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NCERT Based MCQ with Explanation:
1. What event on 14 July 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution?
(a) Execution of Louis XVI
(b) Storming of the Bastille
(c) Tennis Court Oath
(d) Declaration of the Rights of Man
Explanation: The storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 symbolized the people's revolt against royal authority, as citizens attacked the fortress-prison to seize arms, sparking widespread revolutionary actions across France.
2. Why was the Bastille a significant target for the revolutionaries?
(a) It housed the king’s treasury
(b) It symbolized despotic royal power
(c) It was a military stronghold
(d) It stored grain supplies
Explanation: The Bastille was despised as a symbol of the king’s absolute and oppressive rule, making it a focal point for revolutionaries seeking to challenge monarchical authority and inspire further uprisings.
3. What was the primary reason for the French treasury’s depletion under Louis XVI?
(a) Excessive taxation
(b) Long wars and court extravagance
(c) Peasant revolts
(d) Trade deficits
Explanation: Prolonged wars, including support for the American Revolution, and lavish spending at Versailles drained the treasury, forcing Louis XVI to increase taxes, which fueled public discontent and revolutionary sentiments.
4. Which estate bore the primary tax burden in pre-revolutionary France?
(a) First Estate
(b) Second Estate
(c) Third Estate
(d) Clergy
Explanation: The Third Estate, comprising peasants, workers, and the middle class, paid most taxes, while the privileged First (clergy) and Second (nobility) Estates were largely exempt, deepening social inequalities.
5. What was the taille in the context of eighteenth-century France?
(a) A tax levied by the Church
(b) A direct tax paid to the state
(c) A feudal due paid to nobles
(d) An indirect tax on luxury goods
Explanation: The taille was a direct tax imposed by the state on the Third Estate, contributing to their financial burden and resentment, as the privileged estates were exempt from this obligation.
6. What caused the subsistence crisis in France during the Old Regime?
(a) Overproduction of grains
(b) Population decline
(c) Rising food prices and poor harvests
(d) Excessive imports
Explanation: Population growth increased food demand, but poor harvests and droughts reduced supply, causing bread prices to soar, leading to frequent subsistence crises that worsened the plight of the poor.
7. Who were depicted as the spider and the fly in the anonymous etching (Fig. 3)?
(a) King and nobles
(b) Nobleman and peasant
(c) Clergy and merchant
(d) Peasant and merchant
Explanation: The etching portrays the nobleman as a spider ensnaring the peasant, the fly, symbolizing how nobles exploited peasants through feudal dues and privileges, highlighting social injustices.
8. Which philosopher refuted the divine right of monarchs in his writings?
(a) Montesquieu
(b) Rousseau
(c) John Locke
(d) Voltaire
Explanation: John Locke’s *Two Treatises of Government* challenged the divine right of monarchs, advocating that authority comes from the consent of the governed, influencing revolutionary ideas in France.
9. What was Montesquieu’s contribution to political thought?
(a) Social contract theory
(b) Division of power in government
(c) Absolute monarchy advocacy
(d) Economic equality principles
Explanation: In *The Spirit of the Laws*, Montesquieu proposed separating government powers into legislative, executive, and judiciary branches to prevent tyranny, inspiring France’s constitutional framework.
10. What role did salons and coffee-houses play in the French Revolution?
(a) Military training centers
(b) Platforms for discussing new ideas
(c) Tax collection hubs
(d) Religious gatherings
Explanation: Salons and coffee-houses were venues where philosophers’ ideas of liberty and equality were debated, spreading revolutionary concepts among the educated and fueling public demand for change.
Geography MCQ, Class-10th11. Why did Louis XVI call the Estates General in 1789?
(a) To declare war
(b) To pass new tax proposals
(c) To abolish the monarchy
(d) To draft a constitution
Explanation: Facing a financial crisis, Louis XVI summoned the Estates General to approve new taxes, as the monarch lacked unilateral authority to impose them, triggering revolutionary demands.
12. What was the Third Estate’s demand during the Estates General meeting?
(a) Tax exemptions for all
(b) One vote per estate
(c) One vote per member
(d) Dissolution of the assembly
Explanation: The Third Estate demanded voting by head rather than by estate to reflect their numerical majority, aligning with democratic principles and challenging the privileged estates’ dominance.
13. What was the significance of the Tennis Court Oath on 20 June 1789?
(a) Declaration of war
(b) Formation of the National Assembly
(c) Abolition of slavery
(d) Execution of the king
Explanation: The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and vowed to draft a constitution, defying the king and asserting the people’s authority, marking a pivotal revolutionary moment.
14. Who led the National Assembly during its early stages?
(a) Robespierre and Danton
(b) Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès
(c) Marat and Desmoulins
(d) Napoleon and Bailly
Explanation: Mirabeau, a noble advocating reform, and Abbé Sieyès, author of *What is the Third Estate?*, led the National Assembly, galvanizing support for constitutional changes and challenging feudal privileges.
15. What did the National Assembly decree on 4 August 1789?
(a) Execution of nobles
(b) Abolition of feudal obligations
(c) Declaration of war
(d) Establishment of the Directory
Explanation: The Assembly abolished feudal dues, tithes, and privileges, dismantling the feudal system and redistributing Church lands, significantly reducing the power of nobles and clergy.
16. What was the structure of France’s government under the 1791 Constitution?
(a) Absolute monarchy
(b) Constitutional monarchy
(c) Republic
(d) Military dictatorship
Explanation: The 1791 Constitution limited the king’s powers, dividing authority among the legislature, executive, and judiciary, establishing France as a constitutional monarchy with elected representatives.
17. Who were considered active citizens under the 1791 Constitution?
(a) All men and women
(b) Men over 25 paying sufficient taxes
(c) Nobles and clergy
(d) Peasants and workers
Explanation: Only men over 25 paying taxes equivalent to three days’ wages were active citizens with voting rights, excluding women and poorer men, reflecting wealth-based political privilege.
18. What right was declared ‘natural and inalienable’ in the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
(a) Right to property
(b) Right to education
(c) Right to healthcare
(d) Right to rebellion
Explanation: The Declaration established liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression as natural rights, emphasizing individual freedoms and influencing modern democratic principles worldwide.
19. What symbol in Le Barbier’s painting (Fig. 8) represents unity?
(a) Broken chain
(b) Bundle of rods
(c) Red Phrygian cap
(d) Sceptre
Explanation: The bundle of rods, or fasces, symbolizes unity, as a single rod breaks easily but a bundle is strong, conveying the revolutionary ideal of collective strength.
20. Which symbol in Box 1 stands for liberty?
(a) The Law Tablet
(b) Red Phrygian cap
(c) Fasces
(d) Sceptre
Explanation: The red Phrygian cap, worn by freed slaves, symbolizes liberty, representing the revolutionary goal of freeing citizens from monarchical and feudal oppression.
21. What was Jean-Paul Marat’s critique of the 1791 Constitution?
(a) It favored the poor
(b) It empowered the rich
(c) It abolished taxes
(d) It supported the monarchy
22. Why did France declare war on Prussia and Austria in 1792?
(a) To defend the monarchy
(b) To preempt foreign intervention
(c) To annex territories
(d) To spread feudalism
23. What was the Marseillaise in the context of the French Revolution?
(a) A political club
(b) A revolutionary song
(c) A new tax
(d) A military strategy
24. Who were the sans-culottes?
(a) Nobles supporting the king
(b) Jacobins wearing long trousers
(c) Clergy opposing reforms
(d) Wealthy merchants
25. What event on 10 August 1792 escalated the revolution?
(a) Storming of the Tuileries Palace
(b) Execution of Robespierre
(c) Formation of the Directory
(d) Abolition of slavery
26. When did France officially become a republic?
(a) 14 July 1789
(b) 20 June 1789
(c) 21 September 1792
(d) 21 January 1793
27. Why was Louis XVI executed in 1793?
(a) Financial mismanagement
(b) Treason against the republic
(c) Refusal to sign the Constitution
(d) Leading a foreign invasion
28. What characterized the Reign of Terror (1793–1794)?
(a) Economic prosperity
(b) Severe control and punishment
(c) Universal suffrage
(d) Religious revival
29. What was the guillotine named after?
(a) A revolutionary leader
(b) Its inventor, Dr. Guillotin
(c) A French city
(d) A noble family
30. What was the ‘pain d’égalité’ introduced during the Reign of Terror?
(a) A tax on the wealthy
(b) Equality bread made of wholewheat
(c) A revolutionary slogan
(d) A military ration
31. How did Robespierre justify the use of terror?
(a) As a tool for economic reform
(b) As swift and inflexible justice
(c) As a means to restore monarchy
(d) As a religious mandate
32. What led to Robespierre’s downfall in 1794?
(a) Military defeat
(b) Public demand for moderation
(c) Economic collapse
(d) Foreign invasion
33. What was the role of the Directory in post-Jacobin France?
(a) A military council
(b) An executive of five members
(c) A legislative body
(d) A judicial authority
34. Why was the Directory politically unstable?
(a) Lack of military support
(b) Conflicts with legislative councils
(c) Public support for monarchy
(d) Foreign alliances
35. What role did women play in the French Revolution?
(a) They led military campaigns
(b) They formed political clubs
(c) They drafted the Constitution
(d) They controlled finances
36. What was a key demand of the Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women?
(a) Economic subsidies
(b) Equal political rights
(c) Military conscription
(d) Religious reforms
37. What law improved women’s lives during the early revolution?
(a) Abolition of taxes
(b) Legalization of divorce
(c) Universal suffrage
(d) Land redistribution
38. Who was Olympe de Gouges?
(a) A Jacobin leader
(b) A women’s rights advocate
(c) A noblewoman
(d) A military commander
39. Why was Olympe de Gouges executed in 1793?
(a) Leading a rebellion
(b) Criticizing the Jacobin government
(c) Spying for Austria
(d) Refusing to pay taxes
40. What was a key difference between the Declarations of Olympe de Gouges and the National Assembly?
(a) Property rights
(b) Inclusion of women’s rights
(c) Religious freedoms
(d) Military obligations
41. What justified the closure of women’s clubs in 1793, according to Chaumette?
(a) Economic instability
(b) Women’s natural domestic roles
(c) Lack of public support
(d) Foreign threats
42. When did French women gain the right to vote?
(a) 1791
(b) 1804
(c) 1848
(d) 1946
43. What was the economic basis of the French Caribbean colonies?
(a) Textile production
(b) Slave-based plantations
(c) Gold mining
(d) Shipbuilding
44. What was the triangular slave trade?
(a) Trade between France and Asia
(b) Slave exchange between Europe, Africa, and Americas
(c) Internal French labor market
(d) Caribbean commodity trade
45. When did the Convention abolish slavery in French colonies?
(a) 1789
(b) 1794
(c) 1804
(d) 1848
46. Why did the National Assembly hesitate to abolish slavery initially?
(a) Lack of public support
(b) Opposition from colonial businessmen
(c) Religious objections
(d) Military priorities
47. What law post-1789 impacted everyday life in France?
(a) Abolition of censorship
(b) Introduction of new taxes
(c) Mandatory military service
(d) Church nationalization
48. How did the revolution influence French cultural activities?
(a) Banned all publications
(b) Promoted state-controlled media
(c) Encouraged free expression
(d) Restricted artistic freedom
49. What was Napoleon’s role after 1804?
(a) Leader of the Jacobins
(b) Emperor of France
(c) President of the Directory
(d) Foreign minister
50. What was a lasting legacy of the French Revolution?
(a) Restoration of feudalism
(b) Spread of liberty and democratic rights
(c) Permanent monarchy
(d) Economic isolation