IX.History.Chapter 1.
The French Revolution
The French Revolution
Glossary.
Bastille.A fort in eastern part of Paris, used as a
state prison.
Society of
Estates.Refers to French Society which
was divided into three estates or classes.
Old Regime.Term used to
describe society and institutions of France before 1789.
Privileges.Immunity belonging to a class, or special
benefit.
Estates General.Political body to which the three estates
sent their representative
Livres. Unit of currency in France,
discontinued in 1794.
Clergy.Group of persons invested with special
functions in the church.
Active
Citizens.Citizens that were entitled to
vote.
Tithes.A tax levied by the Church, comprising 1/10
of the agricultural produce.
Taille.Tax to be paid directly to the
State.
Subsistence Crisis. An extreme situation where the basic means of
livelihood are endangered.
Anonymous.One whose name remains unknown.
Chateau.Castle or stately
residence belonging to King or a nobleman.
Indirectly elected.Citizens
vote for a group of electors who in turn choose their representatives.
Manor. A estate consisting of the Lords lands and his mansion.
Sans-culottes. Those without knee breeches.
Treason. Betrayal of one's country or government.
Guillotine.Is a device
consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded.
Dictatorship.State judged by person with absolute
authority.
Despotic. Person subject to no constitutional checks,
tyrannous.
Democracv. Government by all the people, usually through
elected representatives.
Negroes.A term used for indigenous
people of Africa, South of the Sahara.It is a derogatory term not in common use now.
Emancipation. The act of freeing.
Nation.People who share a language,culture, customs and history, a group
united into a large political, economic and social unit,which recognizes no
law or authority above its own. It is
sovereign in nature
Nationalism. A feeling of intense loyalty and devotion to
one's own country
Revolution. A
recognized momentous change in any situation.A revolution may result in sudden overthrow of an established government
or system by force and bloodshed, e.g. ,
the French Revolution.It can also be a
great change that comes slowly and peacefully e.g., the Industrial Revolution.
Sceptre.Symbol of Royal power.
Physiocraets.A term used for French economists whose
beliefs undermined the feudal rights and rights of the upper classes.They believed taxes should be imposed only
with the consent of those on whom they are levied.
Treason.
Betrayal of one's country or government.
Personalities
Napoleon Bonaparte - He was a military dictator of France who crowned himself the Emperor of France in 1804.
Maximilian Robespierre - He was a political leader of Jacobin club and founder of the Reign of Terror. He ruled over France from 1793 to 1794. Finally he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested on the next day guillotine.
Camille Desmoulins- a revolutionary journalist who wrote about the liberty is happiness, reason, equality, justice and the declaration of Rights. He was shortly executed during the Reign of Terror.
Jean Jacques Rousseau - He was a great philosopher who influenced the French society through his work The Social Contract.
Abbe' Sieye's - He was a leader of the National Assembly which was created in 1789.He was also a priest who wrote an influential pamphlet called What is the Third Estate.
Louis XVI - Ruler of France during the French Revolution. He belonged to the Bourbon Dynasty when he ascended the throne here was 20 years old in 1774.
Marie Antoinette- She was an Austrian princess married to the ruler of France, Louis XVI
Voltaire -21 November1694-30 May 1778 .He was a French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit attacked the established Church.
Montesquieu - He was a famous scholar and great philosopher of his times. He was deadly opposed to the theory of the Divine rights of king. His famous book was The Spirit of Laws proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, executive and the judiciary.
Jhon Locke- In his famous book Two Treaties of Government Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
Mirabeau - He was a notable member of the third estate. He was born in a noble family, but convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privileges.
Jean Paul Marat - He was a revolutionary journalist of L'Ami du people :The Friend of the People,the French Revolution.
Olympe de Gouges- (1748-1793) She was the most important of the politically active women in the revolutionary France who protested against the Constitution and Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that was entitled to everyone.
Dr.Gullotine- He was the inventor who invented a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded.
Roget de L Isle- A famous French poet who composed the Marsellies, the National Anthem of France.
Tipu Sultan - Tiger of Mysore who gathered inspirations from the French Revolution.
Raja Rammohan Roy - A great social reformer who banned the Sati Pratha responded to the ideas of the French Revolution.
Arthur Young - An Englishman who travelled through France during 1787-1789 wrote a detailed description of his journey.
Chaumette - A Jacobin politician.
Jacques Louis David - He was a famous painter who made a preparatory sketch for a large painting for the Tanis Court Oath that was intended to be hung in the National Assembly.
NCERT Text Book Questions Answers
Important Dates Related Events
1774 - Louis XVI became the king of France ,faced empty treasury,and the growing discontent within the society of the Old Regime.
1789 - Convocation of Estates general,The Third Estate formed National Assembly,The Bastille was stormed,Peasants revolted in the country side.
1791 - A Constitution was framed to limit the powers of the king and to guarantee the basic rights to all human beings.
1792-93 - France became a Republic,the king was beheaded.Overthrew of the Jacobin Republic,a Directory rules France.
1804 - Napoleon became the emperor of France,annexed large parts of Europe.
1815 - Napoleon defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.
1848 - Abolition of slavery in French colonies.
1946 - Women in the France won the right to vote.
Napoleon Bonaparte - He was a military dictator of France who crowned himself the Emperor of France in 1804.
Maximilian Robespierre - He was a political leader of Jacobin club and founder of the Reign of Terror. He ruled over France from 1793 to 1794. Finally he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested on the next day guillotine.
Camille Desmoulins- a revolutionary journalist who wrote about the liberty is happiness, reason, equality, justice and the declaration of Rights. He was shortly executed during the Reign of Terror.
Jean Jacques Rousseau - He was a great philosopher who influenced the French society through his work The Social Contract.
Abbe' Sieye's - He was a leader of the National Assembly which was created in 1789.He was also a priest who wrote an influential pamphlet called What is the Third Estate.
Louis XVI - Ruler of France during the French Revolution. He belonged to the Bourbon Dynasty when he ascended the throne here was 20 years old in 1774.
Marie Antoinette- She was an Austrian princess married to the ruler of France, Louis XVI
Voltaire -21 November1694-30 May 1778 .He was a French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit attacked the established Church.
Montesquieu - He was a famous scholar and great philosopher of his times. He was deadly opposed to the theory of the Divine rights of king. His famous book was The Spirit of Laws proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, executive and the judiciary.
Jhon Locke- In his famous book Two Treaties of Government Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
Mirabeau - He was a notable member of the third estate. He was born in a noble family, but convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privileges.
Jean Paul Marat - He was a revolutionary journalist of L'Ami du people :The Friend of the People,the French Revolution.
Olympe de Gouges- (1748-1793) She was the most important of the politically active women in the revolutionary France who protested against the Constitution and Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that was entitled to everyone.
Dr.Gullotine- He was the inventor who invented a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded.
Roget de L Isle- A famous French poet who composed the Marsellies, the National Anthem of France.
Tipu Sultan - Tiger of Mysore who gathered inspirations from the French Revolution.
Raja Rammohan Roy - A great social reformer who banned the Sati Pratha responded to the ideas of the French Revolution.
Arthur Young - An Englishman who travelled through France during 1787-1789 wrote a detailed description of his journey.
Chaumette - A Jacobin politician.
Jacques Louis David - He was a famous painter who made a preparatory sketch for a large painting for the Tanis Court Oath that was intended to be hung in the National Assembly.
NCERT Text Book Questions Answers
Q.1.Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary
Ans.The outbreak of revolutionary protest in France was a culmination of social. political, intellectual and economic factors.
Political Causes
a.Louis XVI the king of France was autocratic, led a life of luxury, was inefficient and weak willed.
b.Administration was corrupt, inefficient and disorganized.
c.In France the people had no share in decision making.The French Parliament known as the Estates General had not been convened for 175 years.
d.luxurious living of the king putting unnecessary expenses burden over the treasury.
Social Cause
a.The social order of France was marked by gross inequalities.
b.The clergy and nobility which formed the first two Estates were the privileged classes.They were exempt from payment of state taxes.
c.The Third Estate formed the majority of the population was the unprivileged class bore the burden of taxes, with no political rights and social status.Hence, they were a profoundly discontented lot.
Economic Cause
a.To add to the problem was the financial crisis that forced the situation.
b.The treasury of the king was empty on account of long wars, involvement in the American War of Independence, luxurious living of the king and faulty system of taxation.The c.privileged estates who could pay would not pay.The already burdened Third Estate could not pay.
Intellectual Cause.
a.189 century France witnessed a revolution in the realm of ideas.
The philosophers refuted the theory of divine right of kings and absolute monarchy and proclaimed the doctrine of equality of man and sovereignty of the people.
They played a vital role in exposing the evils of the old regime and focusing the discontent.
Q.2. Which groups of French Society benefited from the revolution? Which groups were forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution?
Ans. The groups which gained from the revolution were the landed classes, the new middle class including big businessmen, merchants, court officials and other professionals like lawyers.
The classes, which formed the privileged sections of society like the nobility, clergy and aristocracy were forced to relinquish their exclusive powers,
The less privileged classes in terms of money, land and education i.e, small peasants, landless labourers,sharecroppers,servants,artisans,daily wage earners and women remained discontented.
Q.3.Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Ans.(i)The French Revolutionary ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity became inspiring ideals that inspired political movements in the world in the 19 and 2014 centuries.The social and political changes that took place all over Europe can be traced to the French Revolution,
(ii) The idea of Liberty expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen laid the foundation of a new social order. Liberty, political and personal became a universal creed. (iii) Personal liberty led to the abolition of serfdom and freed the peasantry from the tyranny of the landed aristocracy and the church. It brought in the age of capitalism.
(iv) Political liberty of democratic rights found expression in abolition of rights and despotism of monarchs.
(v) The idea of the Equality led to the end of society based on Ease.It led to increasing recognition of the interests of the masses. All individuals had rights, became the new language of politics.
(vi) Another great legacy of the French Revolution was the idea of nationalism - sovereignty of the people. The greatest effect was starting of mass movements Europe and South America,all over the world.This was the importent force in reshaping the boundaries of the nations.
(vi) The Revolution acted as a guiding force for the peoples of colonies like India,working the destinies of the nations of the world.Even to this day the forces let loose by the French Revolution are powerful and are acceptable.
Q.4.Draw up a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution.
Ans.Some of the democratic rights which we enjoy today, whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution are an integral part of the - Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution.
- Right to equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination and equality of opportunity in matters of employment.
- Right to freedom of speech and expression including right to practice any profession or occupation
- Right against exploitation.
- Right to life.
- Right to vote. countries in the spirit of brotherhood,
- Promotion of the idea of fraternity by carrying friendly relations with foreign
Q.5.Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions? Explain.
Ans.The outbreak of revolutionary protest in France was a culmination of social. political, intellectual and economic factors.
Political Causes
a.Louis XVI the king of France was autocratic, led a life of luxury, was inefficient and weak willed.
b.Administration was corrupt, inefficient and disorganized.
c.In France the people had no share in decision making.The French Parliament known as the Estates General had not been convened for 175 years.
d.luxurious living of the king putting unnecessary expenses burden over the treasury.
Social Cause
a.The social order of France was marked by gross inequalities.
b.The clergy and nobility which formed the first two Estates were the privileged classes.They were exempt from payment of state taxes.
c.The Third Estate formed the majority of the population was the unprivileged class bore the burden of taxes, with no political rights and social status.Hence, they were a profoundly discontented lot.
Economic Cause
a.To add to the problem was the financial crisis that forced the situation.
b.The treasury of the king was empty on account of long wars, involvement in the American War of Independence, luxurious living of the king and faulty system of taxation.The c.privileged estates who could pay would not pay.The already burdened Third Estate could not pay.
Intellectual Cause.
a.189 century France witnessed a revolution in the realm of ideas.
The philosophers refuted the theory of divine right of kings and absolute monarchy and proclaimed the doctrine of equality of man and sovereignty of the people.
They played a vital role in exposing the evils of the old regime and focusing the discontent.
Q.2. Which groups of French Society benefited from the revolution? Which groups were forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution?
Ans. The groups which gained from the revolution were the landed classes, the new middle class including big businessmen, merchants, court officials and other professionals like lawyers.
The classes, which formed the privileged sections of society like the nobility, clergy and aristocracy were forced to relinquish their exclusive powers,
The less privileged classes in terms of money, land and education i.e, small peasants, landless labourers,sharecroppers,servants,artisans,daily wage earners and women remained discontented.
Q.3.Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Ans.(i)The French Revolutionary ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity became inspiring ideals that inspired political movements in the world in the 19 and 2014 centuries.The social and political changes that took place all over Europe can be traced to the French Revolution,
(ii) The idea of Liberty expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen laid the foundation of a new social order. Liberty, political and personal became a universal creed. (iii) Personal liberty led to the abolition of serfdom and freed the peasantry from the tyranny of the landed aristocracy and the church. It brought in the age of capitalism.
(iv) Political liberty of democratic rights found expression in abolition of rights and despotism of monarchs.
(v) The idea of the Equality led to the end of society based on Ease.It led to increasing recognition of the interests of the masses. All individuals had rights, became the new language of politics.
(vi) Another great legacy of the French Revolution was the idea of nationalism - sovereignty of the people. The greatest effect was starting of mass movements Europe and South America,all over the world.This was the importent force in reshaping the boundaries of the nations.
(vi) The Revolution acted as a guiding force for the peoples of colonies like India,working the destinies of the nations of the world.Even to this day the forces let loose by the French Revolution are powerful and are acceptable.
Q.4.Draw up a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution.
Ans.Some of the democratic rights which we enjoy today, whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution are an integral part of the - Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution.
- Right to equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination and equality of opportunity in matters of employment.
- Right to freedom of speech and expression including right to practice any profession or occupation
- Right against exploitation.
- Right to life.
- Right to vote. countries in the spirit of brotherhood,
- Promotion of the idea of fraternity by carrying friendly relations with foreign
Q.5.Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions? Explain.
Ans.Yes, the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions.
The revolution came about with the support of the common man - the city poor and the peasant. The right to vote and elect representatives did not solve their problem. Real equality could only come with economic equality.
The contradiction was also evident as regards women. Women did not enjoy the same political rights - right to vote and hold political offices like men - nor were their wages equal to men.
The French wars which began in the name of liberty and equality ended in French becoming conquerors instead of liberators in direct contradiction of the terms as the French held on to, and undertook expansion of colonies.
Slave trade, one of the most inhuman practice, exploitation of slaves to serve vested interests was yet another blatant contradiction.
Q.6.How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?
Ans.The causes for the rise of Napoleon lay in the revolution itself.
Political instability during the rule of the Directory, glorious victories of Napoleon in wars made the French realize, only a soldiers' sword could restore discipline and respect for authority and stable government.
The French Revolution was motivated more by social wrongs and economic criticism than by political grievances.The French realized since Napoleon was a product of the revolution, its power was a guarantee that aristocratic rights would not be restored and people would remain in possession of the lands.
These factors paved the way for the rise of Napoleon.
III.Very Short answer Type Questions.
Q. 1. What do you understand by the word "Revolution"?
Ans. The term 'revolution' means a recognizable momentous change in any situation.
Q. 2. Describe the incident which sparked the Revolution.
Ans. The attack by the Third Estate on the Bastille State Prison (14th July 1789) and setting free the prisoners sparked the 'Revolution'.
Q. 3. What activity of the French monarchy hastened the revolution?
Ans. Extravagant lifestyle of the monarchy brought France to the verge of bankruptcy and hastened the Revolution.
Q. 4. Who were the Sans - Culottes?
Ans. Sans - Culottes literally means: Those without knee breeches ie, the common people of Paris.
The revolution came about with the support of the common man - the city poor and the peasant. The right to vote and elect representatives did not solve their problem. Real equality could only come with economic equality.
The contradiction was also evident as regards women. Women did not enjoy the same political rights - right to vote and hold political offices like men - nor were their wages equal to men.
The French wars which began in the name of liberty and equality ended in French becoming conquerors instead of liberators in direct contradiction of the terms as the French held on to, and undertook expansion of colonies.
Slave trade, one of the most inhuman practice, exploitation of slaves to serve vested interests was yet another blatant contradiction.
Q.6.How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?
Ans.The causes for the rise of Napoleon lay in the revolution itself.
Political instability during the rule of the Directory, glorious victories of Napoleon in wars made the French realize, only a soldiers' sword could restore discipline and respect for authority and stable government.
The French Revolution was motivated more by social wrongs and economic criticism than by political grievances.The French realized since Napoleon was a product of the revolution, its power was a guarantee that aristocratic rights would not be restored and people would remain in possession of the lands.
These factors paved the way for the rise of Napoleon.
III.Very Short answer Type Questions.
Q. 1. What do you understand by the word "Revolution"?
Ans. The term 'revolution' means a recognizable momentous change in any situation.
Q. 2. Describe the incident which sparked the Revolution.
Ans. The attack by the Third Estate on the Bastille State Prison (14th July 1789) and setting free the prisoners sparked the 'Revolution'.
Q. 3. What activity of the French monarchy hastened the revolution?
Ans. Extravagant lifestyle of the monarchy brought France to the verge of bankruptcy and hastened the Revolution.
Q. 4. Who were the Sans - Culottes?
Ans. Sans - Culottes literally means: Those without knee breeches ie, the common people of Paris.
Very nice
ReplyDeleteSuperb
ReplyDeleteVery nice sir
ReplyDelete