Chapter – 1

The French Revolution

In this post, we have given the Important Questions of Class 9 Social Science Chapter 1 (The French Revolution) in English. These Important Questions are useful for the students who are going to appear in Class 9 exams.

Board	CBSE Board, UP Board, JAC Board, Bihar Board, HBSE Board, UBSE Board, PSEB Board, RBSE Board
Textbook	NCERT
Class	Class 9
Subject	Social Science
Chapter no.	Chapter 1
Chapter Name	(The French Revolution)
Category	Class 9 Social Science Important Questions in English
Medium	English

1 Mark Questions

Q1. Who was the king of France during French Revolution?

Ans. Louis XVI

Q2. In how many Estates French society was divided in the 18th century?

Ans. Three estates

Q3. Who were the nobles?

Ans. Wealthy and high-rank officials were called nobles.

Q4. Which Estate of France paid all the taxes?

Ans. The Third Estates paid all the taxes.

Q5. Who wrote the Book -“The Social Contract”?

Ans. Jean Jacques Rousseau

Q6. Louis XVI was related to which family of the French dynasty?

Ans. Bourbon family

Q7. Who wrote the French national anthem – Marseillaise?

Ans. Roget de L’Isle

Q8. What was Guillotine?

Ans. The Guillotine was a device consisting of the two poles and blade with which a person was beheaded.

Q9. What was Estate General?

Ans. Estate General was a political organisation in France prior to 1789 revolution in which all the Estates sent their representatives.

Q10. Name the currency of France which was used till 1794.

Ans. Livares

Q11. Name the tax which was levied by the Church and was 1/10th of produce.

Ans. Tithe

Q12. What was Estate?

Ans. The social division in French society till late 18th century were called Estate.

Q13. What was the work of the Priest or clergy?

Ans. To do the prayer as well as special works of church.

Q14. Name the tax which was paid directly to the state.

Ans. Taille

Q15. What is the situation called in which there is a danger of survival?

Ans. Subsistence crisis

Q16. When did the abolition of slavery take place in French colonies?

Ans. 1848

Q17. When did Napoleon Bonaparte become the Emperor of France?

Ans. 1804

Q18. When did Napoleon fight the”Battle of Waterloo”?

Ans. 1815

Q19. Why was the reign of Robespierre called -the “reign of terror”?

Ans. Robespierre’s policy of severe control and punishment from 1793 to 1794, was called the “reign of terror”.

Q20. How France became a republic?

Ans. On 21st September 1792 newly elected assembly,’ Convention’, abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

3/5 Marks Question

Q1. What was the condition of France when Louis XVI ascended the throne?

Ans. 

• Empty treasury,
• Destruction of economic resources due to war,
• Extravagant cost of living by the kings.
• A debt of more than ten billion livres,
• The demand for interest by the lenders

Q2. Explain- ‘Third Estate’

Ans.

• The Third Estate was comprised of peasants, landless labors, teachers, lawyers, etc.
• It was the lowest strata of the French society,
• They didn’t have any political rights,
• All the taxes imposed by state or church were to be paid by them only.
• During the French revolution, they fought against birth rights and feudal privileges

Q3. What law was passed by National Assembly in France on 4th august 1789?

Ans.

• End of the feudal system of obligation and taxes,
• Forced the priestly class to give up their privileges
• End of religious taxes like “tithe”,
• Confiscateon of church property.

Q4. Describe the condition of women in 18th-century French society. Does the French revolution change any of it?

Ans.

• Worked for subsistence
• They didn’t have access to education or job training,
• They worked as laundresses, sold flowers or even worked as a domestic servants,
• Their wages were lower than men,
• Though after French revolution their condition improved a bit yet they were eluded by general political right to vote till 1946.

Q5. Describe the rise of the Jacobin club in France.

Ans.

• The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic hardship to the people,
• Political clubs became an important rallying point for people to discuss government policies and their own course of action,
• The most successful of these clubs was the Jacobin, whose members belong mainly – small shopkeepers, shoemakers, servants, daily-wage workers, etc
• Their leader was Maxmillian Robespierre who adopted a red cap (a symbol of liberty) along with a trouser without knee breaches as worn by the dockyard laborer.
• All this was done to show themselves apart from the wealthier class and nobility and to show solidarity with the lower class which made them favorite.

Q6. What legacy was left behind by the French revolution for the world?

Ans. 

• The legacy left behind by the French revolution were –
• End of feudal privileges
• The ideal of liberty
• The principal of equality
• The sense of brotherhood
• The idea of democracy

Q7. Explain the rise of Napoleon.

Ans.

• After the fall of Jacobin govt, wealthier middle class once again got an opportunity to seize power,
• A new constitution denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society and has provisions for two legislative council, a safeguard against concentration of power in one hand,

• A new constitution denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society and has provisions for two legislative council, a safeguard against concentration of power in one hand,

• This then appoint a five member executive, known as Directory.

• However the Directors often clash with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them

• This political instability of directory paved the way for the rise of military dictator, Napoleon who between 1793 to 1796 conquered most of the central Europe and defeated Austria, Prussia and Russia to become national Hero.

Q8. What was the subsistence crisis in France? How it triggered the French Revolution?

Ans.

• The production of food grain didn’t keep pace with the rapid increase in population, so the price of bread rose rapidly.
• As wages were fixed for the workers, the rising price of bread got out of their reach
• Situation worsen whenever there was drought or hail and thus an extreme situation prevailed where the basic means of livelihood were endangered-called subsistence crisis
• This situation triggers the bell of French Revolution as angry women stormed into the bakery shop after spending hours in long queues as cold winter had destroyed the harvest,
• They marched towards the kings palace asking for bread, while their men were striking in tennis court for justice. This led to a chain of events which culminated in French Revolution.

Q9. Which rights were described as “Natural and inalienable” by the French constitution of 1791?

Ans.

• In 1791 the National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution.
• The constitution began with a declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen,
• Rights such as right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law were established as natural and inalienable rights.
• These rights were considered as a right by birth which cannot be taken away
• It was the duty of state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.

Q10. “French Revolution didn’t fulfill the aspiration of all the sections of society.” Explain your answer with a suitable argument.

Ans.

• French Revolution was fought by all unprivileged sections of the French society like-merchants, peasants, landless-labourers, women etc.
• All have their own believes and aspiration from French Revolution
• They aspire for a better life in terms of food and work,
• However it didn’t fulfil those aspirations, like political rights was reserved for wealthy class, women had to fight for almost two century before they got voting rights in 1946.
• Actually its very own principles of liberty and equality were violated when they denied the rights to its poor citizen, women and slaves who got emancipated ultimately in 1848.

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