CBSE : Grade 10 2023-24 Board: CBSE

Class - IX
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Submitted By : Baishnab Padhee

1. FRENCH REVOUTION: A SHORT BACKGROUND -

 1774  Louis XVI of Bourbon family ascended to throne (at the age 20) and married to Marie Antoinette 
inherited empty treasure  drained financial resources  High Cost to maintain immense palace of Versailles
 Helped 13 American colonies gain independence from Britain
 War added debt to more than 2 billion livres
 Lenders charged 10%interest rate
 90 % of population were peasants- only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated possessed very
less land
 Nobles, Churches & Rich owned 60% land
 Clergy and Nobility enjoyed privileges by birth
 Only 3rd Estate required to pay taxes
 The nobles further enjoyed feudal privileges. These included feudal dues, which they extracted from the
peasants.
 Peasants 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.
 Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants  tax 1/10th of agricultural produce
 There was a direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday
consumption like salt or tobacco.
 The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.

2. THE FRENCH SOCIETY DURING THE LATE 18TH CENTURY -

Three Estates 
The Struggle to Survive -

 The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789- led to a rapid increase in the
demand for food grains.
 Production of grains fell short of demand  The price of bread, the staple diet of the majority, rose rapidly.
 Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops and most owners 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.

The Growing Middle Class- New Wave -

 This estate was educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
 These ideas were put forward by philosophers such as Locke English philosopher and Rousseau French
philosopher.
 Locke - “Two Treaties of Government”- he refuted divine and absolute rights of monarch
 Rousseau- “Social Contract” between people and representatives
 Montesquieu- “The Spirit of Laws”- division of powers between organs of Government.
 The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example of political theories
of France.
 These ideas were discussed intensively in salons and coffee houses and spread among people through books and
newspapers.

3. THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION -

 1770s-1780s  Economic declines: French Government in deep debt.

 1774  Louis XVI becomes king of France, faces empty treasury and growing discontent within society of the Old
Regime
 1788-1789: Bad harvest, high prices, food riots.
 May 5, 1789  Estates-General convened, demanded reforms.
 June 20, 1789 Tennis Court Oath  Members of the Third Estate gathered in a tennis court at the Palace of
Versailles
 July 14, 1789  National Assembly formed. Bastille stormed. French Revolution started.
 August 4, 1789  the night of August 4 ends the rights of the aristocracy, the surrender of feudal rights.
 August 26, 1789  Declaration of the Rights of Man
 1790  Civil Constitution of the Clergy nationalizes the Church.
 1791 Dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly. A constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king
and to guarantee basic rights to all human beings.
 1792  France became republic after overthrowing king. A newly elected Assembly was formed called the
convention.
 1793  Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed.
 1793  Reign of Terror started because of extreme Policies followed by Robespierre. Austria, Britain, the
Netherlands, Prussia, and Spain are at war with France.
 1794  Robespierre is executed. The Reign of Terror ends.
 1795 National convention dissolved. a Directory- a committee of five men ruled.
 1804: Napoleon becomes emperor of France, annexes large parts of Europe.
 1815: Napoleon defeated at Waterloo.
France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy -

 The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers
of the monarch.
 The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly
elected. That is, citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly.
 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 taxpayers.

The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen -

 Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

 The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and inalienable rights of man; these are
liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.
 The source of all sovereignty resides in the nation; no group or individual may exercise authority that does not come
from the people.
 Liberty consists of the power to do whatever is not injurious to others.
 The law has the right to forbid only actions that are injurious to society.
 Law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to participate in its formation, personally or
through their representatives. All citizens are equal before it.
 No man may be accused, arrested or detained, except in cases determined by the law.
 Every citizen may speak, write and print freely; he must take responsibility for the abuse of such liberty in cases
determined by the law.
 For the maintenance of the public force and for the expenses of administration a common tax is indispensable; it
must be assessed equally on all citizens in proportion to their means.
 Since property is a sacred and inviolable right, no one may be deprived of it, unless a legally established public
necessity requires it. In that case a just compensation must be given in advance.
POLITICAL SYMBOLS -

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 allseeing 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.
4. FRANCE ABOLISHES MONARCHY AND BECOMES A REPUBLIC -
 Although Louis XVI had signed the Constitution, he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia.
 In response to this, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria.
 Thousands of volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the army. They saw this as a war of the people
against kings and aristocracies all over Europe.
 Among the patriotic songs they sang was the Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roget de L’Isle.
 It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so got its name. The
Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.
 Wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. Women were left to cope with the tasks of
earning a living and looking after their families.
 Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and
plan their own forms of action.
 The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent of St
Jacob in Paris. Women too, who had been active throughout this period, formed their own clubs. Section 4 of
this chapter will tell you more about their activities and demands.
 Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society. They included small shopkeepers,
artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers.
 Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre. A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long
striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers.
 This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society, especially nobles, who wore knee
breeches.
 These Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’. Sans-
culottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolized liberty. Women however were not allowed to do so.
 In the summer of 1792 the Jacobins planned an insurrection of a large number of Parisians who were angered by
the short supplies and high prices of food.
 On the morning of August 10 they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards and held the
king himself as hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. Elections were
held.
 From now on all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
 The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
 On 21 September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.
 Republic is a form of government where the people elect the government including the head of the government.
There is no hereditary monarchy.
 On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde
 The queen Marie Antoinette met with the same fate shortly after.

The Reign of Terror -

 The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror

 Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
 He saw as ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party, as
‘enemies’ of the republic  who did not agree with his methods  were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by
a revolutionary tribunal.
 If the court found them ‘guilty’ they were guillotined.
 The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named
after Dr Guillotin who invented it.
 Laws placed 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; all citizens were required to eat the pain d’égalité
(equality bread), a loaf made of whole-wheat.
 Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address.
 Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were henceforth
Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen)
 Churches were shut down and their buildings converted into barracks or offices.
 Robespierre was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.

A Directory Rules France -

 Fall of the Jacobin government  wealthier middle classes  seize power.

 A new constitution was introduced  denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society.
 It provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory an executive made up of
five members  as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the
Jacobins.
 However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them. The
political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN REVOLUTION -

 From the very beginning, women were active participants in the events  brought about so many changes in the
French society—but most women of the third estate had to work for a living  their wages were lower than
those of men.
 To discuss and voice their interests  women started their own political clubs and newspapers.
 About sixty women’s clubs came up in different French cities
 The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them
 Their main demand was 
 Women must enjoy the same political rights as men.
 The right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political office
 Some laws were introduced to improve the position of women.
 It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY -

 Triangular slave trade --- > Among Europe, Africa and Americas.
 In the 18th century, there was little criticism of slavery in France. No laws were passed against it.
 1794  The convention freed all slaves.
 But 10 years later  slavery was reintroduced by Napoleon.
 Finally in 1848  slavery was abolished in the French colonies.

THE REVOLUTION AND EVERYDAY LIFE -

 Post 1789  France saw many changes in the lives of men, women and children.
 One important law that came into effect was the abolition of censorship.
 The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
 These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the 19th century.
CONCLUSION -

 In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France.

 He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and
measures provided by the decimal system.
 Initially was seen as a liberator but later as invading force.
 He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
 The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
 Tipu Sultan and Rammohan Roy are two examples of individuals who responded to the ideas coming from
revolutionary France

Meaning of Basic Terms -

 Livre  Unit of currency in France, discontinued in 1794 Clergy ñ Group of persons invested with special
functions in the church
 Tithe  A tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce
 Taille  Tax to be paid directly to the state
 Subsistence crisis  An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered
 Chateau (pl. chateaux)  Castle or stately residence belonging to a king or a nobleman
 Manor  An estate consisting of the lord’s lands and his mansion
 Convent  Building belonging to a community devoted to a religious life
 Negroes  A term used for the indigenous people of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a derogatory term not in
common use any longer
 Emancipation  The act of freeing
 Liberty  The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's
way of life, behaviour, or political views.

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