French Revolution (Grade 9)

Chapter 1:
The French Revolution led to the end of monarchy in France.
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The Old Regime: describes the society and institutions of France
before eighteenth century . Society was broadly divided into estates
and orders and it was the aristocracy and church which controlled
economic and social power. It was part of the feudal system that
dated back to middle ages.
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Clergy
Nobility
Clergy - Group of persons invested with special functions in the
church. They had access to high offices.
- Exempted from paying taxes.
• Rich nobles owning lands.
• Exempted from paying taxes.
• Enjoyed services from peasants obliged to work in house and
fields, to serve in the army, or to participate in building roads.
1st Estate
2nd Estate
3rd Estate (98% of population)
Rich Businessmen, Merchants, court
officials, lawyers, etc
Peasants and artisans.
Small peasants, landless labours,
servants.
The French society was divided into three classes known as estates.
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The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the
third estate only.
• The church levied tithes on the peasants.
• Taille – Tax to be paid directly to state.
• Indirect taxes – were levied on articles of everyday
consumption like salt or tobacco.
The 3rd Estate:
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The struggle for survival
By 1789 the population of France had reached 28 million from 23
million in 1715.
-This led to rapid increase in demand for food grains.
- Production could not keep pace with the growing demand.
- Price of bread (staple diet) rose rapidly.
- Majority of population who worked as labourers had fixed wages. The wages
could not keep pace with rise in prices.
- The gap between the rich and the poor widened.
- During drought and hail, the situation would worsen as the harvest would
reduce.
This led to subsistence crisis, an extreme situation
where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
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The Middle class of the 3rd Estate
The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups,
termed the middle class. This group steered the revolt
against increasing taxes and system of privileges.
The middle class included merchants, manufacturers, lawyers,
administrative officials, etc. All of these 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.
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Philosophers of the era
John Locke – Two Treatises of Government – speaks against the doctrine of
the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
Jean Jacques Rousseau – The Social Contract - Proposed a form of
government based on a social contract between people and their
representatives.
Montesquieu – The Spirit of the Laws - Proposed a division of power within
the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. His
idea was based on the American constitution and its guarantee of individual
rights. This model of government was put into force in the USA, after the
thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain.
The idea of these philosophers were discussed and spread among people through
books and newspapers.
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Meeting of the Estates General
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The Tennis Court Oath
20 June, 1789 –
- Representatives of the third estate assembled at the indoor tennis
court in Versailles.
- They declared themselves a National Assembly. They gave themselves
the power to pass laws on behalf of the French people.
They were led by Mirabeau (born in a noble family) and Abbe’ Sieyes (originally
a priest). Mirabeau delivered powerful speeches to the assembled crowd and
Abbe’ Sieyes wrote an influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?
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Storming of the Bastille
14 July, 1789 –
Due to severe winter, the harvest was not good. The price of bread rose
and hoarders exploited the situation. There was not enough supply of their
daily bread. Angry women stormed into the shops.
Rumours spread that The
King had ordered Swiss troops
to move into the city. Fearing
for their lives, some 7000
men and women broke into
number of government
buildings in search of arms.
Agitated crowd stormed and
destroyed the prison Bastille.
The days that followed saw
more rioting both in Paris and
the countryside.
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Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally accorded
recognition to the National Assembly.
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The Night of August 4, 1789
- Tithes were abolished.
- Land owned by church were confiscated.
- Clergy were forced to give up their privileges.
- Government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livers.
The assembly
passed a decree
abolishing the
feudal system of
obligation and
taxes.
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Constitution of 1791
• The National Assembly drafted the Constitution.
• Objective was to limit the power of the monarch.
• The powers was distributed to different institutions – the legislature,
executive and judiciary.
• The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man &
Citizens.
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Right such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law,
were established as natural rights of citizens. It was the duty of the state to protect each
citizen’s natural rights.
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Fig: Constitution of 1791
The National Assembly was
vested the power to make
laws.
Active citizens voted for a
group of electors, who in
turn chose the assembly.
Active citizens comprised of
only men above 25 years of
age who paid taxes. The
remaining men and all
women were called passive
citizens.
To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the Assembly, a man had to
belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers.
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The Flight to Varennes – 20 June, 1791
The King’s flight destroyed the last of the Kings popularity with the people
of Paris. Increasingly there were demands for an end to the monarchy and
the creation of a new kind of government, a republic.
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War against Prussia & Austria
On April, 1792, the National Assembly declared war against Prussia and
Austria, before they could send troops to France to put down the revolt that had
been taking place since 1789.
This was a war of the
people against kings and
aristocracies all over
Europe.
The patriotic song that
became popular was the
Marseillaise composed by
the poet Roget l’Isle. The
Marseillaise is now the
national anthem of France.
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The San-Cullotes
• At the beginning of the revolution, the working men of Paris allowed the
revolutionary bourgeoisie to lead them.
• But by 1790 various radical group began vying for power. Among them the
Jacobins were the most successful. The members of the Jocobin club belonged to
mainly less prosperous sections of the society. They included shop-keepers,
artisans, servants and daily-wage workers.
The Jacobins came to be known
as the san-cullotes, literally
meaning ‘those without knee
breeches’. The Jacobins wore
long stripped trousers similar to
those worn by dock worker. This
was to set themselves apart
from the fashionable sections of
society, especially nobles, who
wore knee breeches.
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The End of Constitutional Monarchy
On 21 September 1792, the newly elected assembly called Convention,
abolished monarchy and declared France a republic. A republic is a form of
government where people elect the government including the head of the
government.
Louis XVI was sentenced to death by court on the charge of treason. On 21
January, 1793 he was executed.
On August 10, 1792 the Jacobins lead a large
number of Parisians who were angered by the
short supplies and high price of food. They
stormed the Palace of the Tuileries.
- Later election were held. From now on all men of 21 years or above, regardless of
wealth, got the right to vote.
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The Reign of Terror
After the death of Louis XVI, the Reign of Terror began. The period
from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror.
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The Reign of Terror
- Maximillian Robespierre led a parade of prominent and not-so-
prominent citizens to their death.
- Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
- Set maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
- Meat and bread was rationed.
- Peasants were forced to sell their grain at a price fixed by the
government.
- Churches were shutdown and their buildings converted into barracks
or offices.
- The promises of the Declaration of the Rights of Man were forgotten.
- Terror was the order of the day. Those who rose in the convention
calling for an end to the Terror were its next victim.
Finally the Jacobins had had enough. Robespierre was arrested and
executed on July, 1794.
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In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. He set
out to conquer neighbouring European countries.
Initially, many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for
the people. But soon the Napoleon armies came to be viewed everywhere
as an invading force.
Finally, Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
Napoleon saw his role as a moderniser of Europe. He introduced many
laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of
weights and measures.
Many of Napoleon’s revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws made a
lasting impact in Europe.
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BATTLE OF WATERLOO
The Battle of Waterloo, which took place in Belgium on June 18, 1815, marked the final defeat
of French military leader and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who conquered much
of continental Europe in the early 19th century. Napoleon rose through the ranks of the French
army during the French Revolution (1789-1799), seized control of the French government in
1799 and became emperor in 1804. Through a series of wars, he expanded his empire across
western and central Europe. However, a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, coupled with
other defeats, led to his abdication and exile in 1814. He returned to France in 1815 and briefly
resumed power. The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon’s forces were defeated by the British
and Prussians, signalled the end of his reign and the end of France’s domination in Europe. After
Waterloo, Napoleon abdicated and later died in exile.

Summary
The ideas of liberty & democratic rights were the most
important legacy of the French Revolution.
These ideas spread from France to the rest of Europe during the
nineteenth century, where feudal systems were abolished.
Even these ideas influenced people in
the colonised India. Tipu Sultan and
Rammohan Roy were influenced by the
ideas coming from revolutionary France.
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After Napoleon's domination of Europe from around 1800 to 1815, the
rulers of Europe wanted to insure that no one would ever be able to
come so close to taking over all of Europe again. To this end, the
diplomats from all of the Great Powers met at the Congress of Vienna to
negotiate from 1814 to 1815. There they reorganized European
boundaries in hopes of creating a stable Europe where coalitions of
nations could always ally to defeat one nation that got out of hand.
The rulers after Napoleon were dedicated to stopping revolution (like
the French Revolution in their own countries. Louis XVIII, whose brother
Louis XVI had been executed during the French Revolution, certainly
didn't want another revolution in France.
After Napoleon, a period of Reactionary governments swept Europe.
Having swung so far one way during the French Revolution and
Napoleon's rule, the historical pendulum now swung back the other way,
as rulers tried to prevent the "excesses" of the French Revolution from
happening again. Fear among the traditional rulers was not without basis,
either. Revolution was brewing throughout Europe.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
Q.1 The Third Estate comprised
(a) Poor servants and small peasants, landless labourers (b) Peasants and artisans
(c) Big businessmen, merchants, lawyers etc. (d) All the above
Q.2.That ‘each member should have one vote’ was advocated by:
(a) Georges Danton (b) Rousseau (c) Jean Paul Marat (d) the Jacobins
Q.3.Which of the following decisions was taken by the convention?
(a) Declared France a constitutional monarchy (b) Abolished the monarchy
(c) All men and women above 21 years got the right to vote (d) Declared France a Republic
Q.4.Which of the following is not the idea of the revolutionary journalist Desmoulins about
Liberty?
(a) Liberty is finishing off your enemies (b) Liberty is Happiness, Reason, Equality and Justice
(c) Liberty is the Declaration of Right (d) Liberty is not a child who has to be disciplined before
maturity
Q.5. How does a ‘Subsistence Crisis’ happen?
(a) Bad harvest leads to scarcity of grains (b) Food prices rise and the poorest cannot buy bread
(c) Leads to weaker bodies, diseases, deaths and even food riots (d) All the above
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Q.6. In the war against Prussia and Austria, the army sang which patriotic song?
(a) 'Liberty', written by an unknown woman poet (b) ‘Marseillaise’ written by the poet Roget de
Lisle (c) ‘Viva France’ written by a French peasant (d) None of the above
Q7.Which of the following statements is untrue about the Third Estate?
(a) The Third Estate was made of the poor only (b) Within the Third Estate some were rich and
some were poor (c) Richer members of the Third Estate owned lands (d) Peasants were obliged
to serve in the army, or build roads
Q.8. Who wrote the pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?
(a) Mirabeau, a nobleman (b) Abbe Sieyes (c) Rousseau, a philosopher (d) Montesquieu
Q.9. A guillotine was _______________________
(a) A device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person was beheaded
(b) A fine sword with which heads were cut off
(c) A special noose to hang people (d) none of the above
Q.10. When did the French Revolution begin?
(a) July 14, 1789 (b) January 10, 1780 (c) August 12, 1782 (d) None of the above
Answer: 1(d) 2(b) 3(d) 4(b) 5(d) 6(b) 7(a) 8(b) 9(a) 10(a)
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SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:
Q.1. Why were political clubs formed?
Ans.
Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried
further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer section of society.
Political clubs were formed by people who wished to discuss government policies and plan
their own forms of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of Jacobins, which
got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris.
Women started their own political clubs in order to discuss and voice their interests. About
sixty women’s club came up in different French cities. The Society of Revolutionary and
Republican Women was most popular. One of their main demands was that women enjoy
the same political rights as men.
Q.2. What was the subsistence crisis? Why did it occur in France during the Old Regime?
Ans.
1- The population of France was on the rise. It rose from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in
1789.This led to increase in the demand for food grains.
2-The production of food grains could not keep pace with the demand and the price of
bread which was the staple diet of the majority Rose rapidly.
3- The wages also did not keep pace with the rise in prices. The gap between the Rich and
the poor widened. This led to the subsistence crisis.
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Q.3. Describe how the new political system of constitutional monarchy worked in France.
Ans.
The constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which
was indirectly elected. That is,
1. Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly. Not all citizens,
however, had the right to vote.
2. 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.
3. The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens.
4. To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the Assembly, a man had to belong to
the highest bracket of taxpayers.
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French Revolution (Grade 9)

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