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

Online Education for The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions History Chapter 1

Question 1.
What led to the end of monarchy in France?
Answer:
The French Revolution prepared the ground for the culmination of monarchy in India.

Question 2.
What is the Bastille?
Answer:
The Bastille is the fortress prison which belonged the French King, Louis XVI. Its fall was the indication that the Revolution in France has begun.

Question 3.
Who was the king in France at the time revolution in 1789?
Answer:
Louis XVI.

Question 4.
To what does the Old Regime refer?
Answer:
The Old Regime is usually used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789.

Question 5.
Mention the sections of society which constituted the third estate.
Answer:
Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers etc. Down below were the peasants, artisans, labourers, servants.

Question 6.
What were the tithes?
Answer:
The tithe was a type of tax, extracted by the church from the peasant during pre-revolution times.

Question 7.
What do you mean by subsistence crisis?
Answer:
Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are in danger.

Question 8.
Name the book written by John Locke?
Answer:
Two Treatises on Government.

Question 9.
Who was Montesquieu? Name the book he wrote.
Answer:
Montesquieu was a French philosopher. The name of the book which he wrote was the Spirit of the Laws.

Question 10.
What was the Estates General?
Answer:
The Estate’s General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.

Question 11.
The image ‘the broken chain’ refers to something. Explain the image.
Answer:
The image ‘the broken chain’ refers to a situation of being free.

Question 12.
What does the image sceptre mean?
Answer:
Sceptre means the symbol of royal power.

Question 13.
What does the image ‘the eye within a triangle radiating lighf signify?
Answer:
The image ‘the eye within a triangle radiating light implies that the all-seeing eye is knowledge and die rays of the sun will drive away the clouds of ignorance.

Question 14.
What does red Phrygian cap mean?
Answer:
The red Phrygian cap means that one who wears it is free, and not a slave.

Question 15.
What does the image ‘the winged woman mean?
Answer:
It means the personification of law.

Question 16.
Explain the meaning of the image ‘the law tablet’.
Answer:
The image ‘the law tablet means that the law is the same for all and all are equal before law.

Question 17.
When was monarchy abolished and Republic instituted in France?
Answer:
Monarchy was abolished and the Republic was instituted on September 21, 1792.

Question 18.
What is guillotine?
Answer:
Guillotine is a device, instituted in the regime of Robespierre, consisting of two poles and a blade. With it/ the guilty were beheaded.

Question 19.
What are ‘citbyen’ and ‘citoyenne’?
Answer:
The terms used for he-citizen and she-citizen respectively in 1794.

Question 20.
What led to the subsistence crisis in France on the eve of revolution in 1789?
Answer:
The population in France rose from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. This led to a rapid increase in the demand for foodgrains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. So the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owners fixed their wages, but wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap between the poor and the rich widened. This led to a subsistence crisis, something that occurred frequently in France during the Old Regime.

Question 21.
Why did the King Louis XIV call the meeting of the Estates-General? ‘
Answer:
The king wanted to increase the taxes. So he called for the meeting of the Estates-General in May 1789.

Question 22.
What were the main features of the Constitution of 1791?
Answer:
The following were the main features of thp Constitution of 1791:

• The power to make laws was given to the National Assembly.
• The National Assembly was to be indirectly elected: the ordinary citizens would elect the electors, and the electors, members of the National Assembly.
• Voting power was given to the active citizens who paid taxes equal to three days of a labourer’s (/) wages; the electors were those who paid more taxes.
• A Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen was a part of the constitution. These rights included right to life, freedom of opinion, equality before law etc.

Question 23.
Explain the meaning of the painting of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (see figure on p. 39) by reading only the symbols.
Answer:
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (figure painted by the artist Le Barbier in 1790) represents France on the right, and on the left, symbolises the law. The Declaration states rights of man and citizen.

Question 24.
Who was Qlympe de Gouges ?
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 Man and Citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that each human being was entitled to.

So in 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, which she addressed to the Queen and to the members of the National Assembly, demanding that they act upon it.

Question 25.
Describe briefly the legacy of the French Revolution.
Answer:
The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution. These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal systems were abolished. Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation-state.

Question 26.
Describe the causes of the French Revolution.
Answer:
There are three types of the causes relating to the French Revolution. These are intellectual, social and political causes :

I. Intellectual Causes-

• Liberty-Human Rights/Natural Rights.
• The sovereignty of the people.
• Equality meant equal rights for all and tinder the Law. Liberals also wanted freedom from a state-controlled economy. Property was seen as sacred. These were middle-class property owners by and large.

II. Social Causes- A. The Estates System

• First Estate: The Clergy-1% of population, with 10% of land. They had wealth, land, privileges and they levied a tax on the peasantry, the tithe, which generally went to some remote bishop or monastery rather than the local parish priest.
• Second Estate: The Nobility-2-5% of population with 20% of the land. They also had great wealth and taxed the; peasantry: There was a “feudal” resurgence in 18th century.
• Third Estate: Everyone Else-95-97% of the population. There were some few rich members, the artisans and all the peasantry. These were also class divisions.

The Bourgeoisie-8% of the population, about 2.3 million people, with 20% of Land. They often bought land and exploited the peasants on it. In Third Estate, the most important group politically was the. Bourgeoisie.

The Peasants-With 40% of the land, formed the vast majority of population. There was population growth in this period; perhaps 3,00,000 people added over the century. Peasants paid the most tax: aristocrats did not pay. Peasants farmed the land, and regard it as their own, but it was hot legally theirs. What they wanted was to own their own property. This was radical only at to start with. Later it was to be conservative desire.

The Urban Poor of Paris-Artisans- factory workers, journeymen. They were very poor probably less involved in politics. Artisans had different, interests than the bourgeoisie, but they played important role at several points. They were the most politicized group of poor people, possibly due to high literacy.

III. Political Causes-Some of these problems were:

• Economic Weakness-The Revocation of Edict of Nantes 1685 had struck, a blow at French commerced. The economy tottered for the next hundred years.
• Taxation Problems-The richest were not taxed: i.e. the Nobles and Clergy. Taxes were indirect on the poorest part of population-the Taille on peasant produce – the Gabele-on salt -various trade tariffs
• Dependence on loans- The banking system was not able to cope with the fiscal problems. It was” the need for King to raise taxes that led to the calling of the Estates-General.
• Cost of Mid Century Wars The Seven Years War 1756-63 cost a lot.
• The Cost of Versailles and the Royal household etc.
• Bankruptcy of the State-By 1780s the government was nearly bankrupt. Half of government income was going on paying debts (annual deficit 126 Million Livres). (debt was almost 4 Billion Livres).

Question 27.
Compare the manifesto drafted by. Olympe de Gouges with the declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen.
Answer:
Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793), a revolutionary woman drafted a manifesto for women’s rights.
This can be reproduced as under:

• 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 women and men. These rights are liberty, property, Security, and above all resistance to oppression.
• The source of all sovereignty resides in the nation, which is nothing but the union of women and men.
• The law should be expression of the general will; all female and male citizens should have a say either personally or by their representatives in its formulation; it should be the same for all.
• No woman is an exception; she is accused, arrested, and -detained in cases determined by law. Women, like men, obey this rigorous law.

Question 28.
Bring out the effects, of the French Revolution.
Answer:
The Trench Revolution, though it seemed a failure in 1799 and appeared nullified by 1815, had far-reaching results. In France the bourgeois arid landowning classes emerged as the dominant power. Feudalism was dead; social order and contractual relations were consolidated by the Code Napoleon. The Revolution unified France and enhanced the power of the national state.

Although some historians view the Reign of Terror as an ominous precursor of modern totalitarianism, others, argue that this ignores the vital role the Revolution played in establishing the precedents of such democratic institutions as elections, representative government, and constitutions. The failed attempts of the urban lower middle classes to secure economic and political gains foreshadowed the class conflicts of the 19th century.

Objective Type Questions

1. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words given in brackets:

Question 1.
The fortress prison ……………………….. fell to the revolutionaries, (the Bastille, the Versailles)
Answer:
the Bastille

Question 2.
The ……………………………. constituted the first estate (clergy, nobility).
Answer:
clergy

Question 3.
Livre constituted a unit of currency in ……………………………. (America, France)
Answer:
France

Question 4.
Louis XVI became king of France in ……………………………. (1715,1774).
Answer:
1774

Question 5.
The philosopher ……………………………. had an impact on the French Revolution. (Rousseau, Marx)
Answer:
Rousseau

Question 6.
Napoleon was defeated in 1815 at ……………………………. (Waterloo, Als case)
Answer:
Waterloo.

2. Choose true (✓) or false (✗) in the following sentences:

Question 1.
The Declaration of Rights Of Man and Citizen is related to the American War of independence.
Answer:
(✗)

Question 2.
One Indian leader, Tipu Sultan, responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary Frartce, the other was Swami Vivekananda.
Answer:
(✗)

Question 3.
Slavery was finally abolished in France in 1848.
Answer:
(✓)

Question 4.
Robespierre was the leader of the Jacobians.
Answer:
(✓)

Question 5.
Marseillaise is the national anthem of France,
Answer:
(✓)

Question 6.
France became Republic in 1789.
Answer:
(✗).

3. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives given:

Question 1.
The French Revolution occurred in:
(a) 1776
(b) 1789
(c) 1814
(d) 1830
Answer:
(b) 1789

Question 2.
The reign of terror period belongs to:
(a) 1789-1790
(b) 1790-1791
(c) 1792-1793
(d) 1794-1795
Answer:
(c) 1792-1793

Question 3.
Directory was an executive body consisting of the following:
(a) 3 members
(b) 4 members
(c) 5 members
(d) 6 members
Answer:
(c) 5 members

Question 4.
Women got franchise in the following year:
(a) 1945
(b) 1946
(c) 1947
(d) 1948
Answer:
(b) 1946

Question 5.
At the time of French Revolution, the emperor was:
(a) Louis XIII
(b) Louis XIV
(c) Louis XV
(d) Louis XVI
Answer:
(d) Louis XVI

Question 6.
Old Regime belonged to the following period:
(a) Before 1789
(b) After 1789
(c) Before and after 1979
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(a) Before 1789

Question 7.
France became Republic in:
(a) 1791
(b) 1792
(c) 1793
(d) 1794
Answer:
(b) 1792

Question 8.
One of the following participated in the French Revolution:
(a) Rousseau
(b) Robespierre
(c) Roosevelt
(d) Ramsay Mac Donald
Answer:
(b) Robespierre.

Extra Questions for Class 9 Social Science