The document summarizes the key causes and events of the French Revolution that began in 1789. It outlines the political, social, and economic factors like the absolute monarchy, unequal system of privileges, financial crisis, and influence of Enlightenment philosophers. When the Estates-General meeting failed to address people's grievances, the National Assembly was formed and abolished feudalism. The Constitution of 1791 established a constitutional monarchy that limited the monarch's power and declared citizens' rights, but excluded many groups from voting.

2.  Story related with Bastille Prison- 1789 July 14
 Causes for the outbreak of the French Revolution
1. Political Causes
a. Absolute Monarchy
b. Financial Crisis due to wars
c. Interference of Queen in administration
d. Corrupt and Cruel Administration
2. Social Causes (Social condition in 18th century)
a. Inequality in Society
b. Privileges based on birth

3. 3. Economical causes
a. Financial Crisis
b. High Tax
c. Subsistence Crisis
4. Rise of Middleclass People
5. Role of Philosophers
a. Rousseau
b. Voltaire
c. Montesquieu
d. John Lock
 Short Notes- Absolute Monarchy and
Constitutional Monarchy, Livre, Clergy, Tithe,
Taille, Subsistence Crisis

4.  The Outbreak of the Revolution
1. major events
2. National Assembly
3. Tennis Court Oath
4. Time Line
 France- from A.M to C.M
 The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens
 Political Symbols
 France from Constitutional Monarchy to Republic
1. Reign of Terror
2. A Directory rules in France
 The Role of Woman in French Revolution

5.  Impacts of the French Revolution
1. Abolition of Slavery
2. Contribution to the World
 Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
 Short Notes

6.  The French Revolution had broke out in
the year 1789.
 Various factors contributed for the outbreak of the
French revolution like
1. Political Causes
2. Social causes
3. Economical causes
4. Rise of Middle Class People
5. Role of Philosophers.

7. Political Causes
(a) Absolute Monarchy
 In absolute Monarchy king is the supreme power
 In 1774, King Louis XVI from bourbon dynasty
ascended the throne of France at the age of 20.
 His regime was inefficient and unpopular
 He believed in the Divine Rights of King
 It means the right to rule comes from God and
Kings are answerable to God Only.
 The will of King was the Law of the Land

9. (b) Financial Crisis due to the wars.
 France had engaged lot of wars in long period of
time.
 Under Louis XVI France assisted the American
colonies in their war against Britain.
 France had provided the Americans Naval Forces
and Soldiers.
 As a result the treasury became empty after this
wars.

10. (C ) Queen’s Interference in administration
 Louis XVI has married Queen Mary Antoinette an
Austrian princes.
 She led a luxurious life without knowing the
miserable conditions of the poor people.
 The public money lavishly spent by the queen
 The queen interfered in state appointments in order
to promote her favorites.
(d)Cruel and Corrupt Administration
 The prisoners were treated with extreme severity
 Many of the prisoners died because of tortures.
 Breaking the bones was the common punishments
 Nobles were appointed as judges and they imposed
heavy fines

12. Social Causes (Social Condition in 18th century)
(a ) Inequality in Society
The French society had mainly divided into
three Estates
CLERGY (First Estate)
NOBILITY (Second Estate)
Third Estate
1. Big Business men, merchants, Judges and
Lawyers
2. Peasants and Artisans
3. Small Peasants, landless labour, Servants

13. First Estate: Clergy
 It included the Archbishops, Bishops and Priests.
 They enjoyed many privileges
 They were exempted from taxes
 One fifth of the land was owned by the church
Second Estate: Noble Class
 They enjoyed all important positions in the French
administration.
 They led very luxury life and they were exempted
from taxes
 They enjoyed feudal privileges and they were
collected dues from peasants.

14. Third Estate : Underprivileged Section
 Three different categories of people.
 The largest section of the Third Estate consisted
of the peasants almost 90 percent of the
population.
 The burden of the tax fell chiefly on the Third
estate
 They cultivated the land owned by Churches,
Nobles and Richer section in the third estate.

15. Arch Bishop

16. Bishops

17. Noble Class people

18. Third Estates

19. (b) Privileges Based on Birth
• The first two estates enjoyed lot of privileges in
the society.
• They were exempted from the tax system
• The burden of the taxes carried by the third
estates especially peasants.
• They were forced to work in the houses and
fields of the noble class, army and construction
of the roads etc…

20. Economic Causes
( a) Financial Crisis
 As a result of the long years of the war had
drained the financial resources of France.
 Lenders who gave the state credit, now began to
charge 10 per cent interest on loans.
 These factors led a huge financial crisis in France
(b) High tax System
 For to overcome the financial crisis and meet the
expenses like- maintaining court, maintain army
and running government office and university the
state decided to increase the tax system.

21.  The churches had collected the taxes from the
peasants called- Tithes
 All the members of the third estate had to pay
the tax to the state.
 These included two types of tax- Direct and
Indirect tax
 The Direct tax, called- Taille
 The indirect tax imposed for the use of salt and
tobacco.
 The burden of the tax system mainly carried by
the peasant community

22. (C ) Subsistence Crisis
 The population of France increased from 1715 to
1789 (23 million to 28million)
 It increased the demand of the food grains
 As a result of the bad harvest the prices of the
bread also increased.
 But the labourers in the workshops has got very
less and fixed wages.
 The gap between the rich and poor had increased.
 All these factors led a subsistence crisis in France

23. Bad The poorest can
harvest no longer buy
bread
Disease
epidemics
Food riots, scarcity of grain, increased number of deaths, rising
food prices, weaker bodies

24. Rising The poorest can
Bad Scarcity
Food no longer buy
harvest of Grains
Prices bread
Disease
epidemics
Increased Weaker Food
Number of Bodies Riots
Deaths
Food riots, scarcity of grain, increased number of deaths, rising
food prices, weaker bodies

25. Rise of Middle Class People
• The peasants and workers were participated in revolts
against the increasing in taxes and food scarcity.
• But they were failed to carry long term measures to
change in the social and economic order.
• The 18th century, witnessed the emergence of new
social groups called middle class
• They earned the wealth from overseas trade and from
the manufacture of goods like woolen and silk
textiles.
• They were also included in the profession like lawyers
and administrative officials.
• All of these were educated and believed no group in
the society should be privileged by birth, rather the
social position of a person depends on his merit.

26. Role of Philosophers
• The philosophers had dreamed a society based on
freedom and equal laws and equal opportunities
to all the people.
• They were put forward this idea towards the
people through their writings.
• The ideas of the philosophers were discussed
intensively in salons and coffee houses and spread
among the people through books and newspapers.
• These were frequently read aloud in groups for
the benefit of those who could not read and write
• The some of the important philosophers of that
period are following.

27.  John Lock : Book- (Two Treatises of Government),
he has refused the doctrine of the divine and
absolute right of monarch.
 Jean Jacques Rousseau: Book- (Social Contract),
he has proposed a form of government based on a
social contract between the people and their
representatives. His important contribution to the
world was the idea of Equality, Liberty and
Fraternity
 Montesquieu: Book (The Spirit of the Law), he has
proposed a division of power within the government
between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.

28. This model of government was put into force in
the USA, after the 13 colonies declared
independence from Britain.
The American constitution and its guarantee of
individual rights was an important example for
political thinkers in France.

32.  Louis XVI, called an assembly of the Estates General on
5 May 1789.
 The aim of the meeting was to pass the proposals of new
taxes.
 From First and Second Estate 300 representatives each,
who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides
and 600 members from third estate had to stand at the
back.
 The third estate was represented by the prosperous and
educated middle class and they were carried 40,000
letters related with the grievances and demands of the
peasants and women because they were denied the
entry

33.  The voting in the Estates General was based on
each estate had one vote.
 But third estate demanded that voting now
conducted by the assembly as whole, where each
member would have one vote.
 This Democratic idea was put forwarded by
Rousseau.
 But Louis XVI rejected this proposal , the members
of the third estate walked out of the assembly
 On June 20, 1789 they were assembled in the hall
of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of
Versailles.
 They declared, National Assembly should prepare a
constitution for France that would limit the power
of the monarch
 They were led by Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes

37.  When the national assembly held at the Tennis
Court, Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes gave the
leadership for the Third estate.
 Mirabeau- born in a Noble family and he stood
for the abolition of the feudal privilege. He
brought out a journal and delivered powerful
speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
 Abbe Sieyes- Originally a priest, wrote an
influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third
Estate’

38.  National Assembly has prepared a constitution.
 Louis XVI finally accepted the demand of the
National Assembly and his power from now on be
checked by a constitution.
 On August 4,1789e- the assembly passed a decree
abolishing the feudal system and taxes.
 The Clergy too were forced to give up their
privileges.
 Tithes were abolished and the lands owned by
the Church were confiscated
 As a result government acquired assets worth 2
billion livres.

39. Features of the Constitution prepared
by the National Assembly in 1791.
(Or)
To prepare a note about the political
system of France after the adoption of
Constitution
(Or)
To Prepare a note about how the
France shifted from Absolute
Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy

40.  The National Assembly completed the draft of
the Constitution in 1791.
 Its main object was to limit the power of the
Monarch.
 The power separated and assigned to different
institutions- the Legislature, Executive and
Judiciary.
 The citizens voted for a group of electors and
they had to choose the National Assembly.
 Only Men 25 years of age, who paid taxes equal
to at least three days of a labourer’s wage were
given the status of active citizens, they were
only enjoyed voting right.
 The remaining men and all women were classed
as passive citizens.

41.  To qualify as an elector a man had to belong to the
highest bracket of taxpayers.
 The Constitution began with a Declaration of Rights
of Man and Citizen.
 Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech,
freedom of opinion, equality before law were
established as ‘natural and inalienable rights’
 The duty of the state is to protect each citizen’s
natural rights.

42. Judiciary Executive Legislature
Control
National
King Assembly (745
VETO
Judge members)
Control VOTE
Electors (50,000
V Ministers men)
O
T
E VOTE
Active Citizens: entitled to vote. About 4 million of
a population of 28 million
Passive Citizens (No voting right, About 3 million)
Women, Children and Youth below 25

43.  He was a revolutionary journalist.
 He commented in his news paper L’Ami du
peuple (The friend of the people) on the
constitution prepared by the National Assembly.
 The task of representing the people has been
given to the rich
 The lot of poor and oppressed will never be
improved by peaceful means alone.
 Here we have absolute proof of how wealth
influences the law.

45.  Men are born and remain free and equal in rights
 The aim of every political association is the
preservation of the natural and inalienable rights
of man; these are liberty, property, security.
 Liberty consists of the power to do whatever not
injurious to others.
 The law has the right to forbid only actions that
are injurious to society.
 No man may be accused, arrested or detained,
except in cases determined by law.

47.  The majority of men and women in the 18th
century could not read or write.
 So images were used instead of printed words for
to communicate important ideas.
 Le Barbier uses many such symbols to convey the
content of the Declaration of Rights.

48. Chains were used to fetter slaves. A broken chain
stands for the act of becoming free.

49. One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire
bundle. Strength lies in unity

50. The all seeing eye stands for knowledge. The rays
of the sun will drive away the clouds of ignorance

51. Symbol of Royal power

52. Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end

53. Cap worn by a slave upon becoming free

54. The National Colours of France

55. Personification of the Law

56. The law is the same for all, and all are equal before it.