French Revolution

I. Multiple Choice Questions

1. When did the French Revolution begin?
A. 1789
B. 1799
C. 1804
D. 1815
2. The French society was divided into how many estates
before the revolution?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
3. Which estate in France comprised the clergy?
A. First Estate
B. Second Estate
C. Third Estate
D. Fourth Estate
4. The economic condition of which estate was most precarious
before the revolution?
A. First Estate
B. Second Estate
C. Third Estate
D. Fourth Estate
5. What was the main reason for the financial crisis in France
before the revolution?
A. Excessive military spending
B. High taxes on the nobility
C. Economic exploitation of the colonies
D. Lavish spending of the clergy
6. The Tennis Court Oath took place in:
A. Palace of Versailles
B. Notre-Dame Cathedral
C. Tennis Court
D. Bastille
7. The famous slogan of the French Revolution was:
A. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
B. No Taxation without Representation
C. E Pluribus Unum
D. Give me liberty or give me death
8. The storming of the Bastille occurred on:
A. 14th July 1789
B. 4th July 1789
C. 21st June 1789
D. 5th August 1789
9. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was
inspired by:
 A. American Revolution
B. Indian Independence Movement
C. Russian Revolution
D. Chinese Revolution
10. Which French king was executed during the revolution?
A. Louis XVI
B. Louis XIV
C. Napoleon Bonaparte
D. Charles X
11. Who was the leader of the Jacobin club during the Reign of
Terror?
A. Maximilien Robespierre
B. Jean-Paul Marat
C. Louis XVI
D. Napoleon Bonaparte
12. Which event marked the end of the Reign of Terror?
A. Storming of the Bastille
B. Execution of Louis XVI
C. Execution of Robespierre
D. Tennis Court Oath
13. The period of the Directory in France came after:
A. The Reign of Terror
B. The Storming of the Bastille
C. The Tennis Court Oath
D. The execution of Louis XVI
14. The coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought which leader to
power in France?
A. Louis XVI
B. Robespierre
C. Napoleon Bonaparte
D. Marat
15. The Napoleonic Code was a:
A. Set of military rules
B. A code of conduct for the clergy
C. A system of taxation
D. A comprehensive legal code
16. 16.The National Assembly formed a constitution in
1791, to limit the power of the …….?
A. Wealthy men
B. Businessmen
C. Monarch
D. Press
17. 17.French women demanded the right to…..?
A. Vote
B. To be elected in the assembly
C. To hold political office
D. All
18. 18.A triangular slave trade took place between Europe,
the Americas and…..?
 A. Asia
B. Australia
C. Africa
D. None
19. 19.Which group of people did not join the Jacobin Club?
A. Artisans
B. Shopkeepers
C. Daily wage workers
D. Men with property
20. Who were not considered passive citizens?
A. Women
B. Children
C. Non property men
D. Wealthy people
21. The third estate comprised……?
A. Poor and small peasants
B. Land less labour
C. Peasants and artisans
D. All
22. Which of the following decisions was taken by the
convention?
A. It declared France a constitutional Monarchy
B. Abolished the Monarchy
C. All men and women above 21 got the right to vote
D. Declared France a Republic
23. How does a subsistence crisis happen?
A. Bad harvest leads of scarcity of grains
B. Food prices rise and the poor cannot buy bread
C. Leads to disease and death
D. All
24. Which of the following statements is false about the
Third Estate?
A. It comprised of poor only
B. Some were rich some were poor
C. Rich members owned land
D. Peasant were obliged to serve in the army
25. What was a guillotine?
A. A device consisted of two poles and a blade to behead people
B. A fine sword to behead people
C. A special noose to hang people
D. None 0f these
26. In the meeting of the Estates General, the members
of the Third Estate demanded that………
A. All the estates have one vote together
B. Each estate should have one vote
C. Each member of all three estates should have one vote
each
D. None
27. What was Tithes?
A. A tax levied by the Church
B. Tax by the state
C. Tax by the Monarch
D. None

28. What was an estate consisting of the lord’s lands and

his mansion known as?
(a) chateau
(b) manor
(c) bastille
(d) castle

29. Which symbol expressed the personification of law in

France?
(a) winged women
(b) sceptre
(c) eye within a triangle
(d) law table

30. One important law that came into effect soon after the
storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the
abolition of _____________.
(a) leadership
(b) censorship
(c) invading force
(d) slavery
31. Name the two individuals from India who responded to
the ideas coming from revolutionary France
(a) Tantia Tope and Raja Rammohun Roy
(b) Tipu Sultan and Laxmi Bai
(c) Tipu Sultan and Rammohun Roy
d) Chandrasekhar Azad and Raja Rammohun Roy

II. Very Short Answer Type Questions

1. Who were the members of the First two Estates? What were the
Privileges enjoyed by these two sections of society?
2. What did Montesquieu propose in his “spirit of Laws”?
3. What was Directory?
4. Give ant two laws enforced by Napoleon to modernise France.

III. Short Answer Type Questions

1. What was the Role of Philosophers and thinkers in the French

Revolution? Explain by giving three examples.
2. What does subsistence crisis mean? What led to Subsistence
crisis in France?
 3. What were the salient features of the Constitution of 1791?

4. What measures were taken by Robespierre to bring

equality in the French Society?
Answer:
Measures are :

 Robespierre government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling

on wages and prices.
 Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell
it at prices fixed by the government.
 The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden; all citizens
were required to eat the quality bread, a loaf made of whole
wheat.
 Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech
and address.
 Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into
barracks or offices

5. Describe the effects of abolition of law of censorship on

France.
Answer:

 France before censorship: In the Old Regime all written material and
cultural activities, books, newspapers, plays could be published or
performed only after they had been approved by the censors of the
king.
 Freedom of Speech: Now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a
natural right. Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures
flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into
the countryside. They all described and discussed the events and
changes taking place in France.
 Debate and Discussion: Freedom of the press also meant that
opposing views of events could be expressed. Each side sought to
convince the others of its position through the medium of print.
Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but
they shaped the nature of debate

IV. Long Answer Type Questions

1. Explain about the Triangular Slavery System in France.

2. Social disparity was one of the major causes of the French

Revolution.’ Justify by giving examples.
Answer:
 Division of the society into three Estate :
  The First Estate: It consisted of the clergymen and church-fathers.
 The Second Estate: It consisted of landlords, men of noble birth and
aristocrats.
 The Third Estate: It consisted of the vast majority of the common
masses, the landless peasants, servants, etc.
 Heavy Burden of Taxes on the Third Estate: The members of the
first two Estates were exempted from paying taxes to the state. So
all the taxes were paid by the people of the Third Estate.
 Wide Gap between People of Different Estates: Most of the people of
the Third Estate were employed as labourers in workshops with
fixed wages. The wages failed to keep pace with the rise in prices.
So the gap between the poor and the rich widened.
 No Political Rights: Out of the total population, the first and the
second Estates had share of 2%. The remaining people belonged to
the Third Estate. Although the upper two classes made up only a
small fraction of the total population, yet they were the people who
controlled the political and economic system of the nation. They
enjoyed all the rights and privileges. The entire machinery of the
government was designed to protect their interests and privileges.
 Unequal Distribution of Wealth : In the French society, peasants
made up about 90% of the population. However, only a small
number of them owned the land they cultivated. About 60% of the
land was owned by nobles, the church and other richer members of
the Third Estate.

3. Compare the political, economic and social conditions of

France before and after the revolution.
Answer:

Before Revolution After Revolution

Political Conditions :

France was under the rule of a

(i) France became a Republic.
monarch, Louis XVI.

(ii) All the political powers were in Political powers were given to
 the hands of the first two
the Third Estate.
Estates.

Economic Conditions :

Taxes were levied according the to

All the taxes were paid by the
(i) income and wealth. The right to
people .of the Third Estates.
votewas linked to taxes.

The government was under The economic condition of

(ii)
heavy debt. government improved.

Social Conditions :

People of Third Estate were All were given equal rights

(i)
discriminated. irrespective of the Estate.
 All the written materials and The censorship on written

cultural activities could be materials and cultural activities

(ii)
published or performed only was lifted. Now all were free to

after an approval from the king. write and speak.