The French Revolution

Q56. How did peasants contribute to the outbreak of French Revolution?

Ans. Peasants' contribution to the outbreak of French Revolution

                          i.        A severe winter had meant a bad harvest; the price of bread rose, often bakers exploited the situation and hoarded supplies. On 14 July, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.

                         ii.        In the countryside, rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.

                       iii.        Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux. They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.

Q57. Describe the incident which took place in the morning of 14 July 1789.

Ans. On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The king had commanded troops to move into the city. Rumours spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens. Some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people’s militia. They broke into a number of government buildings in search of arms. Finally, a group of several hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, where they hoped to find hoarded ammunition. In the armed fight that followed, the commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners released though there were only seven of them.

 
Q58. Why was Robespierre guillotined?

Ans. 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. The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden. Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address. Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices. Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation. Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.

Q59. Describe the event of 14th July 1789.
Or
Trace the events which led to the fall of Bastille.

Ans.

                         i.        On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The king had commanded troops to move into the city.

                        ii.        Rumours spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens.

                       iii.        Some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a peoples’ militia.

                       iv.        They broke into a number of government buildings in search of arms.

                       v.        Finally, a group of several hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille.

Q60. What was the condition of peasants in French society?
Or
Describe the conditions of the peasants that led to the French revolution.
Or
Describe the condition of the peasants before the French revolution.

Ans. Condition of peasants in French society

                        i.        Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated.

                       ii.        They had to pay feudal dues, direct tax (called taille), and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco.

                      iii.        They were obliged to render services to the lord to work in his house and fields to serve in the army or to participate in building roads.

                      iv.        The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants.

Q61. Explain the events that led to the formation of National Assembly.
Or
State the events that led to the formation of National Assembly in France.
Or
What led to the formation of the National Assembly?
Or
Identify the reasons that led to the formation of the National Assembly.
Or
Why was the National Assembly formed by the third Estate?

Ans. On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. This time too Louis XVI 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 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 they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles and declared themselves a National Assembly.