French Revolution Notes PDF

SUB: SOCIAL SCIENCE CHAPTER: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Lesson objectives:  To analyze the three estates that existed in French society.  To examine the reasons for the French Revolution. Vocabulary  Livre: Unit of Currency in France, discontinued in 1794  Clergy: Group of per...

SUB: SOCIAL SCIENCE CHAPTER: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Lesson objectives:  To analyze the three estates that existed in French society.  To examine the reasons for the French Revolution. Vocabulary  Livre: Unit of Currency in France, discontinued in 1794  Clergy: Group of persons invested with special functions in the church.  Tithe: A tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.  Taille: Tax to be paid directly to the State. 1. Prepare a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution. a) Freedom of speech b) Freedom of expression c) Freedom of the press d) Abolition of censorship e) Right to vote f) Abolition of slavery g) Right to liberty h) Right to property i) Right to security j) Right to education 2. Which groups of French society benefitted from the revolution? Which groups were forced to relinquish power? The common men (Third Estate) benefitted from the Revolution because they gained equal socio-economic status and liberty. The clergy and nobility were forced to relinquish power. Their privileges were taken away. The moderates who wanted Constitutional Monarchy were disappointed because ultimately Napoleon came to power. 3. Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions? Explain.  Though it says ‘Universal Rights’, women were unfortunately left out from the basic rights that were promised. They did not have equal rights that men enjoyed. They did not have the right to liberty, property, security and above all, the resistance to oppression. In the formulation of laws, women did not have any representation. Women were not entitled to all the honours and public employment, according to their abilities. 4. Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The ideas of liberty and democratic rights are the most important legacies of the French Revolution. These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal systems were abolished. Colonised people reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation-state. 5. Write a short note on the women's empowerment movement in France. Women were active participants from the beginning which brought important changes in the country France. Women from the third estate had to work for a living and they didn’t have access to education or job training. The most notable demand of women during the French Revolution was the ‘right to vote’ and equal wages. To discuss and raise voices for their demands, they started many ‘political clubs’ and ‘newspapers’, among which ‘the Society of Revolutionary’ and ‘Republican Women’ were famous. 6. Explain the Reign of Terror Reign of Terror, also called the Terror period of the French Revolution from September 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794. 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 party and who did not agree with his methods were arrested, imprisoned, and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror, a 10- month period in which suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined by the thousands. 7. What was the subsistence crisis? Mention two factors responsible for this crisis. Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered. The Factors responsible were: (i) The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. This led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains.  Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. So, the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owner fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices. So, the gap between the poor and the rich widened. (ii) Things became worse whenever drought or haul reduced the harvest. This led to a subsistence crisis. 8. What do you mean by the Tennis Court Oath? The representatives of the Third Estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. They declared themselves a National Assembly. Their representatives assembled in the tennis court and swore to frame a constitution. This commitment is referred to as the Tennis Court Oath. They took the oath to limit the powers of the Monarch by creating Constitution for France that would limit the powers of the Monarch. 9. Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in France. When King Louis XVI was anointed as the new king, he found an empty treasury. Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. On top of this, there was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the Palace of Versailles. France had helped the thirteen American colonies gain their independence from their common enemy, Britain. So the French Government had to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone. Raising taxes did not suffice, because French society was divided into 3 estates and only the 3rd estate had to pay taxes. The 1st estate and the 2nd estate did not pay any taxes. The increase in population has led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with demand and the price of bread, which was the staple diet of the majority, rose rapidly. However, the wages of labourers did not keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap between the rich and the poor widened. All these factors led to the outbreak of the French Revolution.