The French Revolution

Q74. Mention the political symbols and their significance which came up during the French Revolution.

Ans. The broken chain: Chains were used to fetter slaves. A broken chain stands for the act of becoming free.

The bundle of rods or fasces: One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire bundle. Strength lies in unity.

The eye within a triangle radiating light: The all seeing eye stands for knowledge. The rays of the sun will drive away the clouds of ignorance.

Sceptre: Symbol of royal power.

Snake biting its tail to form a ring: Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end.

Red Phrygian cap: Cap worn by a slave upon becoming free.

Blue-white-red: The national colours of France.

The winged woman: Personification of the law.

The Law Tablet: The law is the same for all, and all are equal before it.

Q75. Explain the role played by women in France during the revolutionary years.

Ans. Role played by women in France during the revolutionary years

                        i.        From the very beginning women were active participants in the events which brought about so many important changes in French society.

                       ii.        In order to discuss and voice their interests women started their own political clubs and newspapers.

                      iii.        The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.

                      iv.        One of their main demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as men. Women’s struggle for equal political rights, however, continued.

                       v.        During the Reign of Terror, the new government issued laws ordering closure of women’s clubs and banning their political activities.

                      vi.        Many prominent women were arrested and a number of them executed. It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

Q76. The inequality that existed in the French society in the Old Regime became the cause of French Revolution''. Justify the statement by giving three suitable examples.

Ans. There was too much of inequality in French society.

                        i.        French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates, and only members of the third estate paid taxes.

                       ii.        Peasants made up about 90 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.

                      iii.        The members of the first two estates, that is, the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. The most important of these was exemption from paying taxes to the state. The nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges.

Thus the members of the Third Estate groaned under heavy taxation with no privileges. This led to a deep sense of resentment among the members of the Third Estate and the people revolted against the cruel regime of monarchy.

Q77. How was revolution brought about in everyday life of French people? Explain.
Or
Explain how freedom of speech and expression under revolutionary government in France promote the ideas of liberty and equality in everyday practice.

Ans. A revolution brought about in everyday life of French people in the following ways:

                        i.        One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship.

                       ii.        Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.

                      iii.        Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside. They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.

                      iv.        Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.

                      v.        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.

Q78. Which was the important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789? How did it change the lives of common people? Explain.

Ans. One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship. In the Old Regime 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.

This law changed the lives of common people in the following ways:

                        i.        The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.

                       ii.        Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they travelled rapidly into the countryside.

                      iii.        They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.

                      iv.        Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.

                       v.        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.