CH 1

FRENCH REVOLUTION
ASSIGNMENT BOOKLET Q/A
11/07/2025

Q22. Describe the incident that took place on the morning of 14th July 1789 in
France.
Ans. The following events took place in the morning of 14th July 1789 in
France:
(i) In the morning of 14th July 1789, the King ordered his troops to move into Paris.
There was a rumour that he had ordered his army to open fire on the citizens.
(ii) Seven thousand men and women gathered in front of the town hall. The agitated
crowd broke into several government buildings in search of arms.
(iii) A group of several hundred people stormed the fortress prison, the Bastille,
where they hoped to find hoarded ammunition. The crowd destroyed the Bastille.
Q23. What were the three causes that led to the 'subsistence crisis' in France
during the Old Regime?

1. Population Rise

The population of France increased rapidly from about 23 million in 1715 to

28 million in 1789.This led to an increased demand for food grains, but
food production couldn’t keep pace with the growing population.

2. Rise in Food Prices

Due to the high demand and insufficient supply, the price of bread (the
staple food) rose rapidly. Most people were wage earners, but wages did
not increase in proportion to food prices.This made it difficult for common
people to afford even basic food.

3. Poor Harvests and Climatic Conditions

Frequent droughts and harsh winters led to bad harvests. This reduced grain
production even further and caused food shortages, worsening the crisis. Natural
calamities, like hailstorms or severe winters, destroyed crops and increased hunger
and starvation.
Q24. Give reasons why the National Assembly was formed by the people of the
Third Estate.

1. Unfair Voting System in the Estates General:

In the Estates General meeting of 1789, each estate had one vote. The First (Clergy)
and Second (Nobility) Estates often voted together, outvoting the Third Estate, even
though it represented the majority of the population.

2. Demand for Equal Representation:

The Third Estate, led by leaders like Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès, demanded that
voting be conducted by head, where each member would have one vote, but the
king rejected this demand.

3. Break from the Estates General:

Feeling ignored and frustrated, the members of the Third Estate walked out of the
meeting and declared themselves the National Assembly on 20th June 1789,
vowing to draft a new constitution for France that would ensure equality and
justice.

14/07/2025
Q25. How did France become a constitutional monarchy?
1) The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its
main object was to limit the powers of the monarch.
2) These powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were
now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature,
executive and judiciary.
This made France a constitutional monarchy.
Q26. Who were the Jacobins? Write about them in three points.
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.
4)
Q27. What was the condition of women in France before the Revolution?

1) Lack of Political Rights: Women had no political rights. They were not allowed
to vote, hold public office, or participate in the making of laws.
2) Limited Access to Education: Most women did not receive proper education.
Girls from poor families had little to no access to schooling, and their education
was mainly focused on household work.
3) Most women of the third estate had to work for a living. They worked as
seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market,
or were employed as domestic servants in the houses of prosperous people.

Q28. Describe the divisions in French society before the French Revolution.
(Done in notes)

(5 MARKS)

Q30. What changes did people witness in everyday life after the Revolution of
1789 in France?
The people of France observed following changes after the revolution of 1789
(i) The revolutionary ideas of liberty and equality changed the clothes people wore,
the language they spoke and the books they read.
(ii) Censorship was abolished, flooding the country with newspapers, pamphlets,
books and printed pictures.
(iii) Freedom of the press implied that opposing views of events could be expressed.
Each side tried to convince the other through the print medium.
(iv) Act flourished in the form of plays, songs and festive processions attracted large
crowds of people, as the largely uneducated populace were able to identify with the
new ideas.
(v) Slavery was abolished.
Thus, the everyday life of the French people witnessed major changes after the
revolution.
Q31. What changes were seen during Robespierre’s regime?
Robespierre's government apart from being remembered for the Reign of Terror
undertook many laws similar to present-day socialist policies and welfare state.

(i) Laws were issued placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.

(ii) Meat and bread were rationed.

(iii) Peasants were forced to sell grain at fixed prices by the government.

(iv) All citizens were made to eat bread made of wheat flour.

(v) Equality was practised by forms of speech and address.

(vi) Slavery was abolished in French colonies.

(vii) Churches were shut down and buildings converted to barracks or offices
Q32. Describe the role of French philosophers in the French Revolution. (Done
in notes)
Q34. Mention five values associated with the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen.
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, equality before law,
were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights, that is, they belonged to each
human being by birth and could not be taken away. It was the duty of the state to
protect each citizen’s natural rights.