French Revolution
FRENCH REVOLUTION Q.1) Explain the following terms:- a) Guillotine
Ans) The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr .Guillotine who invented it. b) Subsistence crisis
Ans) the population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 2 8million in
1789.This led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. So the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owners fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices so the gap between poor and rich widened .Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. This led to subsistence crisis:- an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood is endangered.
c) Declaration of the rights of man and citizen
Ans) The Constitution of 1791 began with the declaration of the rights of man and citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before the law, were established as 'natural and inalienable' rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and couldn’t be taken away. it was the duty of the state to protect each citizen's natural rights.
d) Directory
Ans) The fall of Jacobin govt. allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non prosperous sections of the society.it provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a directory an executive made up of five members. This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one man executive as under the Jacobins.
Q.2) Explain the ideas put forward by the following philosophers in their books?
Ans) (a) Jean Jacques Rousseau- Rousseau proposed a form of government based on a social contract between
Ans) The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr .Guillotine who invented it. b) Subsistence crisis
Ans) the population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 2 8million in
1789.This led to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand. So the price of bread which was the staple diet of the majority rose rapidly. Most workers were employed as labourers in workshops whose owners fixed their wages. But wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices so the gap between poor and rich widened .Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest. This led to subsistence crisis:- an extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood is endangered.
c) Declaration of the rights of man and citizen
Ans) The Constitution of 1791 began with the declaration of the rights of man and citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before the law, were established as 'natural and inalienable' rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and couldn’t be taken away. it was the duty of the state to protect each citizen's natural rights.
d) Directory
Ans) The fall of Jacobin govt. allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non prosperous sections of the society.it provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a directory an executive made up of five members. This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one man executive as under the Jacobins.
Q.2) Explain the ideas put forward by the following philosophers in their books?
Ans) (a) Jean Jacques Rousseau- Rousseau proposed a form of government based on a social contract between