Class 9 History The French Revolution

Class 9 important points to remember of chapter 1 History The French Revolution 

•  In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France. Upon his accession he found an empty treasury. It posed problems before the new king.
• The state was forced to increased taxes to meet its regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, running government offices, etc.
•  In the 18 th century, the French society was divided into three estates. The Clergy, and Nobility which formed the first two estates were the privileged classes. They were exempted from payment of state taxes. The third estate formed the majority of the population and was unprivileged class.
• The population of France increased drastically during the period 1715-1789. This led to a rapid increased in the demand for foodgrains. But the production of grains didn’t increase.
• Peasants and workers were highly dissatisfied. They wanted to bring about a change in the country’s social and economic order.
•  Philosophers like John Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau enlightened the middle class people with their revolutionary ideas. They set them on path of revolution.
•  Louis XVI planned to increase further taxes. He called together an assembly of the States General on May 5, 1789.
• The members of the third estate participated in the assembly but walked out of it when their demand of voting rights was rejected by the king.
• On June 20, they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France.
•  On July 14, France was seething with turmoil.
• Their agitation proved to be fruitful. Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would be chehecked by Constitution.
• On August 14, 1789 the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligation and taxes. Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges.
• The National Assembly completed the draft of the Constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch.
• The Constitution began with a declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
•  Louis XVI, no doubt had signed the Constitution, but he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia.
• The National Assembly declared war against Prussia and Austria. Thousand of volunteers join the army.
• The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people of France. In spite of that large sections of population wanted to carry the revolution further.
•  Political Clubs came into limelight. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins. The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosporous sections of society.
• Maximillian Robespierre was the leader of the Jacobin club.
•  On August 10, 1792  the Jacobins stormed the palace of the Tuileries, massacard the kin’s guards and held the king himself as hostage for several hours. Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. Elections were held.
• The newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On September 21, 1792 it abolished the monarchy and declared France, republic.
•  Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason. On January 21, 1793 he was executed publicly at the Place de le Concorde. The queen Marie Antoinette met the same fate shortly after.
• Robespierre remained the center image from 1793 to 1794. This period is referred to as the Reign of Terror. During this period, he followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
• Soon he became unpopular. Even his supporters began to demand moderation. Finally, he was arrested executed in July 1794.
• After the fall of the Jacobin government, the wealthier middle classes seized power. A new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society. It provided for two elected legislative  councils.
• However, the directors often clashed with the legislative councils. As a result, political instability took place which paved the way for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a military dictator.
•  In 1804, he crowned himself the emperor of France. In the beginning, people saw him as a liberator who would bring freedom for them. But soon the Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
• Many of his measures that carried the revolutionary ideas of liberty and modern laws to other parts of Europe had an impact on people long after Napoleon had left.
• 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.