1. T h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n
CAUSES FOR THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1. Political causes (or) Louis XVI and his problems
a. Louis XVI came to power in 1774 at the age of 20.
b. Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. So the French
treasury was empty.
c. LouisXVI helped the thirteen American colonies to gain theirindependence from the
common enemy, Britain.
d. France had taken 3 billion Livres loan from moneylenders who began to charge 10%
interest.
e. To meet its regular expenses, such as the cost of maintainingan army, the court,
running government offices or universities, the ruler was forced to increase taxes.
2. Social causes(or) Division in the French Society
a. French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates- Clergy,
Nobility and Common People.(I, II and III Estates)
b. Clergy and Nobility were 10% of the population but possessed 60% of lands. III Estate
was 90% of the population but possessed 40% of the lands.
c. Clergy and Nobility enjoyed many privileges based on birth. The church collected
taxes from people.
d. They were exempted from paying taxes. Nobles collected feudal dues from III Estate
people.
e. Peasants were obliged to render services to the Clergy and Nobility to work in their
houses, fields, servein the army or to participate in building roads.
3. Economic causes (or) The Struggle to Survive
a. The population of France rose from 23 million to 28 million in 1789.
b. This led to a rapid increase in the demand forfood grains.
c. Production of grains was less because drought or hail reduced the harvest.
d. Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops. Owners of the workshopsdid
not increase the wages of workers.
e. This led to a subsistence crisis (scarcity of food grains) which occurred frequently in
France.
4. Growth of Middle Class and influence from USA

2. a. The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle
class, who earned their wealth through trade and professions.
b. They were influenced by declaration of independence of the USA.
c. They were also influenced by fundamental rights given to the citizens of the USA.
d. All of these were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged
by birth
e. They also believed that French society should be based on freedom, equality and equal
opportunities for all.
5. Role of Philosophers in the French Revolution
a. John Locke, in his book the Two Treatises of Government, criticizedthe doctrine of
the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
b. Jean Jacques Rousseau, in his book Social Contractproposed aform of government
based on a social contract between peopleand their representatives.
c. Montesquieu in his bookThe Spirit of the Laws,proposed a division of power within the
government betweenthe legislative, the executive and the judiciary.
d. The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses
and spread among people through books andnewspapers. The news thatLouis XVI
planned to impose further taxes generated anger and protest against the ruler and
system.
Outbreak of the French revolution
1. Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General to pass his proposals to increase taxes.
The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.
The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each and III estate sent 600
representatives. III estate representatives demanded individual voting right but king refused to
grant so they walked out.
2. On 20 June they assembled in the hallof an indoor tennis court in the grounds of
Versailles and declaredthemselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till
theyhad drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers ofthe monarch.
Mirabeau,a noble and Abbé Sieyès,a priest joined with III estate representatives
3. While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of
France was in tension.After spending hours in longqueues at the bakery, crowds of
angry women stormed into theshops and looted the stock.
4. At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris. People of Paris
organized a militia and broke many buildings in search of weapons. On 14 July, the
agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.
5. In the countryside rumours spread from village to village that thelords of the manorhad
hired bands of brigands who were on theirway to destroy the ripe crops. Common
people attacked nobles’ houses, looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents
containing records of manorial dues. A large number of nobles were killed and many
fled to other countries.
France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

3. 1. Louis XVI finally recognisedthe National Assembly and accepted theconstitution. On
the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed adecree (law) abolishing the feudal
taxes, privileges of Nobles and Clergy, Tithes and confiscation of church properties.
2. The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object
was to limit the powers of the monarch. These powers were separated and assigned to
different institutions-the legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a
constitutional monarchy.
3. The Constitution of 1791 vested the power of making laws to theNational Assembly,
which was indirectly elected by active citizens. Active citizens, who were above 25
years of age and paying taxes worth of 3 days wages of a worker were given voting
right. They voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the members of the
National Assembly.
4. The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights
such as the right to life, freedom of speech,freedom of opinion, equality before law,
were established asnatural and inalienable rights. These rights were granted to only
men.
France Abolishes Constitutional Monarchy and Becomes a Republic
1. Louis XVI had signed the Constitution but he entered into secret negotiations with the
King of Prussia and Austria to put down the revolution. The NationalAssembly voted
to declare war against Prussia and Austria.Thousands of volunteers joined the army
and it was a war of the people against kings and aristocracies.
2. The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. As the
Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections Common people
established Political clubs. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins.
. Their leader wasMaximilian Robespierre.
3. The members of the 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. Jacobins start
wearing long striped trousers so they came to be known as thesans-culottes, literally
meaning those without knee breeches.
4. In the summer of 1792 the Jacobins planned an insurrection. Parisians who were
angered by the short suppliesand high prices of food stormedthe Palace of the
Tuileries, massacred the king`s guards and heldthe king himself as hostage for several
hours. Later the Assemblyvoted to imprison the royal family.
5. Elections were held. The newly elected assembly called the Convention. On 21
September 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared Francea republic.
The Reign of Terror
1. The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror because
Robespierre followed a policy of severe control andpunishment. Ex-nobles, clergy,
members of other politicalparties, even members of his own party who did not agree
with his methods were arrested, imprisoned and guillotined.
(The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded.
It was named after DrGuillotin who invented it).

4. 2. Robespierre`s government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
Meat and bread were rationed.
3. Peasantswere forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it atprices fixed by
the government. The use of more expensive whiteflour was forbidden; all citizens were
required to eat the equality bread.
4. Equalitywas also sought to be practiced through forms of speech andaddress. Instead of
the traditional Sir and Madameall French men and women were addressed as Citizen.
5. Churches were shut down and theirbuildings converted into barracks or offices. Finally
Robespierre wasconvicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next daysent to
the guillotine.
A Directory Rules France
1. The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the middle classes to seize power. A new
constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-tax paying men.
2. It provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory,an
executive made up of five members. This was meant as a safeguardagainst the
concentration of power in a one-man executive as under Robespierre.
3. The Directors often clashed with the legislativecouncils, who then sought to dismiss
them. The political instabilityof the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military
dictator,Napoleon Bonaparte.
Did Women have a Revolution?(OR) Role of women in French revolution
1. Most women did not have access to education orjob training. . They worked
asseamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at themarket, or
were employed as domestic servants in the houses ofprosperous people. Their wages
were lower than those of men.
2. From the very beginning women were active participants in the events of revolution.
They hoped that their involvement in revolution would provide equality and basic
rights as men. But women were not provided basic rights and voting right in the new
constitution.
3. In order to discuss and voice their interests women started their ownpolitical clubs and
newspapers. About sixty women`s clubs came upin different French cities. The Society
of Revolutionary andRepublican Women was the most famous of them. Their main
demands were equal political rights, right to vote, right to be elected to the Assembly
and to hold political office.
4. The revolutionary government introduced lawsthat helped improve the lives of women.
Education was made compulsory for all girls. Their fathers could no longer force them
into marriage against their will. Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely
and registered under civil law. Divorce was made legal, and could be applied for by
both women and men.
5. During the Reign of Terror, the new government issued laws orderingclosure of
women`s clubs and banning their political activities. Manyprominent women were
arrested and a number of them executed.It was finally in 1946 that women in France
won the right to vote.

5. The Abolition of Slavery
1. The slave trade began in the seventeenth century. French merchants sailed to the
African coast where they bought slaves from local chieftains. Slaves were branded,
shackled and packed tightly into ships for the three-month long voyage across the
Atlantic and sold to plantation owners in America. So this was known as a triangular
slave trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
2. Throughout the eighteenth century there was little criticism of slavery in France. The
National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be
extended to all French subjects including those in the colonies. But it did not pass any
laws, fearing opposition from slave traders who paid huge tax to the French
government.
3. One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regimewas the abolition of
slavery in the French colonies. Robespierrepassed a Convention according to which in
1794 all slaves were freed in the French colonies.
4. Ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.Slavery was finally abolished in French
colonies in 1848.
Use of Revolutionary ideas in Everyday Life
1. The revolutionary governments took initiative to pass laws that would translate the
ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity into everyday practice. In 1789 the
revolutionary government abolished censorship and introduced press freedom.
2. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and
expression to be a natural right. Newspapers, pamphlets, books and pictures were
printed in the towns of France and they travelled to the villages.
3. The revolution brought changes in dress they wear, food they eat and language they
speak.
The rise of Napoleon
1. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. He conquered many
neighbouring countries and placed members of his family on the crownNapoleon was
seen as a moderniser of Europe.
2. He introduced manylaws such as the protection of private property and a uniform
system ofweights and measures provided by the decimal system.
3. Initially, manysaw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people.But
soon the Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force.
4. He was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. He was taken to St Helena
where he died.
Legacy of the French Revolution
1. The ideas of liberty, equality & fraternity and the democratic rights were the most
important legacy of the French Revolution.
2. These ideas spread from France to all the parts of Europe during the nineteenth
century, where feudal systems, aristocracy and monarchy were opposed by the people.
Even these ideas spread to India and used for freedom struggle