French Revolution Flashcards
Why was Louis XIV considered to be the most powerful of all the French monarchs in the 17th century?
He was determined to ensure that there were no revolts and uprisings in his kingdom, hence, centralized all political power in him and became an absolute ruler.
To fulfill his ambition of a larger kingdom, he waged wars on various other countries in Europe. Though he gained very small areas of land, these wars made France feared and respected. Louis ordered construction of a magnificent palace at Versailles
near Paris categorically to keep the nobility under control and to stop them from becoming powerful.
It was said that, “Louis XVI was the victim of the faults of his predecessors and also the victim of his own”. Justify the statement.
His predecessor Louis XIV, waged wars on other countries and ordered the construction of a magnificent palace at Versailles which increased the burden of taxes on the peasants.Louis XV got France involved in The Seven Year’s War which worsened France’s economic condition. Louis XVI rose to the throne with an empty treasury. He shattered the economy by entering The American Revolution. His lack of planning contributed to the Subsistence Crisis
Mention the privileges that were enjoyed by the members of the first two estates in France before the outbreak of revolution?
The first two estates were exempted from paying taxes. The clergy could collect taxes. Clergy exercised great authority and had control over education and charity. The Nobles could collect feudal dues from peasants.
Enlist direct and indirect taxes levied on the members of third estate.
They had to pay taxes on their income,land,property,crops,food,tobacco,wine and even on their lives. The clergy collected ‘Tithes’ from them as a tax in the name of helping the poor
Why Louis XVI was held responsible for the outbreak of French Revolution?
Louis XVI had shattered France’s economy further. His lack of farsightedness and planning contributed to the subsistence crisis. He did not care for the starving people and did not try to improve their situation.
List three factors that led to the occurrence of subsistence crisis in France.
1) Rapid Increase in the population of France which led to an increased demand of food grains.
2) Agricultural Production could not keep pace with the increasing demand and government had no planning during such crisis.
3) A hailstorm destroyed crops and there was an extremely severe winter during 1788-89
4) Wages did not increase at the same rate as prices. This decreased the purchasing power of the commoners.
What compelled Louis XVI to raise taxes? Why were they opposed?
France’s treasury was drained from the faults of his predecessors and himself(state them). This forced him to increase taxes. They were opposed by all the three estates as he had removed the exemption of taxes from the first 2 estates. The 3rd estate already had high taxes and there was a subsistence crisis in France.
What was the purpose of calling of Estates General? Why did the people of the third estate walk out of the assembly hall?
Louis XVI considered extending taxation to the two privileged orders: the Nobility and the
Catholic Church and with this in mind he convened a consultative body of nobles and clergy
called the Assembly of Notables. In this meeting, the first and the second estates were urged
either to agree to the new taxes or to forfeit their exemption to the current ones.
Unsurprisingly, the notables refused both the plans. Since the Assembly of Notables remained
a failure, king, in order to seek solutions to his financial problems, decided to call the meeting
of the Estates General which was a representative body of all the three estates.
all the representatives instead of discussing the tax
proposal of the king, began to discuss separately the organization of the legislature and its
voting pattern. Voting in estates general in the past used to be conducted on the basis of
majority according to the principle that each estate had one vote. But this time members of the
third estate expressed their resentment and demanded that voting now be conducted on thE
principle of each member one vote and asked for more influence since they were more than
ninety percent of the population. When king rejected this demand they rebelled and walked
out of the assembly hall in protest. With this, the stage for a possible Revolution was set.
Explain the significance of the Tennis Court Oath.
On 20 June, 1789, all the members of national assembly assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles and swore not to
disperse or separate until they had drafted a constitution for France, this is also known as the
― Tennis Court Oath. Estates General ceased to exist, its place, now was taken up by the
National Assembly.
Highlight the role of Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes in the revolution of France.
Mirabeau, a noble himself and Abbé Sieyès, a member of the clergy led the
proceedings. Though, both of them belonged to the privileged class they seriously felt the
need to do away with feudal society. Mirabeau brought out a journal and delivered impactful
speeches to the crowds of peasants and workers who had assembled at the grounds of
Versailles. Abbé Sieyès, a theorist and a Catholic priest argued the paramount importance of
the third estate in his pamphlet –―What is the third estate? His pamphlet projected the third
estate to be the real nation, inciting the masses to take the situation in their own hands if the aristocracy failed to fulfill their demands.
What was the significance of Storming of Bastille in the history of French revolution?
On the morning of 14 July, 1789, thousands of men and women gathered in front of the town hall, determined to form a peoples ‘militia. They attacked a number
of government building in search of weapons and ammunition. The fortress prison of Bastille
was symbolic of the repressive and despotic powers of the French monarch and was believed
to hold arms and ammunition that would allow the Parisians to face the King‘s army. The
insurgents, a group of several hundred people, marched towards the fortress prison of Bastille,
which was perceived to be a symbol of despotic powers of the King. They stormed the prison
in the hope of finding hoarded ammunition. The armed fight between peoples’ militia and the
Royal guards continued for several hours. After a fierce combat, the commander of the Bastille
was killed and the prison fell into the hands of the masses. The prisoners were released, though
there were only seven of them and the fortress was demolished. Its stone fragments and other
properties were sold in the market as souvenirs of its destruction. Demolition of the Bastille was a big blow to the King‘s position as it had represented King‘s
absolute powers since ages. Its demolition mean tan open defiance to King‘s authority.
According to many historians storming of the Bastille marked the beginning of the French
Revolution.
Interpret the statement, “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains”
Man is born to be free but he is oppressed everywhere. This statement referred to the people of France during the old regime.
Mention the important declarations made by the National Assembly before the draft of the
constitution of 1791?
The Declaration Of Rights Of Man And Citizen
What changes were brought about in France as a result of adoption of the constitution of 1791?
The National Assembly functioned not only as a legislature but also as an institution to
draft a new constitution. It completed the draft constitution in 1791 with an objective to limit
the powers of the monarch. The political authority and power instead of being concentrated in
the hereditary ruler were now separated. This made France a constitutional monarchy.
Separation of powers led to the emergence of three
different bodies–the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive. The task of law making was
assigned to the unicameral National Assembly, which was indirectly elected. It was scheduled
to meet after every two years. The King could nominate ministers but could not dissolve or
dismiss the legislature. He was left with only a suspensive veto; he could suspend or delay the
enforcement of law for a while, but could not block it totally.Education was now compulsory for girls and marriage became a civil contract freely entered by men and women.
State any six provisions of Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen in France.
It proclaimed Inalienable
rights of the Humans like the right to liberty, property, security and above all, equality before law.
It ensured freedom of speech, opinion and press, promised right to safety and resistance to
oppression. All male citizens were made eligible for a public office or a government job on the
basis of their qualification.
