Grade 9 French Revolution PDF

Notes Grade IX Ch 1 French Revolution Q1. On the morning of 14 July 1789. The city of Paris was in a state of alarm. Explain. 1. The king had commanded troops to move into the city. Rumours spread that he would soon order the arm...

Notes Grade IX Ch 1 French Revolution Q1. On the morning of 14 July 1789. The city of Paris was in a state of alarm. Explain. 1. The king had commanded troops to move into the city. Rumours spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens. 2.Some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people’s militia. They broke into a number of government buildings in search of arms. 3. Finally, a group of several hundred people, marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, where they hoped to find hoarded ammunition. 4. In the armed fight that followed, the commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners were released. 5. The Bastille was hated by all because it stood for the despotic power of the king. The fortress was demolished and it stone fragments were sold in the markets to all those who wished to keep a souvenir of its destruction. Q2. What were the reasons for the empty treasury in France? OR What were the reasons for the rise of taxes in France?NB-1 1. Upon his accession the new king found an empty treasury. Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. 2. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles. 3. Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from the common enemy, Britain. 4. The war added more than a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres. Lenders, who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans. 5. 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. Q3. How was the discontent among the members of the 3rd estate responsible for the French revolution? 1. Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated. 2. About 60 per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer members of the third estate. 3. The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. The most important of these was exemption from paying taxes to the state. 4. The nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges. These included feudal dues, which they extracted from the peasants. Peasants were obliged to render services to the lord, to work in his house and fields to serve in the army or to participate in building roads. 5. The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants. All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state as well as the Church. These included a direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco. The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate alone. Q4. What led to the emergence of the middle class in the 18th century in France?NB-2/Notes 1. Expansion of trade: The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class, who earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as woollen and silk textiles that were either exported or bought by the richer members of society. 2. Belief of lawyers: In addition to merchants and manufacturers, the third estate included professions such as lawyers or administrative officials. The newly formed middle class 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. 3. Spread of philosophy: These ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all, were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. In his Two Treatises of Government 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. 4. Division of power: Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. This model of government was put into force in the USA, after the thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain. 5. Discussion of ideas: The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who could not read and write. Q5. How did the conduct of the Estates General become a cause of the French Revolution?NB-3 1. In France of the Old Regime the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone. Rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates General which would then pass his proposals for new taxes. 2. The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives. However, the monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body. This was last done in 1614. 3. The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 members of the third estate had to stand at the back. The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly. 4. Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. Members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. 5. When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest. Q6. While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil. Explain. 1. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest; the price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. 2. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops. 3. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille. 4. In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands, who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops. 5. Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux. They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. Q7. What landmark decision was taken by the National Assembly?NB-4 1. Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a constitution. 2. On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes. 3. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges. Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the Church were confiscated. 4. The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch. 5. The powers of the monarch was curtailed, instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions like the legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy. Q8. Why is the Declaration of Rights of man and Citizen regarded as a revolutionary document? 1. It abolished the privileges and powers given to the feudal classes. 2. It provided for equal distribution of the burden of taxes and rights. 3. It provided for equality before law and freedom of speech and expression. Q9. What was the Jacobin Club? Who were the members? How did the Jacobins contribute to carry the revolution further? 1. Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris. 2. The members of the Jacobin 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. 3. 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 knee breeches. These Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning those without knee breeches. Sansculottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolised liberty. 4. 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 kings guards and held the king himself as hostage for several hours. 5. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. 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, the newly elected assembly abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Q10. Despite various reforms introduced by Robespierre, why was his reign termed as reign of terror?NB-5 A. Reforms: 1. Robespierre’s government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices. 2. Meat and bread were rationed. 3. Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government. 4. The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden; all citizens were required to eat the equality bread. 5. Instead of the traditional Monsieur and Madame all French men and women were addressed as Citoyen and Citoyenne meaning Citizen. B. Policies: 1. The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. 2. All those whom he saw as being enemies of the Republic i.e. 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 guilty they were guillotined. 3. Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices. 4. Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation. Q11. Explain the causes of French Revolution. 1. Social causes: a) The French society was divided into three estates. The first estate consisted of the clergy, the second estate consisted of the nobility and the third estate consisted of the peasants and the middle classes. b) The first and second estate enjoyed certain privileges by birth. The Nobles enjoyed feudel privileges also. c) The first and the second estate enjoyed a privilege in which they were exempted from paying taxes. The taxes were only paid by the third estate. 2. Economic causes: a) The Royal treasury was empty when Louis XVI ascended the throne. Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. b) To meet its regular expenses such as cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government offices or universities, the state was forced to increase taxes. c) The 3rd Estate alone had to bear the burden of financing activities of the State. d)Wages of workers was very low.Prices of essential goods like bread was very high which led to the subsistence crisis in France. 3. Political causes: The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives. However, the monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body. b) The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides, while the 600 members of the third estate had to stand at the back. c) The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly. d) Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. Members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. e) When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest. 4. Rise of Middle Class: a)A new middle class emerged who were educated and wealthy and believed that no group in society should be given privileges by birth. b)Ideas of equality and freedom were put forward by philosophers. The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee houses and spread among people. Q12. Explain how freedom of speech and expression under the revolutionary government in France promote the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.NB-6 1. One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of the censorship. 2. Now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right. 3. Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside. 4. Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed. 5. Plays, songs and festive possessions attracted large numbers of people.