CBSE IX H I FRENCH REVOLUTION

Class IX

History

Unit I – The French Revolution

Notes

Old Regime: A term that refers to the society and institutions of France before 1789

The composition of the 1^st Estate: the Clergy

The composition of the 2^nd Estate: the Nobility

The composition of the 3^rd Estate: Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, landless labourers, servants etc.

Privileges enjoyed by the members of the 1^st and the 2^nd Estates: Exemption from taxes, feudal dues

National Assembly: Formed by the members of the 3^rd Estate, it drafted the constitution of France (after the French Revolution in 1789) which proposed to make France a constitutional monarchy.

Convention: The newly elected assembly of France in 1792, led by the Jacobins; It replaced the National Assembly and declared France a republic.

Directory: The new body that assumed power after the fall of Jacobins

Marie Antoinette: Austrian princess; wife of Louis XVI, executed in 1793

Arthur Young: A British traveler through France during 1787-89 who left detailed descriptions of what he saw

Bailly: President of the National Assembly formed after the Tennis Court Oath

Mirabeau: An important leader of the National Assembly; a member of the nobility

Abbe Sieyes: An important leader of the National Assembly; a priest; author of the pamphlet ‘What is the Third Estate?’

Jean-Paul Marat: Editor of the newspaper L’Ami Du Peuple

Roget de L’Isle: Poet and composer of Marseillaise, the National Anthem of France

Maximilian Robespierre: Leader of Jacobins

Dr. Guillotine: Inventor of the guillotine

Camille Desmoulins: Revolutionary journalist of France executed by Jacobins in 1793

Olympe de Gouges: Author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen; executed during the Reign of Terror by Jacobins

Napoleon Bonaparte: A military dictator who seized power taking advantage of the political instability of Directory

Versailles: The location of the palace of Louis XVI

Place de la Concorde: The place where Louis XVI was executed publicly

Martinique, Guadeloupe, San Domingo: French colonies in the Caribbean

Bordeaux, Nantes: Port cities in France where slave trade flourished

Jacobins: One of the political clubs in France formed after the French Revolution the members of which were mostly the less prosperous sections of society

The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women: The most famous of the sixty plus women’s political clubs formed in France after the revolution

National colours of France: Blue, White and Red

The Estates General: A political body to which the three estates sent their representatives

Republic: A form of government in which people elect the government including the head of the state

Livre: A unit of currency in France till 1794

Clergy: Priests and such other people whose responsibilities are related to the church

Tithe: A tax (one-tenth of the agricultural produce) levied by the church in the 18^th century France

Taille: A tax in the 18^th century France that was paid directly to the state

Manor: An estate consisting of a lord’s lands and his mansion

Chateau: A castle or a stately residence belonging to a king or a nobleman (plural chateaux)

Guillotine: A device consisting of two poles and a blade used to execute people

Pain d’egalite: Equality bread, made of whole wheat

Monsieur: French word for ‘sir’

Citoyen: Male citizen of France

Citoyenne: Female citizen of France

Convent: A building in which nuns live

(Monastery is a building in which monks live.)

Negro: An offensive term that was in use to refer to the indigenous people of Africa south of the Sahara

Knee breeches: Trousers worn by nobles in the Old Regime

Sans Culottes: People without knee breeches (Jacobins wore long striped trousers like dock workers)

Red cap: Worn by Jacobins, it was the symbol of freedom

Emancipation: Liberation

Treason: The crime of disloyalty to one’s country by helping the enemies of the country or by attempting to overthrow the government

Two Treatises of Government: Authored by John Locke, it refutes the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch

The Social Contract: Authored by Jean Jacques Rousseau, it proposes a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives

The Spirit of the Laws: Authored by Montesquieu, it proposes a division of power between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary

Anonymous: made or done by someone whose name is not known or not made public

Subsistence crisis: a situation characterized by shortage of basic means of livelihood and rapid increase in the demand for food grains

1614: The year of the last convocation of the Estates General before 1789

1774: 20-year old Louis XVI ascends the throne of France.

05 May 1789: Louis XVI calls together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes

20 June 1789: Tennis Court Oath by the representatives of the 3^rd Estate; formation of National Assembly

14 July 1789: The fortress-prison, the Bastille was demolished by the people of Paris.

04 August 1789: National Assembly passes a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations, taxes and privileges

1789: Censorship was abolished.

1791: National Assembly completes the draft of the constitution proposing to make France a constitutional monarchy. The power to make laws is vested in the National Assembly.

1792: National Assembly decides to declare war on Prussia and Austria; Jacobins capture power; Voting age is reduced to 21 years and is extended to all men regardless of wealth; Royal family is imprisoned

10 August 1792: Jacobins storm the Palace of the Tuileries and hold the king hostage

21 September 1792: Convention abolishes monarchy and declares France a republic.

21 January 1793: Louis XVI is executed publicly

1793-94: Reign of Terror, under Jacobins led by Robespierre

1794: Jacobins attempt to free all slaves in the French colonies

July 1794: Robespierre is executed.

1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France. The first republic of France comes to an end.

1815: Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo.

1848: Slavery was abolished in French colonies

1946: Women in France get the right to vote

The number of prisoners released after the fall of the Bastille: 7

The number of American colonies that received help from France (Louis XVI) in attaining their independence from Britain: 13

The number of estates in the Estates General of the 18^th century France: 3

Proportion of peasants in the 18^th century France: 90 per cent

Population of France in 1715: 23 million

Population of France in 1789: 28 million

The number of representatives in the 1^st Estate in 1789: 300

The number of representatives in the 2^nd Estate in 1789: 300

The number of representatives in the 3^rd Estate in 1789: 600

The dynasty to which Louis XVI belongs: the Bourbons

The nature of the French political order in the middle ages: Feudal

The only people who paid taxes in the Old Regime: the members of the 3^rd Estate

Active citizens: Eligible voters in France after the revolution, that is, men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage

The Bastille was hated because it stood for the despotic power of the French monarch.

Inspiration to the political thinkers in France: the American Constitution and its guarantee of individual rights

The French Constitution of 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Tipu Sultan were examples of Indians who responded to the ideas coming from revolutionary France.