NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science History Chapter 1 The French Revolution(Updated for 2021 – 22)

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of Kings ascended the throne of ________ .
Answer:
France

Question 2.
What was newly elected assembly called ?
Answer:
The newly elected assembly was called the convention.

Question 3.
The burden of financial activities of state during the Old Regime was borne by the ________ .
Answer:
Third estate

Question 4.
In France, the eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of a social group, termed as the ________ .
Answer:
Middle class

Question 5.
The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example for political thinkers in ________ .
Answer:
France

Question 6.
The agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille on ________ .
Answer:
14th July, 1789

Question 7.
The constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the ________ .
Answer:
National Assembly

Question 8.
The constitution began with a Declaration of the rights of ________ .
Answer:
Man and citizen

Question 9.
The National Assembly of France voted in April 1792 to declare war against ________ .
Answer:
Prussia and Austria

Question 10.
Who introduced Reign of Terror and where ?
Answer:
Robespierre introduced ‘Reign of Terror’ in France.

Question 11.
The members of the Jacobin Club belonged mainly to ________ .
Answer:
The less prosperous sections of society.

Question 12.
When was slavery finally abolished in French colonies ?
Answer:
Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Question 13.
One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the ________ .
Answer:
Abolition of censorship.

Question 14.
In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as Emperor of the ________ .
Answer:
France.

Question 15.
What was ‘Sceptre’ ?
Answer:
Symbol of Royal Power.

Question 16.
The political body representing the three estates of pre-revolutionary France was known as ________ .
Answer:
Estates General.

Question 17.
Which theory was proposed by Montesquieu ?
Answer:
Theory of division of power.

Question 18.
Who proposed the Social Contract theory ?
Answer:
Jean Jacques Rousseau.

Question 19.
A triangular slave trade started among ________ .
Answer:
Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Question 20.
Women in France won the right to vote in ________ .
Answer:
1946.

Question 21.
What did the French Revolution of 1789 stand for ?
Answer:
The French Revolution of 1789 stood for the ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Question 22.
What did the fall of Bastille signify ?
Answer:
The fall of Bastille signified the end of the autocratic rule of the monarch.

Question 23.
Name the special tax levied by the church on peasants.
Answer:
Tithes was the special tax levied by the church on peasants.

Question 24.
On what principle was voting conducted in the Estates General ?
Answer:
Each Estate having one vote, was the principle on which voting was conducted in the Estates General.

Question 25.
What is a Guillotine ?
Answer:
The Guillotine is a device consisting of two pole and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr. Guillotine who invented it.

Question 26.
What idea did the ‘Law Tablet Convey’ ?
Answer:
It conveyed the idea that the law is the some for all, and all are equal before it.

Question 27.
Who was the leader of the Jacobin club ?
Answer:
Robespierre was the leader of the Jacobin club.

Question 28.
What was the Estates General ?
Answer:
The Estates General was a political body and was controlled by the French Monarch.

Question 29.
Who were denied entry to the assembly of the Estates General, called by Louis XVI on 5 May, 1789 ?
Answer:
Peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly of the Estate General.

Question 30.
Why were images and symbols used in the eighteenth century France ?
Answer:
The majority of men and women in 18th century France could not read and write. So images and symbols were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Who was Robespierre ? Why Is his reign referred as the ‘Reign of Terror’ ?
Answer:

• Robespierre was the leader of Jacobins club which led a successful revolt and came to power. Robespierre ruled France from 1793 to 1794.
• His rule is referred as the ‘Reign of Terror’ because he followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
• All those who were considered enemies by him or who did not agree with him or with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If found guilty, they were executed.

Question 2.
How was the French society organised before the revolution of 1789 ?
Answer:

• The French society was divided into sections called ‘estates’ namely first estate consisting of the clergy, second estate comprising the nobility and the third estate comprising all commoners including big businessmen, traders, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, labourers and servants.
• The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. They were exempted from paying taxes to the state. The members of this estate had no political rights and social status.
• The entire burden of taxation fell on the third estate. All economic functions were performed by them.

Question 3.
Describe the incidents that led to the storming of the Bastille.
Answer:
While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France was seething with turmoil. A severe winter had meant a bad harvest, 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. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed Bastille

Question 4.
What do you know about the abolition of slavery in France ?
Answer:

• It was finally the convention which in 1794 legislated to free all the slaves in the French overseas possessions. This, however, turned out to be a short-term measure. However, ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
• Plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to enslave African Negroes in pursuit of their economic interests.
• Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Question 5.
Write a short note on the document ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizen.’
Answer:

• The Declaration of the ‘Rights of Man’ and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be natural rights.
• Censorship was abolished. Newspapers, books and pamphlets flooded French towns and reached the countryside as well.
• Events and changes taking place in France were frankly discussed.
• Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large number of people. Thus, people could identify with ideas of liberty and equality easily.

Question 6.
How was the Church responsible for the French Revolution ?
Answer:

• The members of the church, clergy belonged to the First Estate. The clergy enjoyed all privileges with no obligations. They lived in pomp and extravagance which led to resentment among the members of the Third Estate.
• The church was owner of a big chunk of land in France.
• The church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants. Apart from this, the church also collected several other taxes.

Question 7.
State the election process of the National Assembly in France.
Answer:
The constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected. Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn close the assembly. All citizens did not have the right to vote. Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage 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. To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the assembly, a man had to belong to the highest bracket of tax payers.

Question 8.
What were the main ideas behind the French Revolution ?
Answer:
The main ideas behind the French Revolution were :

• The revolutionary ideas in France were propagated and preached by the famous thinkers and philosophers like Rousseau, Montesquieu. They favoured the abolition of such a social system that supported political, social and economic injustice and discrimination.
• The French revolutionaries were also influenced by the triple ideals of the American Revolution, i.e., Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and they opposed the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the nobles.

Question 9.
Write some of the main features of the French Constitution of 1791.
Answer:
The main features of the French Constitution of 1791 were :

• The constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected. Its main objective was to limit the powers of the monarch.
• The citizens of France voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly. Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes were entitled to vote.
• The constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizens.
• The constitution declared that it was the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.

Question 10.
How did a directory rule in France ? Explain.
Or
Write a short note on the Directory.
Answer:

• The new constitution made provision for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory, an Executive made up to five members. This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of political power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins.
• The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Through all these changes in the form of government, the ideals of freedom, of equality before the law of the land and of fraternity remained inspiring ideals that motivated political movements in France and the rest of Europe during the following century.

Question 11.
What was subsistence crisis ? Mention two factors responsible for this crisis ?
Answer:
Subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.
Two factors responsible for this crisis were :

• The population of France rose from about 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 owner fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices. So the gap between the poor and the rich widened.
• Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. This led to a subsistence crisis, something that occurred frequently in France during the Old Regime.

Question 12.
What is the significance of the “Tennis Court Oath” in the French Revolution ?
Answer:
The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesman for the whole French nation. On 20th June, 1789, the assembled in the hall of on indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared themselves a national assembly and swore not the disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the Monarch. The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791 as a result of which France finally became a republic in 1792.

Question 13.
What were the causes of the empty treasury of France under Louis XVI ?
Answer:
Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles. Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen colonies to gain their independence from the common enemy, Britain. The war added more than a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres. Lenders, who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 percent interest on loans. To meet its regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government offices or universities, the state was forced to increase taxes.

Question 14.
Write the importance of Napoleon Bonaparte in the History of France and the world.
Answer:
Napoleon saw himself as a moderniser of Europe. He introduced many laws such as protection of private properly and uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system. He carried out the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws to other parts of Europe which he conquered. They had a great impact on people. He was a great general too.

Question 15.
Which laws were introduced by revolutionary government to improve the condition of women in France ?
Answer:
In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped to improve the lives of women. Together with the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls. Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will.

Marriage was made into a contract entered 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

Question 16.
What landmark decisions were taken by the National Assembly led by the Third Estate on 4th August, 1789 ?
Answer:
Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would be checked by a constitution. On 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the fedal system of obligations and taxes. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges. Tithes were abolished, and lands owned by the church were confiscated. As a result, the government acquired assets worth at least 2 billion livres.

The French Revolution Class 9 Extra Questions Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Who were the Jacobins ? What was their contribution to the French Revolution ?
Answer:
Political clubs had become rallying point for people who wanted to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins. They got their name from the former convent of St. Jacob in Paris. They belonged to the less prosperous sections of the society. They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily wage earners. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.

A large group among the Jacobin decided to wear long striped trousers like those worn by dock workers. This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society especially the nobles who wore knee breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breeches.

These Jacobins came to be known as sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’. San-culottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolised liberty. Women, however, were not allowed to do so.

In the summer of 1792, they planned an insurrection of many Parisians who were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food. On August 10, they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards and imprisoned the king. Elections were now held.

The newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On 21st September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason and executed on 21st January 1793. The queen also met with the same fate.

Question 2.
“The revolutionary government took it upon themselves to pass laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.” Discuss this statement with special emphasis on the abolition of censorship.
Answer:
The years following 1789 in France saw many such changes in the lives of men, women and children. The revolutionary governments took it upon themselves to pass laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.

One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship. Earlier 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. Now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen declared freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right. They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France. 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. Plays, songs and festive processions attracted large numbers of people.

This was one way they could grasp and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice that political philosophers wrote about at length in texts. Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside.

Question 3.
Did women have a revolution in 1789 and after it ?
Answer:

• Most of the historians believe that from the very beginning women were active participants in the events related with the French Revolution of 1789.
• Before and during the days of Revolution, most of the women of France did not have access to good job training or education.
• The women were paid lower wages than those of men.
• In order to discuss and voice their interests, women began their own newspapers and political clubs. The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
• They demanded the right to vote and right to contest elections as well as the right to hold political office. Women’s movement for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next two hundred years in many countries of the world.

Question 4.
Describe the social conditions in France before the French Revolution.
Answer:

• The French king drove France into useless wars bringing the country on the verge of bankruptcy.
• French society was divided into three main classes called ‘estates’. The first estate constituted the clergy, the second estate constituted the nobility and the rest of the population constituted the third estate. The first two estates were the privileged ones exempted from all the taxes. The third estate shouldered the burden of taxation and had few privileges.
• France was a centralised monarchy and the people had no share in decision making. Administration was disorganised, corrupt and inefficient. The defective system of tax collection and oppression created discontentment.
• Peasants made up of 10 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated about 60 per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the church and other richer members of the third estate.
• Peasants were obliged to render services to the lord. They have to work in the lord’s house and fields or to serve in the army or to participate in building roads.

Question 5.
Describe causes for the fall of Jacobin government in France.
Answer:

• The Jacobin government in France was based on extreme measures. The period from 1793-1794 is referred to as the reign of terror. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. All those he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic-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 guillotined. This led to chaos and resentment among the people.
• The Jacobin government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wage 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. This led to a feeling of resentment against the Jacobins. Peasants began opposing them.
• Robespierre’s government ordered shut down of churches and converting church buildings into barrack or offices. Thus the clergy turned against the Jacobin regime and hastened its fall.
• Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters turned against him. They began to demand moderation and a middle path.
• Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and guillotined.

Question 6.
Explain the role of philosophers in the French Revolution of 1789.
Answer:
The role of philosophers in the French Revolution of 1789 were :

• In Two Treaties of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
• In the Spirit of the laws Moritesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
• The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensely in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspaper.
• Patriotic song Marseillaise composed by poet Roget de Lisle. It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so got its name. The Marseilles is now the national anthem of France.