Class 9 History Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers The French Revolution

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Class 9 History Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers The French Revolution

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Very Short Answers Type

Question 1.
Why did the people of France storm the Bastille?
Answer:
The people of France stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille because they were hopeful to find hoarded ammunition there.

Question 2.
Why was the Bastille hated by all?
Answer:
The Bastille was hated by all because it stood for the despotic power of the king.

Question 3.
What was the Bastille? What happened to it?
Answer:
The Bastille was the fortress-prison where prisoners were kept. It was demolished and its stone fragments were sold in the market.

Question 4.
What was the issue most French people were protested against?
Answer:
Most French people were protesting against the high price of bread.

Question 5.
The french society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates. Name them.
Answer:

  • Clergy
  • Nobility
  • Third estate which included big businessmen, merchants, peasants, etc.

Question 6.
What do you mean by the term Old Regime?
Answer:
The term Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789, the year of the French Revolution.

Question 7.
Who owned about 60 percent of the land in France?
Answer:
Nobles, the church and other richer members of the third estate owned about 60 percent of the land in France.

Question 8.
What privileges were enjoyed by the clergy and the nobility by birth?
Answer:
These people were exempted from paying taxes to the state. The nobles enjoyed feudal privileges too which included feudal dues.

Question 9.
What services did the peasants render to the lord?
Answer:
They worked in his house and fields, served in the army or participated in building roads.

Question 10.
Name the taxes that all members of the third estate had to pay to the state.
Answer:
A direct tax, called taille and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco.

Question 11.
What led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains in 1789?
Answer:
The population of France increased dramatically in 1789 which led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains.

Question 12.
Why did the gap between the poor and the rich widen in 1789?
Answer:
Since a major portion of workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owners fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices of bread.

Question 13.
Who had participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food security in the past?
Answer:
They were peasants and workers.

Question 14.
Why were peasants and workers not successful in bringing about a change in the French social and economic order?
Answer:
It was because they lacked the means and programmes to carry out full-scale measures that would bring about that change.

Question 15.
What did the educated section of the third estate believe?
Answer:
They believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person’s social status must depend on his merit.

Question 16.
Which doctrine was refuted by John Locke in his ‘Tiro Treatises of Government’!
Answer:
In his book ‘Two Treatises of Government’ John Locke refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.

Question 17.
What idea did Rousseau propose?
Answer:
He proposed a from of government based on social contract between people and their representatives.

Question 18.
What idea did Montesquieu propose in his book ‘The Spirit of the Laws’!
Answer:
He proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.

Question 19.
What was the main object of the Constitution of 1791?
Answer:
Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch.

Question 20.
What made France a Constitutional Monarchy in 1791?
Answer:
In 1791, the draft of the Constitution was completed by the National Assembly. This constitution made the monarch a Constitutional head by giving his powers to different institutions—the legislature, executive and judiciary.

Question 21.
Who were considered passive citizens under the Constitution of 1791?
Answer:
Women, children and youth below 25 were considered passive citizens under the Constitution of 1791.

Question 22.
Who was eligible for an elector and then for a member of the National Assembly?
Answer:
A man who belonged to the highest bracket of taxpayers was eligible for an elector and then for a member of the National Assembly.

Question 23.
Which rights were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights by the constitution in 1791?
Answer:
Right such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law, were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights.

Question 24.
Mention one drawback of the Constitution of 1791.
Answer:
The Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society.

Question 25.
Who joined the Jacobin club?
Answer:
Small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers as well as servants and daily-wage workers joined the Jacobin club.

Question 26.
Which law came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in 1789?
Answer:
It was the law that abolished censorship.

Question 27.
When and where was Napoleon Bonaparte defeated?
Answer:
Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

Question 28.
Name the continents which were associated with the triangular slave trade.
Answer:
Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Question 29.
Who reintroduced slavery in 1804?
Napoleon reintroduced slavery in 1804.

Question 30.
What was guillotine?
Answer:
It was a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr Guillotin who invented it.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Short Answers Type

Question 1.
What were reasons behind an empty treasury upon the accession of Louis XVI in 1774?
Answer:
Upon his accession in 1774 the new king Louis XVI found an empty treasury. There were several reasons behind it:

  • Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immerse palace of Versailles.
  • Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from Britain. The war added more than a billon livres to debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres. Lenders who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans.
  • French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates and only members of the third estate paid taxes.

Question 2.
How was the system of estates in French society organised?
Answer:
French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates:

  • The first estate was constituted by the clergy, who enjoyed certain privileges by birth.
  • The second estate was constituted by the nobility who enjoyed feudal privileges.
  • The third estate was consisted of big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, small peasants, landless labour and servants. Thus, within the third estate some were rich and others poor. Here, it is worth mentioning that the members of the first two estates were exempted from paying taxes to the state. Only the members of the third estate had to pay taxes.

Question 3.
Which factors were responsible for the subsistence crisis in France in 1789?
Answer:
The following factors led to the subsistence crisis in France in 1789:

  • The population of France rose dramatically in 1789. This led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the growing demand. So the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly.
  • Most of the workers were employed as labourers in workshops where owners fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rose in price.
  • Things became worse due to a severe winter which reduced the harvest.

Question 4.
Why did members of the third estate walk out of the assembly of the Estates General, called by Louis XVI on 5 May 1789?
Answer:

  • On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. The first and second estate sent 300 representatives each, while the third estate sent 600 representatives.
  • Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. This time too the king was determined to continue the same practice.
  • But Members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third walked out of the assembly in protest.

Question 5.
What was the immediate cause that angered the French people so much so that they stormed and destroyed the Bastille and started the Revolution?
Answer:
The National Assembly was busy at Versailles in drafting a constitution that would limit the powers of the monarch. The common people on the other hand, were facing hardships. The king had nothing to do with their problems.

Meanwhile, there occurred a severe winter in France which aggravated their problem. Severe winter resulted in bad harvest. So, the price of bread rose. Often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. So, on 14 July 1789, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille, which stood for the despotic power of the king. This was the start of the French Revolution.

Question 6.
Under what circumstances did Louis XVI finally accord recognition to the National Assembly? Mention the changes brought by the Assembly on the night of 4 August 1789.
Answer:
There was agitation all over France due to the short supplies and high prices of food. Unaware of the common man’s problems, the king decided to suppress it. As a result the agitation got intensified. Peasants began to attack chateaux. They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally 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 on the night of 4 August 1789 that brought the following changes:

  • The feudal system of obligations and taxes was abolished.
  • Members of the clergy were forced to give up their privileges.
  • Tithes were abolished and lands owned by the church were confiscated.

Question 7.
What were the consequences of the uprising led by the Jacobins in 1792?
Answer:

  • The Assembly voted to imprison Louis XVI and his family members. Elections were held. From now on all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
  • Monarchy was abolished and France was declared a republic.
  • Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason. On 21 January 1793 he was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde. The queen Marie Antoinette met the same fate shortly after.

Question 8.
Write three points about the Jacobin club in France. Who was its leader?
Answer:
(i) The most successful of the political clubs during the revolutionary France was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent of St. Jacob in Paris.

(ii) 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.

(iii) A large group among the Jacobins began to wear long striped trousers to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society, especially nobles, who wore knee breeches.
The leader of the Jacobin club was Maximilian Robespierre.

Question 9.
What was a Directory? Why was it dismissed?
Answer:
After the fall of the Jacobin government the wealthier middle classes seized the power. They introduced a new constitution which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society. It provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members. This was meant as safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins. However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative councils as a result of which the Directory was dismissed which gave rise to Napoleon.

Question 10.
“Women had been active participants in the events which brought about many important changes in French society. Still their condition did not improve.” Explain.
Or
Did the French Revolution bring any improvement in the condition of women? How can you say that their life was full of hardships?
Answer:
Women in France were sure that their involvement in the events would pressurise the revolutionary government to introduce measures to improve their lives. But they had to face disappointment. They had to work hard for a living. They worked as seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market, or even employed as domestic servants in the houses of wealthy people. Most women did not have access to education or job training. They had also to take care for their own families, that is cook, fetch water, queue up for bread and look after the children. Their wages were lower than those of men.

Question 11.
Describe the triangular slave trade that was carried on during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?
Answer:
(i) A triangular slave trade was carried on between Europe, Africa and the Americas. The slave trade began in the seventeenth century.

(ii) French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains.

(iii) The slaves were branded and shackled and then they were packed tightly into ships for the three- month long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to plantation owners.

Question 12.
Under what circumstances did the representatives of the third estate form the National Assembly?
Answer:
Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each while the third estate sent 600 representatives. Voting in the Estate General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. This time too the king was determined to continue the same practice. But members of the third estate demanded that each member would have one vote because it was based on the democratic principle. But the king rejected this proposal as a result of which members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest.

The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation. On 20 June 1789, they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared themselves a National Assembly and began to draft a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Long Answers Type

Question 1.
Describe how France became a republic?
Answer:
(i) Louis XVI was not happy by signing the Constitution of 1791. So, when he got opportune moment he entered into secret negotiations with the king of Prussia.

(ii) Rulers of other neighbouring countries too were worried by the developments in France and made plans to send troops to put down the events that had been taking place there since the summer of 1789.

(iii) Before this could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare a war against Prussia and Austria. Thousands of volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the army. The Marseillaise composed by the poet Rouget de L’lsle was sung for the first time by the volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris.

(iv) Political clubs became 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

(v) In the Summer of 1792, these Jacobins planned on insurrection of a large number of Parisians who were angered by the short supplies arid high prices of food . On the morning of August 10, they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, malssacred the king’s guards and held the king himself as a hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. Elections were held. The newly elected assembly abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Louis XVI and his queen were executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde.

Question 2.
Why is Robespierre’s government known as the Reign of Terror? Give reasons.
Answer:
Robespierre’s government remained in power from 1793 to 1794. But this short period became so infamous that it began to be referred to as the Reign of Terror. The following reasons were responsible for this:

(i) Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. All those whom he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic such as ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party who did not agree with his methods, were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If the court found them ‘guilty’ they were guillotined.

(ii) Robespierre’s government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices. Meat and bread were rationed. Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government.

(iii) The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden. All citizens were required to eat pain d’e‘galite’ meaning equality bread, made of whole wheat.

(iv) Churches were shut down and their building were converted into barracks or offices.

(v) Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand modernisation. Finally, He was arrested and guillotined.

Question 3.
How did the revolution affect the everyday life of the people in France?
Answer:
(i) The years following 1789 in France saw many changes in the lives of men, women and children. Politics changed the clothes people wore, the languages they spoke and the book they read.

(ii) The revolutionary governments tool it upon themselves to pass laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.

(iii) Censorship was abolished. Now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.

(iv) Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the country side. They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.

(v) Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed. Each side sought to convince the others for its position through the medium of print.

(vi) Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large numbers of people. The system of slavery began to be criticised and finally it was abolished.

Question 4.
Describe how slavery was abolished in France?
Answer:
The abolition of slavery in the French colonies took place under the Jacobin regime. The colonies the Caribbean were important suppliers of commodities like tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee. But the reluctance of Europeans to go and work in distant lands caused shortage of labour on the plantations.

Hence, a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas began in the seventeenth century. French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains. The slaves were branded and shackled and then packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to plantation owners.

Throughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery in France. The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all French subjects including those in the colonies. But it did not pass any laws due to expected opposition from businessmen whose

incomes depended on the slave trade. It was finally the convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions. But this lasted for a short term. Napoleon reintroduced slavery after he became the emperor of France in 1804. This exploitative system was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848. .

Question 5.
How did the French Revolution impact the world?
Answer:
(i) The ideals of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.These ideals spread from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal system were abolished.

(ii) Political revolution in Europe began with the French Revolution. This revolution influenced the people in other European countries and political revolutions raged through Europe as people fought against the authority of kings.

(iii) Colonised peoples got inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. They reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into the movements to create a sovereign nation state. Pipu Sultan and
Rammohan are two examples of inthviduals who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Questions

Question 1.
What was the role of the philosophers in the French Revolution?
Or
Describe the role of the philosophers in the French Revolution.
Answer:
The French philosophers played an important role in preparing the background of the revolution.
(i) The famous philosophers like John Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person’s social position must depend on his merit. They inspired the common mass of France with their revolutionary ideas and mobilised them to raise voice against injustices.

(ii) In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch. Rouseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.

(iii) In The spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.

(iv) The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee houses and spread among people through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who were illiterate. The news that the king planned to impose further taxes generated anger and protest against the system of privileges.

Question 2.
Why were images and symbols frequently used during the French Revolution? What did the following symbols convey—The broken chain, The bundle of rods or fasces, Sceptre, Red Phrygian cap. Blue-white-red, The winged woman, The Law Tablet and The eye within a triangle radiating light.
Answer:
The majority of men and women in the eighteenth century France were illiterate. They could not read and write. So images and symbols were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas. The following symbols convey the following ideas:

  • The Broken Chain: Chains were used to fetter slaves. A broken chain stands for the act of becoming free.
  • The bundle of rods or fasces: One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire bundle. It conveys the idea that strength lies in unity.
  • Scepter: Symbol of royal power.
  • The Phrygian cap: This cap was worn by a slave upon becoming free.
  • Blue-White-Red: The national colours of France.
  • The winged woman: Personification of the law.
  • The Law Tablet: The law is the same for all and all are equal before it.
  • The eye within a triangle radiating light: The all seeing eye stands for knowledge. The rays of the sun will drive away the clouds of ignorance.
  • Snake biting its tail to from a ring: Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end.

Question 3.
Why did Olympe de Gouges protest against the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen? Mention some of the basic rights set forth in her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen which came in 1791.
Answer:
Olympe de Gouges was one of the most important of the politically active women in revolutionary France. She protested against the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Men and Citizen because they excluded women from basic rights that each human being was entitled to. So, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizen. Some of the basic rights set forth in her Declaration are:

  • Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights.
  • The goal of all political associations is the preservation of the natural rights of woman and man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.
  • The source of all sovereignty resides in the nation, which is nothing but the union of woman and man.
  • The law should be the same for all. All female and male citizens are equally entitled to all honours and public employment according to their abilities and talents.
  • No woman is an exception, she is accused, arrested, and detained in cases determined by law. Women like men, obey this rigorous law.

Question 4.
Describe the political activities of French women during the revolutionary years.
Or
Describe what women in post-revolution France did to voice their interests. To what extent were they successful?
Answer:
The Constitution of 1791 disappointed women because it reduced them to passive citizens who had no right to vote. So, they decided not to sit idle. They started their own political clubs and newspapers, to fight for their rights. About sixty women’s clubs came up in different French cities. The most famous of them was The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women. One of their main demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as men.

They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office. In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped improve the lives of women. State schools were created and schooling was made compulsory for all girls.

Marriage was made into contract entered into freely and registered under civil law. Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by both women and men. Women could now train for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses. But they denied voting rights for which their struggle continued for more than hundred years. It was finally in 1946 that they won the right to vote.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Value-based Questions (VBQs)

Question 1.
Mention the salient features of the Constitution of 1791.
Answer:
The National Assembly completed the draft of the Constitution in 1791. The salient features of this Constitution were:
(i) It limited the powers of the monarch. These powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions—the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy.

(ii) The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected. That is, citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly. Not all citizens had the right to vote. Only wealthy men above 25 years of age were given the status of active citizens, that is, they were entitled to vote. The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens without right to vote.

(iii) The new constitution adopted the 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 rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.

Question 2.
What values are associated with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?
Answer:
The Constitution of 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Values associated with it were:

  • Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law were established as natural and inalienable rights.
  • These rights 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.
  • The law had the right to forbid only actions that were injurious to society.
  • Liberty consisted of the power to do whatever was not injurious to others.
  • The source of all sovereignty resided in the nation; no group or individual might exercise authority that did not come from the people.
  • Law was the expression of the general will. All citizens were equal before it.

Question 3.
In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. What values are reflected through this proposal?
Answer:
The values reflected through this proposal are:

  • When power is shared between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, there is least chance of dominance of one institution over the other.
  • Montesquieu’s arrangement refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute rights of the monarch.
    He advocated that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
    There should be equality in every sphere. Montesquieu also stressed on individual freedom because it was necessary for the growth of individual’s personality.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 1 Map-based Questions

Question 1.
On the given outline map of France, locate and label the following:
(a) Bordeaux
(b) Nantes
(c) Paris
(d) Marseilles
Answer:

Class 9 History Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers The French Revolution 1

Question 2.
On the given outline map of France, identify the places marked.
(a) The place not affected by the Great Fear
(b, c and d) The epicentres of main panic movements.
Answer:

Class 9 History Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers The French Revolution 2