French Revolution

TREE HOUSE HIGH SCHOOL, VIRAR (W)
ACADEMIC SESSION (2024-25)

SUBJECT – HISTORY
GRADE: IX
Date: 12.04.2024
Chapter: FRENCH REVOLUTION
Worksheet no. 1
Q.1 Answer the following questions: (Ncert Questions)

1. Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in
France.
Ans: The revolutionary protests in France were caused due to the following reasons:
1. France and Britain had fought wars for American independence which burdened the French
economy. Thus, the public had to pay more taxes and was frustrated.
2, Merit was replaced by birth privileges. The people being born in privileged families were
given more important positions due to which the commoners had little scope for growth into the
society.
3. Due to the birth-based privileges, the power of the society was concentrated in the hands of
a few families which again led to discontent among the people.
4. Due to the emergence of the middle class, the revolution could sustain as they were not
underprivileged and raised their voice against such unjust practices instead of simply giving in.
Q.2 Which groups of French society benefited from the revolution? Which groups were
forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been disappointed
with the outcome of the revolution?
Ans. 1.The wealthy class of the third estate which came to be known as the new middle class of
France benefited the most from the revolution. This group comprised of big businessmen, petty
officers, lawyers, teachers, doctors and traders. Previously, these people had to pay state taxes
and they did not enjoy equal status. But after the revolution they began to be treated equally
with the upper sections of the society.
2. With the abolition of feudal system of obligation and taxes, the clergy and the nobility came
on the same level with the middle class. They were forced to give up their privileges. Their
executive powers were also taken away from them.
3. The poorer sections of the society, i.e. small peasants, landless labourers, servants, daily
wage earners would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution. Women also
would have been highly discontented.
Q.3 Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Ans:1. The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French
Revolution. These ideas became an umpiring force for the political movements in the world in
the 19th and 20th centuries.
2. The ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity spread from France to the rest of Europe, where
feudal system was finally abolished.
3. Colonised people reworked on the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to
Create a sovereign nation-state.
4. The idea of Nationalism that emerged after the French Revolution started becoming mass
movements all over the world. Now people began to question the absolute power.
1.
5. The impact of the French Revolution would be seen in India too. Tipu Sultan and Raja Rammohan
Roy got deeply influenced by the ideas of the revolution. In the end, we can say that after the
French Revolution people all over the world became aware of their rights.
Q. 4, Draw up a list of democratic rights we enjoy today whose origins could be traced to
the French Revolution.
Ans: The following democratic rights originated in France during the French Revolution:
1. Right to Equality, before law prohibition of discrimination and equality of opportunity in
matters of employment.
2. Right to Freedom of Speech, Expression including the right to practice any profession or
occupation
3. Right to Constitutional Remedies
4. Right against exploitation.
5. Right to life
6. Right to vote
Q.5 Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with
contradictions? Explain.
Ans: 1.The message of universal rights was definitely beset with contradictions. Many ideals of the
“Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” were not at all clear. They had dubious meanings.
. 2. French Revolution could not bring economic equality and it is the fact that unless there is
economic equality, real equality cannot be received at any sphere. The Declaration of Rights of Man
and Citizen laid stress on equality but large section of the society was denied to it. The right to vote
and elect their representatives did not solve the poor man’s problem.
3. Women were still regarded as passive citizens. They did not have any political rights such as right
to vote and hold political offices like men. Hence, their struggle for equal political rights continued.
4. France continued to hold and expand colonies. Thus, its image as a liberator could not last for a
long time.
5. Slavery existed in France until the first half of the 19th century.
Q.6 How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?

Ans:1.The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon had achieved glorious victories in wars. This made France realize that only a military
dictator like Napoleon would restore a stable government.
2. In 1804, he crowned himself the emperor of France. He set out to conquer neighboring European
countries, dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed members of his family.
Napoleon viewed himself as a modernizer of Europe.
3. He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of
weight and measures provided by the decimal system. But his rise to power did not last for a long
time. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
EXTRA QUESTIONS: (to be written in notebook)

Short Answer Type Questions (3 mks)
Q.1 “Ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French
Revolution”. Explain the statement in the light of French Revolution.
Ans: 1. People of Third Estate demanded a society based on freedom and
opportunities to all.
2. The National Assembly was formed in 1791 with an object to limit the powers of the
monarch.
3. The Constitution framed in 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.
4.Censorship was abolished in 1789.
2
Q.2 Explain the impact of the French Revolution on the life of people of French.
Ans: 1. Divorce was made legal, and could be applied by both women and men.
Women could be now trained for jobs, could become artists or run small businesses.
2. The Constitution of 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
It proclaimed that Freedom of speech and opinion and equality before law were
natural rights of each human being by birth. These could not be taken away.
3. Newspapers, pamphlets and printed pictures appeared steadily in the towns of
French. From there, they travelled into the countryside. These publications described
and discussed the events and changes taking place in the country.
Q.3 What compelled Louis XVI to raise taxes in France?

Ans: 1) When Louis XVI ascended the throne 1774,he found an empty treasury.
2) Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France.
3) France had helped 13 American colonies to gain independence from Britain.
4) The war added more than a million livres to debt.
5) To meet the regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining the army, the court, running government
offices, the state was compelled to increase the taxes.
Long Answer Type Questions (5 mks)

Q.1 Explain triangular slave trade carried on during 18th and 19th century.
Ans:1.The triangular slave trade was carried between Europe, Africa and America.
2. The slave trade began in the seventeenth century.
3. French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where
they bought slaves from local chieftains.
4. Branded and shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month
long voyage across theAtlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to plantation owners.
5. The exploitation of slave labour made it possible to meet the growing demand in
European markets for sugar,coffee and indigo.
6 .Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave
trade.
Q.2 Explain the role of Jacobins in the French Revolution.

Ans:1.The Jacobins were a group of political activists during the French Revolution, which occurred
from 1789 to 1799.
2. The main causes for the French Revolution were extreme income inequality, bad harvests resulting
in famine, loans, the opposition of the nobility to new taxes, and a negative image of the royal family.
3. The French and the American Revolution put France deeply in debt. The remnants of the feudal
system hurt poor people, and much of France's population was left in financial ruin.
4. The Constitution of 1791 formalized the break with the old regime and established a constitutional
monarchy instead of an absolute monarchy.
5. However, dissatisfaction with the reforms being made led to the counter revolutionary movement of
the Jacobins. The Jacobins called for a republic rather than a constitutional monarchy.
6. A republic is a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their representatives, and
which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch or king/queen.
3.
Q.3 Describe the conditions of women during the period of French Revolution.
Answer: Conditions of women during the period of French Revolution are :
1. From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which brought about
major changes in the French Society.
2 .Most women of the Third Estate had to work for a living as seamstresses or laundresses.
They even sold flowers,fruits and vegetables at the market.
3. They were employed as domestic servants in the house of prosperous people.
4They started their own political clubs and newspapers in order to voice
their interests. They demanded the right to vote to be elected to the 5.
Assembly and hold political office.
5. They did not have access to education or job training. Only daughters of wealthier members
of the Third Estate could stay at convent.
6. Working women had also to take care of their families. Their wages were lower than those of
men.
Q.4 Four places A, B, C and D are marked on the outline political map of France. Identify any
three of these places with the help of the following information
(i) Many influential deputies made their places to National and Legislative assemblies.
(ii) Mass execution during the Reign of terror. (4 mks)
(iii) Capital of France
(iv) Focal point of the French Revolution
Ans:
(a) Bordeaux
(b) Nantes Marseilles
(c) Paris
(d) Marseilles

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TREE HOUSE HIGH SCHOOL, VIRAR (W)

ACADEMIC SESSION (2024-25)

Q.1 Answer the following questions: (Ncert Questions)

Q.6 How would you explain the rise of Napoleon?

EXTRA QUESTIONS: (to be written in notebook)

Q.3 What compelled Louis XVI to raise taxes in France?

Long Answer Type Questions (5 mks)

Q.2 Explain the role of Jacobins in the French Revolution.

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