Q/A Std.

IX HISTORY

The French Revolution

1. For which reason Bastille was hated by all?

Ans. Bastille was hated by all because it stood for the despotic power of the king.

2. Mention the reason for which the mob of Paris searched for the ammunitions.

Ans. (i) In the morning of 14th July 1789, the French king Louis XVI had commanded troops to move into
Paris. (ii) Rumers spread that the king would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens. (iii) So
the people of Paris decided to form a peoples' militia and broke into a number of government buildings
in search of arms and ammunitions.

3. Describe the social conditions of France in the 18th century.

Ans. (i) The French society in the 18th century was divided into three estates - the clergy, the nobility
and the third estate. The society of estates was a part of the feudal system that dated back to the
middle ages.

(ii) The clergy and nobility were the members of the first two estates and enjoyed certain privileges by
birth. About 60 percent of the land was woned by the nobles and the Church. But they were exempted
from paying taxes to the state. The nobles enjoyed feudal privileges which included extracting feudal
dues from the peasants. The peasants were oblised to render services to the lord, to work in his house
and fields, to serve in the army or to participate in building roads. The Church extracted taxes called
Tithes from the peasants.

(iii) The third estate belonged to the commoners - the peasants, workers etc. All members of the third
estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included a direct tax called Taile and a number of indirect
taxes which were levied on articles of every day consumption like salt or tobacco.

4. In which way the subsistence crisis resulted in the French Revolution?

Ans. The subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
Several causes in France eere responsible for this situation.

(i) The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. The production of
grains could not keep pace with the rapid increasee in the demand of food grains. So the price of bread
rose rapidly.

(ii) Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops with fixed wages. But wages did not keep
pace with the rise in market prices. So the gap between the poor and the rich widened.

(iii) Things became worst whenever draught or hail reduced the harvest. It increased the price of grains
frequently in France during the old regime.
Q. In which way the philosophers were responsible for the outbreak of the FRench Revolution?

Ans. In the 18th century a new middle class emerged in French society who earned their weaith through
an expanding overseas trade and manufacturing goods for the local market. The third estate also
included professionals like lawyers and adminstrative officials. They were educated and believed that no
group in society should be privileged by birth, rather a person's social position must depend on his
merit. These ideas envising a society based on freedom and equal laws and equal oppertunities for all.

* In his Two Treaties of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of divine and absolute right of
the king.

* Rousseau proposed a form of government based on a Social Contract between the people and their
representatives.

* In the Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the
legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

The American Constitution and its guaranty of Individual rights was greatly influenced the political
thinkers in France. The ideas of these philosophers were discussed in the salones and coffee houses and
spread among people through books and newspapers. It was also frequently read allowed in groups for
the benefit of the illiterates.