, 1793
8. The Reign of Terror, September 1793-July 1794
9. Robespierre’s execution, July 27, 1794
10. Coup d’état, November 9-10, 1799

QUESTIONS:
Question 1.
Who was the ruler of France during the revolution?
Answer:
Louis XVI of the Bourbon family was the ruler of France.

Question 2.
Name the three ‘Estates’ into which the French society was divided before
the Revolution.
Answer:

 The First Estate — Clergy

 The Second Estate — Nobility
  The Third Estate — Common people.

Question 3.
When did the French Revolution occur?
Answer:
14th July, 1789.

Question 4.
What was tithes?
Answer:
It was a tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural
produce.

Question 5.
What was taille?
Answer:
It was a direct tax to be paid to the State.

Question 6.
Who formed the National Assembly in France in 1789?
Answer:
Third Estate

Question 7.
To whom was the taxes called Tithes payable by the peasants in the
eighteenth century France?
Answer:
Church.

Question 8.
Which class of society in France was behind the French Revolution?
Answer:
Middle class.

Question 9.
What was the slogan of the French revolutionaries?
Answer:
Liberty, Fraternity and Equality.
Question 10.
On what charges was Louis XVI of France sentenced to death?
Answer:
Treason.

Question 11.
What was feudal system?
Answer:
It was a system under which land was granted to landlords in return for
military or labour services.

Question 12.
Which philosopher had forwarded the principle of voting by the assembly
as a whole, where each member should have one vote, during the rule of
louis XVI?
Answer:
Rousseau.

Question 13.
In which book did Rousseau mention the idea of one person, one vote?
Answer:
The Social Contract.

Question 14.
Give the titles of the books written by :
(a) Rousseau
(b) Charles Montesquieu
Answer:
(a) The Social Contract,
(b) The Spirit of the Laws.

Question 15.
What was the theme of the book ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ written by
Montesquieu?
Answer:
Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between
the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
Question 16.
Which book has proposed a division of power within government?
Answer:
‘The Spirit of the Laws’.

Question 17.
Who proposed a division of power within government?
Answer:
Montesquieu.

Question 18.
Name any four French philosophers who inspired the French people to
revolt.
Answer:

 Jean Jacques Rousseau

 Montesquieu
 Voltaire
 Maximilian Robespierre.

Question 19.
Why was Bastille hated by the French people?
Answer:
Bastille was hated because it stood for the despotic power of the king.

Question 20.
Which Battle sealed the Fate of France in 1815?
Answer:
Battle of Waterloo.

Question 21.
When did France abolish the monarchy and became republic?
Answer:
21st September, 1792.

Question 22.
Name any one class that did not belong to Jacobin Club?
Answer:
Nobles.
Question 23.
Who was the leader of the Jacobin Club?
Answer:
Maximilian Robespierre.

Question 24.
Which period of Famce’s history is known as ‘the Terror’.
Answer:
The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign cn terror.

Question 25.
Name the most popular political club started by the French women.
Answer:
Society of Revolutionary Republican women.

Question 26.
Which law was introduced by revolutionary government in France as help
to improve the lives of women? HOTS
Answer:
Schooling was made compulsory for girls.

Question 27.
Who abolished slavery in France?
Answer:
The Jacobin Clubs.

Question 28.
‘The National Assembly completed the draft of the Constitution in 1791’.
Mention any two features of the Constitution.
Answer:

 It vested the power to make laws in the hands of National Assembly,

 It limited the powers of the monarch. Now powers were decentralised and
assigned to different institutions.

Question 29.
Who wrote the ‘Two Treatises of Government’?
Answer:
John Locke.
Question 30.
What does the Red Cap worn by Sans-Culottes in France symbolize?
Answer:
Liberty.

Question 31.
Name the political body to which the three estates of the French society
sent their representatives? [HOTS ]
Answer:
The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent
their representatives.

The French Revolution Class 9 Important Questions

Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
“Ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of
the French Revolution”. Explain the statement in the light of French
Revolution.
Answer:

 People of Third Estate demanded a society based on freedom and opportunities

to all.
 The National Assembly was formed in 1791 with an object to limit the powers of
the monarch.
 The Constitution framed in 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizens.
 Censorship was abolished in 1789.

Question 2.
Explain the impact of the French Revolution on the life of people of French.
Answer:

 Divorce was made legal, and could be applied by both women and men. Women
could be now trained for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses.
 The Constitution of 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen. It proclaimed that Freedom of speech and opinion and equality before law
were natural rights of each human being by birth. These could not be taken away.
  Newspapers, pamphlets and printed pictures appeared steadily in the towns of
French. From there, they travelled into the countryside. These publications
described and discussed the events and changes taking place in the country.

Question 3.
What compelled Louis XVI to raise taxes in France?
Answer:

 Wars and Economic Crisis : In 1774, when Louis XVI ascended the throne, he
found and empty treasure. The nation had gone into deep dept because of the
fighting in the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the Revolutionary War in
America under Louis XVI. In this war, France helped the 13 American colonies to
gain their independence from Britain. The war added more than a billion livers to a
dept that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres.
 Debt Trap: Lenders who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent
interest on loans. So the French government was obliged to spend an increasing
percentage of its budget on interest payments alone. To meet its regular
expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government
offices or universities the state was forced to increase taxes.
 Extravagant Court: France under various kings had a extravagant court at the
immense palace of Versailles.

Question 4.
Describe the status of the nobles in France before the revolution.
Answer:
The clergy and the nobles led a life of luxury and enjoyed numerous
privileges. On the other hand, the peasants and workers lived a wretched
life. They groaned under heavy taxes and forced labour. The middle-class
comprising of lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc also suffered humiliation at
the hands of the clergy and the nobles. This state of social inequality was
the chief cause of the French Revolution.

Question 5.
“The inequality that existed in the French Society in the Old Regime
became the cause of French Revolution”. Justify the statement by giving
three suitable examples.
Answer:
The examples are :

 French Society was divided into three Estates. The First Estate comprised of
clergy, the Second Estate comprised of nobility and the Third Estate comprised of
businessmen, traders, merchants, artisans, peasants and servants.
  The members of Church and nobility enjoyed certain privileges by birth, the most
important being the exemption from paying taxes to the State.
 Feudal dues were extracted by nobles from peasants and one-tenth of the
agricultural produce of peasants, in the form of Tithes came to the share of clergy.
All members of the Third Estate including peasants paid taxes, thus, the burden of
financing activities of the the state through taxes was borne by the Third Estate
alone creating heavy discontentment.

Question 6.
How did philosophers influence the thinking of the people of France?
Answer:
Philosophers influence the thinking of the people of France as :

 Major changes were introduced in the Russian economy and agriculture after the
revolution. Private property was abolished and land became a state property.
Peasants had the freedom to cultivate on state ” – controlled land.
 A proper system of centralized planning was introduced with the help of five year
plans. It helped in bringing about technological improvements, economic growth
and helped in removing the inequalities in the society.
 The revolution acknowledged right to work and identified dignity of labour.
Socialist economy added a new dimension to democracy, by attributing it as a
socio-economic system.

Question 7.
What was the role of philosophers and thinkers in the French Revolution?
Explain by giving three examples.
Answer:

 The philosophers and thinkers believed that,no group in a society should be

privileged by birth. They supported a society based on freedom and equal laws.
 In his Two Treatises.of government, John Locke 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.

Question 8.
What measures were taken by Robespierre to bring equality in the French
Society? HOTS
Answer:
Measures are :
  Robespierre government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and
prices.
 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; all citizens were required to
eat the quality bread, a loaf made of whole wheat.
 Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address.
 Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
 Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address.

Question 9.
How did the peasants contribute to the outbreak of the French Revolution?
Explain. HOTS
Answer:
Contribution of the peasants to the outbreak of the French Revolution :

 The peasants had to pay various taxes to the government, to the nobles and to
the Church.
 They were subjected to forced labour, they had to work free in the land of the
nobles for three days in a week.
 Crops were trampled by hunting parties of the nobles. About 81% of their income
went to the State, Nobles, Church, 19% of the income was their to live on grass
and roofs and 1,000 peoples of them died due to starvation. As as whole, the
Administration was corrupt.

Question 10.
State the events that led to the formation of the National Assembly.
Answer:

 The Estates General was a political body of France to which the three estates sent
their representatives. The voting in it had been conducted according to the
principle that each estate had one vote.
 This time too when Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General, he decided
to continue the same old practice.
 But the members of the Third Estate demanded that voting now be conducted on
the democratic principle of one person, one vote.
 When the king rejected this proposal, the members of the Third Estate walked out
of the assembly in protest.
 They assembled on 20 June, 1789 in the hall of an indoor tennis court in
Versailles. These representatives of the Third Estate viewed themselves as
spokesmen for whole French nation. They declared themselves a National
Assembly.
Question 11.
Trace the event which led to the fall of Bastille.
Answer:

 On 20th June the representatives of the Third Estate assembled in the hall.
 While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution,
 After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women
stormed into the shops. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into
Paris.
 On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.

Question 12.
Write three main features of the French Constitution of 1971.
Answer:

 Powers of the National Assembly: 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.
 Right to Vote: Not all citizens, however, 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, that is they were entitled to vote. The remaining
men and all women were classed as passive citizens.
 Basic Rights: All the citizens were given some basic rights such as right to life,
freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law. It was the duty of the
state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.

Question 13.
What was the significance of ‘The Tennis Court Oath’ in the French
Revolution?
Answer:

 The Tennis Court Oath was a significant event in the French revolution. The Oath
was taken on 20th June in the hall of an indoor court in the grounds of Versailles.
 The members declared themselves as the National Assembly and swore not to
disperse till they had drafted a Constitution for France that would limit the powers
of the monarch.
 The National Assembly drafted the new Constitution which laid the foundation of
Republic of France.

Question 14.
What was the Convention? Describe its role in France.
Answer:
The elected assembly formed in France in 1792 was called Convention.
Role in France :

 It abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

 Hereditary monarch Louis XVI and his wife were sentenced to death Robespierre
was elected President of the National Convention. He followed the policy of
severe control and punishment. The French Revolution 19

Question 15.
Describe how abolition of slavery became possible in France.
Answer:
Abolition of slavery became possible in France by the following ways :

 The salve trade began in the 18th century. The National Assembly held long
debates about the rights of man should be extended to all French subjects
including those in the colonies.
 Convention legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions. .
 However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery. Finally slavery was abolished in 1848.

Question 16.
Discuss the impact of abolition of censorship in France.
Or
Describe the effects of abolition of law of censorship on France.
Answer:

 France before censorship: In the Old Regime 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.
 Freedom of Speech: Now 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.
 Debate and Discussion: Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of
events could be expressed. Each side sought to convince the others of its position
through the medium of print. Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the
new ideas, but they shaped the nature of debate. Plays, songs and festive
processions attracted large numbers of people. This was one way they could
grasp and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice.

Question 17.
Trace rights which we are enjoying today had origin in the French
Revolution.
Answer:
The following fundamental rights, given in the Indian constitution can be
traced to the French Revolution :

 The right to equality.

 The right to freedom of speech and expression.
 The right to freedom from exploitation.
 The right to constitutional remedies.

The French Revolution Class 9 Important Questions

Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
How was the French society organized? What privileges did certain
sections of the society enjoy? Describe.
Or
‘Social disparity was one of the major causes of the French Revolution.’
Justify by giving examples. HOTS
Answer:
(i) Division of the society into three Estate :

 The First Estate: It consisted of the clergymen and church-fathers.

 The Second Estate: It consisted of landlords, men of noble birth and aristocrats.
 The Third Estate: It consisted of the vast majority of the common masses, the
landless peasants, servants, etc.

(ii) Heavy Burden of Taxes on the Third Estate: The members of the first
two Estates were exempted from paying taxes to the state. So all the taxes
were paid by the people of the Third Estate.
(iii) Wide Gap between People of Different Estates: Most of the people of
the Third Estate were employed as labourers in workshops with fixed
wages. The wages failed to keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap
between the poor and the rich widened.
(iv) No Political Rights: Out of the total population, the first and the second
Estates had share of 2%. The remaining people belonged to the Third
Estate. Although the upper two classes made up only a small fraction of the
total population, yet they were the people who controlled the political and
economic system of the nation. They enjoyed all the rights and privileges.
The entire machinery of the government was designed to protect their
interests and privileges.
(v) Unequal Distribution of Wealth : In the French society, peasants made
up about 90% of the population. However, only a small number of them
owned the land they cultivated. About 60% of the land was owned by
nobles, the church and other richer members of the Third Estate.

Question 2.
Explain the role of thinkers and philosophers in the French Revolution.
Answer:
(i) Influence of the Philosophers and Writers: There were many French
philosophers and thinkers like John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau,
Voltaire and Mirabeau, who exposed the evils prevailing in the system.
They infused people with the idea of liberty, equality and fraternity.

(ii) Charles Montesquieu (1689-1775): A nobleman by birth, he became a

lawyer and a judge. In his book, “The Spirit of Laws”, he criticised
autocracy and praised the democratic republic.

(iii) Francis Aronet Voltaire (1694-1778): Voltaire was another outstanding

philosopher of the Revolution. He wanted the people to think about their
material life on earth, and forget about heaven. He condemned the Church
which supported the privileged class, and ignored the poor.

(iv) Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Rousseau is regarded as the

architect of the French Revolution. He gave the slogan “Man was born free,
yet he is everywhere in chains”. In the famous book, “The Social Contract”,
he proved that the government was the result of a social contract between
the people on the one hand, and ruler on the other. So if the ruler did not
fulfil the contract, the people had the right to withdraw their loyalty to him,
and bring down the tyranny of the ruler, by revolting.

(v) John Locke: He was also a great political thinker. He wrote ‘Two
Treatises of Government’ in which he sought to refute the doctrine of the
divine and the absolute right of the monarch.

Question 3.
Explain the events that led to the insurrection of 1792 in France.
Answer:
(i) Assembly of the Estates: On 5th May, 1789 Louis XVI called together an
assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. Voting in
the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the
principle that each estate had one vote. This time too, Louis XVI was
determined to continue the same practice. But members of the Third Estate
demanded that voting now should be conducted by the assembly as a
whole, where each member would have one vote. When the king rejected
this proposal, members of the Third Estate walked out of the assembly in
protest.

(ii) National Assembly : The representatives of the Third Estate viewed

themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. On 20th June, they
assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
They declared themselves a National Assembly, and swore not to disperse
till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of
the monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s.

(iii) Turmoil in France : While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles
drafting the Constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil. Due to
bad harvest, there was shortage of food, and there was also rumour that
bands of brigands were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. Caught in a
frenzy of fear, peasants started attacking nobles. Under all these
circumstances, Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National
Assembly.

(iv) Storming the Bastille : On the morning of 14th July, 1789 the agitated
crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. Under all these circumstances,
Louis XVI finally according recognition to the National Assembly.

(v) France became a Republic : In 1792 the Jacobians held the king
hostage and declared to form a new government. The newly elected
Assembly was called the Convention. On 21st September, 1792 it
abolished the monarchy and declared France as a republic.

Question 4.
Explain the role of Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s in the French Revolution.
HOTS
Answer:

 Both Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s were great political thinkers.

  They were the leaders of the National Assembly which was formed in 1789 after
the failure of the meeting of the Estate General.
 Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away
with a society of feudal privilege.
 He brought out a journal, and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds
assembled at Versailles.
 Abbe’ Sieye’s originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called, ‘What is the
Third Estate?’

Question 5.
Explain triangular slave trade carried on during 18th and 19th century.
Answer:

 The triangular slave trade was carried between Europe, Africa and America.
 The slave trade began in the seventeenth century. French merchants sailed from
the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves
from local chieftains.
 Branded and shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-
month long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to
plantation owners.
 The exploitation of slave labour made it possible to meet the growing demand in
European markets for sugar, coffee, and indigo.
 Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the
flourishing slave trade.

Question 6.
Evaluate the importance of the following years in concern with French
Revolution, 1774, 1789, 1791, 1804 and 1815.
Answer:
The importance of the following years in concern with French Revolutions :

(i) 1774: Louis XVI ascended the throne of France. He believed in the
Divine Right Theory of Kings.
He had no respect for the freedom of liberty. Because of his empty treasure
he began to impose heavy taxes which were disliked by his own people.

(ii) 1789: French Revolution began in 1789. It started with the convocation
of the Estates General in May. The first year of revolution proclaimed the
Tennis Court oath, assault on the declaration of rights of man an citizen.
Estates General was called together by Louis XVI to pass proposals for
new taxes.
(iii) 1791: The constitution of 1791 also established a short lived
constitutional monarchy. The Third Estate which assumed the name of the
National Assembly framed a new constitution for France in 1791. The
Assembly nationalized church lands to pay off the public debt. It also
abolished the rights of privileged classes. Declaration of the rights of man
and citizen was also a feature of this year.

(iv) 1804: Napoleon became the emperor of France. He set out to conquer
neighbouring Europeon countries. He conquered Europe and saw his role
as a moderniser of Europe.

(v) 1815: The French Revolution appeared nullified by 1815. The land
owning classes and the bourgeois emerged as the dominant power.
Napoleon was defeated in the battle of Waterloo. Many of his measures
that carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modem laws to other parts
of Europe had an impact on people long after Naopleon had left.

Question 7.
Explain the circumstances under which Louis XVI finally accorded
recognition to the National Assembly.
Or
What were the main causes of the French Revolution of1789?

(i) Assembly of the Estates: On 5th May 1789, Louis XVI called together an
assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. Voting in
the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the
principle that each estate had one vote. This time too, Louis XVI was
determined to continue the same practice. But members of the Third Estate
demanded that voting now should be conducted by the assembly as whole,
where each member would have one vote, When the king rejected this
proposal, members of the Third Estate walked out of the assembly in
protest.

(ii) National Assembly: The representatives of the Third Estate viewed

themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. On 20th June, they
assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
They declared themselves a National Assembly, and swore not to disperse
till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of
the monarch. They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe’ Sieye’s.
(iii) Turmoil in France: While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles
drafting the Constitution, the rest of France seethed with, turmoil. Due to
bad harvest, there was shortage of food, and there was also rumour that
bands of brigands were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. Caught in a
frenzy of fear, peasants started attacking nobles. Under all these
circumstances, Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National
Assembly.

(iv) Storming the Bastille: On the morning of 14th July, 1789, the agitated
crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. Under all these circumstances,
Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly.

(v) France became a Republic: In 1792 the Jacobians held the king
hostage and declared to form a new government. The newly elected
Assembly was called the Convention. On 21st September 1792 it abolished
the monarchy and declared France as a republic.

Question 8.
Explain how the new political system of Constitutional monarchy in France
worked. HOTS
Or
Explain any five features of the Constitution drafted in 1791.
Answer:

 The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly,
which was indirectly elected.
 With the new Constitution the powers of govern the country were assigned to
different institutions, i.e., the legislature, executive and the judiciary.
 The judiciary and the legislature were elected by the people. 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.
 Under this system the powers of the monarch were limited. Most of the powers
were in the hands of legislatures.
 The ministers were also answerable to the legislature. The king enjoyed the veto
power.

Question 9.
What was the role of Jacobins during the French Revolution?
Or
Explain the role of Jacobins in the French Revolution.
Answer:
(i) Middle Class: The members of the Jacobins club belonged mainly to the
less prosperous sections of society. They included small shopkeepers,
artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well
as servants and daily-wage workers. Their leader was Maximilian
Robespierre.

(ii) Different Clothes: A large group among the Jacobins decided to start
wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers. This
was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society,
especially nobles, who wore knees breeches. It was a way of proclaiming
the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breeches. These
Jacobins came to be known as the sansculottes, literally meaning — those
without knee breeches. Sansculottes men wore in addition the red cap that
symbolised liberty.

(iii) Carrying the Revolution: They were the people who believed that the
revolution had to be carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave
political rights only to the richer sections of society.

(iv) Storming the King’s Palace: In the summer of 1792 the Jacobins
planned an insurrection of a large number of Parisians who were angered
by the short supplies and high prices of food. On the morning of August 10
they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards and
held the king himself as hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly
voted to imprison the royal family.

(v) France became a Republic: Elections were held. From now on all men
of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote. The
newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On 21 September,
1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

Question 10.
How was slavery abolished in France?
Answer:

 One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime was the
abolition of slavery in the French colonies.
 Throughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery in France.
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.
 This, however, turned out to be a shorterm measure : ten years later, Napoleon
reintroduced slavery.
 Plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to enslave
African Negroes in pursuit of their economic interests. Slavery was finally
abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Question 11.
Describe the conditions of women during the period of French Revolution.
Answer:
Conditions of women during the period of French Revolution are :

 From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which
brought sfbout major changes in the French Society.
 Most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living as seamstresses or
laundresses. They even sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market.
 They were employed as domestic servants in the house of prosperous people.
 They started their own political clubs and newspapers in order to voice their
interests.
 They demanded the right to vote to be elected to the Assembly and hold political
office.
 They did not have access to education or job training. Only daughter wealthier
members of the Third Estate could stay at convent.
 Working women had also to take care of their families. Their wages were lower
than those of men.

Question 12.
Who was Robespierre? Describe any four steps taken by him to bring
equality.
Answer:
Maximilian Robespierre was the leader of Jacobin Club.

 The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. 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 ‘guilty1 they were guillotined.
  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.
 Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.

Question 13.
Explain any five features of the Constitution of 1791 framed by the National
Assembly in France.
Or
Highlight any five features of the constitution of 1791 in France.
Answer:
Features of the Constitution of 1791 :

 It declared France a constitutional monarchy.

 Powers of the king separated and assigned to the executive, the legislature and
the judiciary.
 Laws to be made by the National Assembly.
 Only men above 25 years of age, who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a
labourer’s wage, were entitled to vote.
 Many rights were given to the people.
 To qualify as an elector and as member of the Assembly, a man had to belong to
highest bracket of taxpayers.

Question 14.
Compare the political, economic and social conditions of France before and
after the revolution.
Answer:

Before Revolution After Revolution

Political Conditions :

France was under the rule of a monarch,

(i) France became a Republic.
Louis XVI.
 All the political powers were in the hands
(ii) Political powers were given to the Third Estate.
of the first two Estates.

Economic Conditions :

Taxes were levied according the to income

All the taxes were paid by the people .of
(i) and wealth. The right to votewas linked to
the Third Estates.
taxes.

The economic condition of government

(ii) The government was under heavy debt.
improved.

Social Conditions :

(i) People of Third Estate were discriminated. All were given equal rights irrespective of the Estate

All the written materials and cultural The censorship on written materials and cultural

(ii) activities could be published or performed activities was lifted. Now all were free to write and

only after an approval from the king. speak.