FRENCH REVOLUTION
1. Describe the political condition of France before the revolution.
The French government was an absolute monarchy.
France was ruled by Louis XVI of the Bourbon Dynasty. He was young, pleasure loving and
inefficient.
The clergy and nobility enjoyed privileges by birth and had all political power. The ordinary
people had no political power and no role in governance.
2. Why did Louis XVI face an empty treasury when he ascended the throne? ( financial causes)
When Louis XVI became the king of France, the treasury was empty.
France’s numerous wars had cost a lot of money.
A debt of over 2 billion livres increased further by a billion livre when France helped the 13
American colonies to gain independence from Britain.
Lenders who had given loans to the State began to charge 10% interest on loans.
3. How was French society organised before the revolution?
French society was organised into three estates
The 1st Estate – the Clergy
The 2nd Estate – the Nobility
The 3rd Estate - doctors, lawyers, businessmen, artisans, workers, peasants.
The peasants made up 90% of the population, but only a few of them owned land.
The nobles, church and rich businessmen owned 60% of the land.
The first and the second estate paid no taxes but enjoyed feudal privileges by birth.
The third estate paid all the taxes-
direct tax to the state – taille
indirect tax on articles of everyday use
peasants paid tithe to the church
peasants paid feudal dues to the nobles
The peasants also had to work in the house and fields of their lord, serve in the army and work
to build roads.
The 3rd Estate had no political power.
4. What do you understand by subsistence crisis? Explain
Subsistence Crisis refers to an extreme situation where people find it difficult to earn
basic living.
French population rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.
So, the demand for food grains increased. But production could not meet the rising
demand.
This led to an increase in the price of bread, which was the staple food of the people.
But wages of workers did not rise. The poor could no longer buy bread. The gap between
the rich and the poor increased.
This became severe during times of bad harvest due to drought or hail.
5. How did the rise of the middle class contribute to the revolution?
The middle class comprised of businessmen, traders, scholars, merchants, lawyers etc.
They had become rich because of expanding overseas trade. As they became
educated, they were now open to new ideas.
They were against privileges enjoyed by a few because of birth.
They wanted to replace the existing feudal society with a society based on merit,
freedom, equal laws and opportunity for all.
They were influenced by the French philosophers and their ideas and became leaders of
the revolution.
6. Discuss the role of philosophers in the French Revolution.
The philosophers supported a society based on freedom, equal laws and opportunities
for all.
They were against a society based on privileges by birth.
John Locke in his book ‘The Two Treatises of Government’, disagreed with the doctrine
of divine and absolute right of the monarch.
In the’ Spirit of the Laws’, Montesquieu proposed a separation of powers between the
executive, legislature and judiciary.
7. What was the Estates General?
The Estates General was a political body to which the 3 Estates sent their representatives.
8. Why did Louis XVI call for a meeting of the Estates General?
In France, the king had no power to levy taxes on his own. All proposals for new taxes had
to be passed by the Estates General. Louis XVI wanted to increase taxes as the treasury
was empty.
9. When was the last meeting of the Estates General?
The last meeting of the Estates General was held in 1614.
10. What was the system of voting in the Estates General?
In the Estates General, voting was done by estate and not by head. – Each Estate had just
1 vote.
11. How did the 3rd Estate want voting to be conducted? Or What change did it want in voting?
This time the 3rd Estate wanted voting by head – which means each member would have
one vote.
12. Why did the 3rd Estate walk out of the Estates General?
The 3rd Estate walked out of the Estates General because Louis XVI rejected their demand of
one member one vote.
13. What was the Tennis Court Oath?
When Louis XVI refused to change the voting pattern, the representatives of the 3rd Estate
walked out of the Estates General.
On 20th June, 1789, they gathered together in the hall of an indoor tennis court in Versailles.
They declared themselves as the National Assembly and promised not to disperse till they had
drafted a Constitution for France, which would limit the powers of the monarch
14. Who were Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes?
Mirabeau, a nobleman, was against feudal privileges. He brought out a journal and
delivered powerful speeches to crowds at Versailles. He led the walkout of the 3rd Estate
from the Estates General.
Abbe Sieyes was a priest who wrote an important pamphlet called ‘What is the Third
Estate?”
