CBSE CLASS 9 - French Revolution - Very Short Q and A (#cbsenotes)(#eduvictors)

French Revolution - Very Short Q and A

Q1: The Third Estate comprised of what?

Answer: Poor servants and small peasants, landless labourers, Peasants, artisans,Big businessmen, merchants, lawyers, etc.


Q2: Who advocated ‘each member should have one vote’?

Answer: Rousseau


Q3: What decision was taken by the convention?

Answer: Declared France a Republic


Q4: How does a ‘Subsistence Crisis’ happen?

Answer: ‘Subsistence Crisis’ happened in France due to the following reasons:-
i) Bad harvest
ii)Scarcity of grains
iii) High prices of food.


Q5: In the war against Prussia and Austria, the army sang which patriotic song?

Answer: ‘Marseillaise’ written by the poet Roget de Lisle




Q6: Who wrote the pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?

Answer: Abbe Sieyes


Q7: A guillotine was ...

Answer: A device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person was beheaded.


Q8: When did the French Revolution begin?

Answer: July 14, 1789


Q9: The word livres stands for ...

Answer: Unit of currency in France


Q10: What was the effect of the rise of population of France from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789?

Answer: Rapid increase in the demand for food grains.


Q11: What was the ‘Subsistence Crisis’ which occurred frequently in France?

Answer: An extreme situation endangered the basic means of livelihood.


Q12: What was the name of tax which was directly paid to the state by the Third Estate?

Answer: Taille


Q13: What was ‘Estates General’?

Answer: A political body


Q14: Which social groups emerged in the 18th century?

Answer: Lawyers,Administrative officials, Middle class


Q15: The term ‘Old Regime' is usually used to describe ...

Answer: Society and institutions of France before 1789 A.D.


Q16: In which of these countries was the model of government as advocated by Montesquieu put into effect?

Answer: USA


Q17: ‘Two Treatises on Government’ book was written by whom?

Answer: John Locke


Q18: When did Louis XVI call an assembly of Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes?

Answer: 5 May, 1789


Q19: In the meeting of the Estates General, the members of the Third Estate demanded that ...

Answer: All the three Estates should have one vote.


Q20: On 20th June, the representatives of the Third Estate assembled in the indoor tennis court of Versailles for ...

Answer: Drafting a Constitution for France which limited the king’s power.


Q.21: Who led the representatives of the Third Estate in Versailles on 20th June?

Answer: Mirabeau And Abbe Sieyes


Q22: What did Louis XVI do, seeing the power of his revolting subjects?

Answer: He accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted checks on his powers.


Q23: According to the new constitution of 1791, the National Assembly was to be ...

Answer: Elected indirectly.


Q24: Which people were entitled to vote in France?

Answer: Only men above 25 years of age and who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage


Q25: Whom did Louis XVI marry?

Answer: Louis XVI married to the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.


Q26:  Who was common enemy of France and America?

Answer: Britain


Q27: Who owned the lands in French society?

Answer: 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.


Q28: Which privileges was enjoyed by the first two estates?

Answer: The members of the first two estates, i.e. 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. 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.


Q29: Which thought was put forward by John Locke in his book Two Treatises of Government?

Answer: He refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch. Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.


Q30: Which thought was put forward by Montesquieu?

Answer: In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.


Q31: How was ideas of the philosophers spread among people?

Answer: Ans:The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who could not read and write.


Q32: Name two important leaders of the National Assembly.

Answer: Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes were two important leaders of the National Assembly.


Q33: What was the important decree the Assembly legislated?

Answer: The Assembly passed a decree abolishing feudal system of obligations and taxes.


Q34: Name the popular political club of France.

Answer: The Jacobin Club was one of the most popular political clubs in France.


Q35: Name the leader of the Jacobin Club.

Answer: Maximilian Robespierre was leader of the Jacobin Club.


Q35: On what a charge was Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette beheaded?

Answer: Both Louis XVI and later Marie Antoinette were beheaded on charges of treason.


Q36: The 'Reign of Terror is referred to which period in French revolutionary history?

Answer: Reign of Maximilian Robespierre, from 1793-94 is referred to as the 'Reign of Terror.'


Q37: What is meant by the term 'Directory'?

Answer: The term 'Directory' refers to the executive board made up of five members.


Q38: What does a broken chain signify?

Answer: A broken chain signifies act of becoming free, as chains were used to fretter slaves.


Q39: Give the name of any one women's club.

Answer: The 'Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women' was the most famous women's club.


Q40: When did French women get voting rights?

Answer: After a long struggle in 1946.


Q41: Which factor contributed to the rise of Napoleon?

Answer: The political instability of the Directory contributed to the rise of Napoleon.


Q42: When was Napoleon defeated at Waterloo?

Answer: Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in the year 1815.