NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 1 The French Revolution

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Q. Society based on freedom, equal laws and opportunities was advocated by:

(a) Middle class and people of the third estate
(b) Clergy and nobility
(c) Philosophers such as John Locke and Rousseau
(d) Arthur Young
Ans. (c) Philosophers such as John Locke and Rousseau

Q. Identify the main objective of the National Assembly to complete the draft of the constitution in 1791.

(a) To increase the powers of the monarch
(b) To increase the powers of the clergy
(c) To limit the powers of the monarch
(d) To limit the powers of the third estate
Ans. (c) To limit the powers of the monarch

Q. Name the French Revolutionary who edited the paper L'Ami du peuple.

(a) Jean-Paul Marat
(b) Voltaire
(c) Abbe-Sieyes
(d) Montesquieu
Ans. (c) Jean-Paul Marat

Q. On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the …………… of obligations and taxes.

Ans. feudal system

Q. Women were disappointed because the constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens.

Ans. True

Q. Georges Denton sought to create a Republic of Virtue during the Reign of Terror.

Ans. False

COLUMN-A	COLUMN-B
(1) National Assembly	(a) Napoleon Bonaparte
(2) Jacobin club	(b) Robespierre
(3) Military dictator	(c) Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès
(4) Reign of Terror	(d) Maximilien Robespierre

Ans. (1)-(c), (2)-(d), (3)-(a), (4)-(b)

Q. What laws did Napoleon introduce?

Ans. Napoleon introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.

Q. Why was the French government obliged to spend an increased percentage of its budget on interest payments alone?

Ans. (i) Long years of war had drained the financial resources of France.
(ii) It had to maintain an extravagant court in the immense palace of Versailles.
(iii) With the help of king of France, Louis XVI, the thirteen American colonies gained their independence from the common enemy, Britain. The war added more than a billion livres to a debt that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres.
(iv) Lenders, who gave the state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans.
Therefore, the French government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.

Q. List some of the democratic rights that enjoyed today whose origins could be traced to the French Revolution.

Ans. (i) Some of the democratic rights which we enjoy today can be traced to the French Revolution in the following points:
(i) Right to equality including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination and equality of opportunity in matters of employment.
(ii) Right to freedom of speech and expression including right to practice any profession or occupation.
(iii) Right against exploitation.
(iv) Right to life.
(v) Right to vote.

Q. What was the Great Fear in French Revolution?

Ans. (i) In the countryside, rumours spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.
(ii) Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux.
(iii) They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.
(iv) A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many of them migrated to neighbouring countries.

Q. Write a brief note on Napoleon Bonaparte and his policies and activities.

Ans. Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself the Emperor of France in 1804. He saw his role as a moderniser of Europe.
(i) He conquered neighbouring European countries, dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed his family members.
(ii) He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.
(iii) Initially, many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people. However, soon Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
(iv) Many of his modern laws and revolutionary ideas of liberty that spread to other parts of Europe had an impact on the people long after Napoleon left.

Q. Describe the circumstances leading to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in France.

Ans. The following circumstances led to the outbreak of revolutionary protest in France:
(i) Louis XVI was an autocratic ruler who could not compromise with his luxurious life. He also lacked farsightedness.
(ii) Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from Britain. The war added more than a billion livres to a debt credit, now began to charge 10% interest on loans. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles. So, the French government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.
(iii) The state finally increased taxes to meet its regular expenses such as the cost of maintaining an army, running government offices and universities.
(iv) The first two estates i.e., the clergy and the nobles were exempted to pay taxes. Thus, the burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate only.
(v) The middle class emerged in the 18th century and thus France was educated and enlightened. The ideas of the philosophers got popularised among the common mass as a result of intensive discussions and debates in saloons and coffee-houses and through books and newspapers.
(vi) The French administration was extremely corrupted. It did not give weightage to the French common man.

Q. Would you agree with the view that the message of universal rights was beset with contradictions? Explain.

Ans. (i) The message of universal rights was definitely beset with contradictions. Many ideals of the ‘Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen’ were not at all clear. They had dubious meanings.
(ii) The French Revolution could not bring economic equality and it is the fact that unless there is economic equality, real equality cannot be received at any sphere. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen laid stress on equality but large section of the society was denied to it. The right to vote and elect their representatives did not solve the poor man's problem.
(iii) Women were regarded as passive citizens. They did not have any political rights such as right to vote and hold political offices like men. Hence, their struggle for equal political rights continued.
(iv) France continued to hold and expand its colonies. Thus, its image as a liberator could not last for a long time.
(v) Slavery existed in France till the first half of the 19th century.

Q. Which groups of French society benefited from the revolution and which groups were forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution?

Ans. (i) The wealthy class of the third estate which came to be known as the new middle class of France benefited the most from the revolution. This group comprised of big businessmen, petty officers, lawyers, teachers, doctors and traders. Previously, these people had to pay state taxes and they did not enjoy equal status. But after the revolution they began to be treated equally with the upper sections of the society.
(ii) With the abolition of feudal system of obligation and taxes, the clergy and the nobility came on the same level with the middle class. They were forced to give up their privileges. Their executive powers were also taken away from them.
(iii) The poorer sections of the society, i.e., small peasants, landless labourers, servants, daily wage earners would have been disappointed with the outcome of the revolution. Women also would have been highly discontented.

Q. Describe the legacy of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries.

Ans. The French Revolution proved to be the most important event in the history of the world :
(i) The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution. These ideas became an umpiring force for the political movements in the world in the 19th and 20th centuries.
(ii) The ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity spread from France to the rest of Europe, where feudal system was finally abolished.
(iii) Colonised people reworked on the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a sovereign nation state.
(iv) The idea of Nationalism that emerged after the French Revolution started becoming mass movements all over the world. Now, people began to question the absolute power.
(v) The impact of the French Revolution would be seen in India too. Tipu Sultan and Raja Ram Mohan Roy got deeply influenced by the ideas of the revolution.
In the end, we can say that after the French Revolution people all over the world became aware of their rights.

Q. Assertion (A): The burden of financing activities of the state through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.
Reason (R): All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state.

Ans. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Explanation :

The Church too extracted its share of taxes called tithes from the peasants, and finally, all members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state. These included a direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or tobacco

Q. Assertion (A): Robespierre was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the guillotine.
Reason (R): Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Ans. (b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Explanation :

The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment. Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.