The French Revolution

Vocabulary and Important words from the lesson.

Revolution

Execution

destruction.

Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

Immense

palace of Versailles

livres

subsistence crisis

Privileged

Philosophers

John Locke

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Montesquieu

Representatives

Mirabeau

Abbé Sieyès.

inalienable’ rights

Maximilian Robespierre.

Jacobin club.
In 1789, in the wake of early morning, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. Rumours spread
that the King would open fire upon the citizens. People started gathering, and they started
breaking down a number of government buildings in search of arms. The commander of the
Bastille was killed in the armed fight, and the prisoners were released. People hated the Bastille
as it stood for the despotic power of the king. People protested against the high price of bread. A
new chain of events began, which led to the execution of the King in France.

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

Louis XVI, in 1774, ascended the throne of France. Financial France was drained because of the
war. France, under Louis XVI, helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence
from Britain. Taxes were increased to meet regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an
army, the court, and running government offices or universities. The country of France was
divided into three estates in the eighteenth century. The feudal system was part of the society’s
estates dating back to the middle ages. 90 percent of the population was dominated by peasants,
but only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated. 60 percent was owned by
nobles, the Church and other richer members of the third estate. The clergy and the nobility,
members of the first two estates, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. These groups of members
were exempted from paying taxes and enjoyed feudal privileges. All members of the third estate
had to pay taxes to the state, which 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 Struggle to Survive

The increase in population led to a rapid increase in the requirement for food grains. Production
of grains could not keep pace with the demand, due to which the price of bread rose rapidly. Due
to the low wages paid to the labourers, the gap between the poor and the rich widened. Things
became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.

A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

Peasants used to participate in revolts against taxes and food scarcity. The group of the third
estate had become prosperous and had access to education and new ideas. In the eighteenth
century, new social groups emerged, termed the middle class, who earned their wealth through
expanding overseas trade and by manufacturing woollen and silk textiles that were either
exported or bought by the richer members of society. The third estate included professions such
as lawyers or administrative officials. A person’s social position was dependent on their merit.

All these groups 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. A new form of government
was proposed by Rousseau based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
Similarly, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the
legislative, the executive and the judiciary. In the USA, this model of government was put into
force. Louis Louis XVI planned to impose further taxes to meet the expenses.

The Outbreak of the Revolution

In France, the monarch didn’t have the power to impose taxes. They had to call a meeting of the
Estates-General, a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives, to pass
proposals for new taxes. Louis XVI, on 5 May 1789, called an assembly to pass proposals for
new taxes. Representatives from the first and second estates were present, and the third estate
was represented by its prosperous and educated members. According to the principle, each estate
had one vote. But, representatives from the third estate demanded each member would have one
vote. The demand was rejected, so members of the third estate walked out to protest. They swore
not to disperse till a constitution was drafted for France that would limit the powers of the
monarch.

Due to the severe winter, bread prices rose, and people had to spend hours in long queues.
Rumours spread that the lords of the manor hired bands of brigands to destroy the ripe crops. In
fear, peasants started looting hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of
manorial dues. Nobles fled from their homes. Louis XVI accorded recognition to the National
Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would, from now on, be checked by a
constitution. The Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes
on 4 August 1789. Tithes were abolished, and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

In 1791, The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution, and its main object was
to limit the powers of the monarch. These powers were now separated and assigned to different
institutions – the legislature, executive and judiciary. France became a constitutional monarchy.

Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly, but unfortunately, not
every citizen had the right to vote. Men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3
days of a labourer’s wage were entitled to vote. The Constitution began with a Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of
opinion, and equality before the law were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights; that is,
they belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

In April 1792, the National Assembly voted for a war against Prussia and Austria. Marseillaise
became the national anthem of France. While men were away fighting in the war, women took
care of their families. Large sections of the population demanded that the revolution had to be
carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of
society. Political clubs were formed, and among them, Jacobins became the most successful
club. Members of the Jacobin club included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers,
pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. Jacobin
members started wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dockworkers.

These Jacobins were called the sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’.
On August 10 1792, Jacobins stormed the Palace of the Tuileries and held the king hostage for
several hours. Elections were held, and all men of 21 years and above got the right to vote. The
monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792, and France was declared a republic. Louis XVI
was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason.

The Reign of Terror

The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. People whom Robespierre
saw as enemies of the republic were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary
tribunal. If they were declared guilty by the court, then they were guillotined. The guillotine is a
device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded, named after Dr
Guillotin. Laws were issued to place a maximum ceiling on wages and prices. Meat and bread
were rationed. Expensive white flour was forbidden to use. Equality was practised through forms
of speech and address. All French men and women were addressed as Citoyen and Citoyenne
(Citizen). In July 1794, he was convicted by a court, arrested and the next day sent to the
guillotine.

A Directory Rules France

The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power.
According to the new constitution, non-propertied sections of society were denied voting. It
provided for two elected legislative councils. The government appointed a Directory consisting
of executives made up of five members. Political instability paved the way for a military dictator,
Napoleon Bonaparte.

Did Women have a Revolution?

Women were active participants from the beginning, which brought important changes in the
country of France. Women from the third estate had to work for a living, and they didn’t have
access to education or job training. Daughters of nobles of the third estate were allowed to study
at a convent. Working women also had to care for their families. Compared to men, their wages
were lower. Women also started their political clubs and newspapers. The Society of
Revolutionary and Republican Women was one of the most famous women’s clubs. They
demanded equal political rights as men, the right to vote and to hold political office. The
revolutionary government introduced laws to improve the lives of women. Schooling became
compulsory, divorce was made legal, and they could run small businesses. During the Reign of
Terror, the government closed women’s clubs banning their political activities. After much
struggle, women in France in 1946 won the right to vote.

The Abolition of Slavery

Jacobin’s regime’s most revolutionary social reform was the abolition of slavery in the French
colonies. In the seventeenth century, the slavery trade began. Slaves were brought from local
chieftains, branded and shackled and packed tightly into ships for the three-month-long voyage
across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Slave labour met the growing demand in European markets
for sugar, coffee, and indigo. Throughout the eighteenth century, there was little criticism of
slavery in France. In 1794, the Convention legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas
possessions. Napoleon introduced slavery after ten years. In 1848, slavery was abolished in
French colonies.

The Revolution and Everyday Life

France during 1789 saw changes in the lives of men, women and children. The abolition of
censorship happened in the summer of 1789. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right. Freedom of the press meant
opposing views of events could be expressed. Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large
numbers of people.

Conclusion

Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804 and introduced many laws,
such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures
provided by the decimal system. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815. The ideas of
liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom to create a sovereign nation-state.

Economic chapter -2. People as Resource

Vocabulary and Important words from the lesson.

Embodied

Liability

Persuaded

Vocational course

Enthusiasm

Arthritis.

Remuneration
Meticulously

Navodaya Vidyalaya

Expenditure

The Budgetary Estimate

Underprivileged

Recruitment

disguised unemployment.

Paradoxical

Overview

‘People as Resource’ is a way of referring to a country’s working people in terms of their

existing productive skills and abilities. Like other resources, the population is also considered as
a human resource. When the existing ‘human resource’ is further developed by becoming more
educated and healthier, it is called human capital formation. Investment in human capital
(through education, training, and medical care) yields a return just like an investment in physical
capital.

Human capital is superior to other resources like land and physical capital. Total productivity
adds to the growth of the economy. Investment in human resources (via education and medical
care) can give high rates of return in future. Countries like Japan have invested in human
resources.

Economic Activities by Men and Women

The activities in Economics are divided into three sectors, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary.
The primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming,
mining and quarrying. The secondary sector includes manufacturing. The tertiary sector includes
trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance, etc.
These activities are termed economic activities. Economic activities have two parts — market
activities and non-market activities. Market activities involve remuneration to anyone who
performs, i.e., activity performed for pay or profit. These include the production of goods or
services, including government services. Non-market activities are the production for self-
consumption. These can be the consumption and processing of primary products and the own-
account production of fixed assets.
There was a division of labour between men and women. Men were paid for their services, but to
the contrary, women were not paid for their services. Education plays an important role for
individuals to make better use of economic opportunities. Most women used to work in places
where there was no job security. In this sector, employment was characterised by irregular and
low income. Basic facilities were missing, like maternity leave, childcare and other social
security systems. However, women with high education and skill formation were paid highly.

Quality of Population

The quality of the population depends upon the literacy rate and health of a person, indicated by
life expectancy and skill formation acquired by the people of the country. It ultimately decides
the growth rate of the country, and a literate and healthy population is an asset.

Education

Education contributes to the growth of society, enhances the national income and cultural
richness and increases the efficiency of governance. Literacy is needed for citizens to perform
their duties and enjoy their rights properly. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, which was introduced in the
year 2010, provides elementary education to all children in the age group of 6–14 years. To
encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status, a mid-day
meal scheme was introduced. The 12th plan focused on increasing access, quality, adoption of
state-specific curriculum modification, vocationalisation and networking on the use of
information technology, distance education, and convergence of formal, non-formal, distance
and IT education institutions.

Health

Improvement in the health status of the population has been the priority of the country. The
National Policy, too, aimed at improving the accessibility of healthcare, family welfare and
nutritional service, especially for the underprivileged segment of the population. India, over the
last five decades, has developed its manpower required in the primary, secondary and tertiary
sectors.

Unemployment

In India, we have unemployment in rural and urban areas, though the nature of unemployment
differs in rural and urban areas. In rural areas, unemployment was seasonal and disguised. In
urban areas, unemployment was educated unemployment. Seasonal unemployment occurs when
people are not able to find jobs during a few particular months of the year. In disguised
unemployment, people appeared to be employed. Educated unemployment became a common
phenomenon in urban areas. Unemployment leads to the wastage of manpower resources, tends
to increase economic overload, and has a detrimental impact on the overall growth of an
economy. In India, statistically, the unemployment rate is low.

In the primary sector, the employment structure is characterised by self-employment. Agriculture

is the most labour-absorbing sector of the economy. But, in recent years, there has been a decline
in the dependence of population on agriculture. Some of the surplus labour in agriculture has
moved to either the secondary or the tertiary sector. In the secondary sector, small-scale
manufacturing was the most labour-absorbing. In the case of the tertiary sector, various new
services are now appearing, like Biotechnology, Information Technology and so on.