NCERT Explained: Class IX History, Chapter 1 - The French Revolution

Introduction to the Topic

The French Revolution of 1789 is widely regarded as one of the most transformative events in human history. It marked the end of feudal rule, absolute monarchy, and political privilege based on birth in France, giving rise to ideas that define modern democracy: liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Understanding Chapter 1 of NCERT Class IX History allows students to grasp how ordinary citizens—farmers, artisans, women, and thinkers—came together to challenge a powerful monarch and reshape the global political landscape. This post provides a comprehensive, section-by-section breakdown of the chapter to help students master the concepts for exams and conceptual understanding.

Key Concepts Explained

1. French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family ascended the throne of France. Upon his accession, he found an empty treasury due to long years of war, the financial burden of maintaining the \textravagant court of Palace of Versailles, and France's assistance to the thirteen American colonies in gaining independence from Britain.

To meet regular expenses like maintaining the army, running government offices, and paying interest on debts, the king was forced to increase taxes. However, French society was divided into three unequal groups, known as Estates:

• First Estate (Clergy): Group of people invested with special functions in the church. They owned vast amounts of land and enjoyed exemption from paying taxes to the state. They also collected a tax called Tithe (a tax levied by the church, equaling one-tenth of agricultural produce).
• Second Estate (Nobility): Aristocrats and landowners who held political power, owned land, and enjoyed feudal privileges, such as collecting feudal dues from peasants and forcing them to work without wages.
• Third Estate (Commoners): Comprised 98% of the population, including big businessmen, merchants, lawyers, court officials, peasants, artisans, and landless laborers. Only members of the Third Estate paid taxes, including direct taxes like Taille and indirect taxes on everyday items like salt and tobacco.

The Subsistence Crisis: France's population grew from 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789. The demand for foodgrains outstripped supply, leading to sharp price rises for bread—the staple diet. Wages did not keep pace with inflation, and drought or hail often ruined harvests. This created a recurring subsistence crisis—an \textreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.

2. A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of a prosperous, educated social group within the Third Estate known as the Middle Class. Earners through overseas trade and manufacturing, along with professionals like lawyers and administrative officers, believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.

Ideas of a democratic society based on freedom and equal laws were put forward by prominent philosophers:

• John Locke: In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau: In The Social Contract, Rousseau proposed a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
• Montesquieu: In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary—a model later adopted by the United States.

3. The Outbreak of the Revolution

On May 5, 1789, Louis XVI called an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes. The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives (300 each for the First and Second Estates, 600 for the Third Estate).

Voting had traditionally been conducted on the principle that each estate had one vote. However, representatives of the Third Estate demanded that voting be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. When the king rejected this democratic proposal, members of the Third Estate walked out in protest.

• Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789): Led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès, representatives of the Third Estate assembled in the indoor tennis court on the grounds of Versailles and declared themselves a National Assembly, swearing not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France.
• Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789): While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, severe winter led to bad harvests and bread shortages. Agitated crowds stormed bakeries, and rumors spread that the king had ordered the army to open fire on citizens. In response, thousands of armed citizens stormed and destroyed the fortress-prison of Bastille, a hated symbol of royal despotism. This marked the outbreak of the French Revolution.

4. France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

Faced with revolts across the country, Louis XVI recognized the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would be checked by a constitution. On the night of August 4, 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes.

In 1791, the National Assembly completed the draft of the Constitution:

• Division of Power: Power was distributed among the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary.
• Electoral System: Citizens were divided into Active Citizens (men over 25 years who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a laborer's wage, who were entitled to vote) and Passive Citizens (remaining men and all women, who had no voting rights).
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and equality before law were established as natural and inalienable rights.

5. France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

Although Louis XVI signed the Constitution, he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia. Before neighboring rulers could intervene, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria. The patriotic song La Marseillaise, composed by Rouget de L'Isle, was sung by volunteers and later became the national anthem of France.

As economic hardships continued, radical political clubs grew popular. The most successful was the Jacobin Club, led by Maximilien Robespierre. Members of the Jacobin club came from less prosperous sections of society and were called sans-culottes (literally meaning 'those without knee breeches').

On August 10, 1792, Jacobins stormed the Palace of the Tuileries and imprisoned the royal family. Elections were held, granting voting rights to all men 21 years and older, regardless of wealth. The newly elected assembly was called the Convention. On September 21, 1792, it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Louis XVI was executed publicly for treason on January 21, 1793.

6. The Reign of Terror (1793–1794)

The period from 1793 to 1794 under Robespierre's rule is referred to as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment:

• Anyone seen as an 'enemy' of the republic—ex-nobles, clergy, political opponents, or even members of his own party who disagreed with him—was arrested, tried, and if found guilty, executed by the guillotine (a device consisting of two poles and a blade used for beheading, invented by Dr. Guillotin).
• Maximum ceilings were placed on wages and bread prices. Meat and bread were rationed.
• Churches were shut down and converted into barracks or offices.

Eventually, even Robespierre's supporters demanded moderation. He was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested, and executed the following day.

7. A Directory Rules France

The fall of the Jacobins allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. A new constitution was introduced which denied voting rights to non-propertied men. It provided for two elected legislative councils, which appointed a Directory—an executive body made up of five members—to prevent the concentration of power in a single individual.

However, the Directors frequently clashed with the legislative councils, leading to political instability. This instability paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte, who crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804.

8. Did Women Have a Revolution?

Women were active participants in the events of the French Revolution from the beginning. They hoped their involvement would pressure the revolutionary government to improve their lives. Most women of the Third Estate worked for a living as seamstresses, laundresses, or selling flowers and produce.

• Women formed political clubs, the most famous being the Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women. Their main demand was equal political rights, including the right to vote and hold political office.
• The revolutionary government introduced laws that improved women's lives: schooling was made compulsory, marriage was made a contract entered into freely, and divorce was made legal.
• During the Reign of Terror, women's political clubs were banned and prominent leaders like Olympe de Gouges were executed. It was only in 1946 that women in France finally won the right to vote.

9. The Abolition of Slavery

One of the most social revolutionary reforms of the Jacobin regime was the abolition of slavery in French colonies (Martinique, Guadeloupe, and San Domingo), which supplied tobacco, indigo, sugar, and coffee.

A triangular slave trade existed between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. French merchants sailed from ports like Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, bought slaves from local chieftains, and shipped them across the Atlantic to work on sugar and coffee plantations. In 1794, the Convention passed a law freeing all slaves in French overseas possessions. However, ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery. It was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Summary & Key Takeaways

The French Revolution reshaped global political history by asserting that political power originates from the people, not divine right.

Key Dates & Timeline:

• 1789: Louis XVI calls the Estates General; Third Estate forms National Assembly; Bastille is stormed on July 14.
• 1791: National Assembly drafts Constitution, limiting king's power and creating constitutional monarchy.
• 1792–1793: Monarchy abolished; France becomes Republic; Louis XVI executed; Reign of Terror begins under Robespierre.
• 1794: Robespierre executed; Reign of Terror ends; Directory rule begins.
• 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France.
• 1815: Napoleon defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.
• 1848: Slavery definitively abolished in French colonies.
• 1946: French women earn the right to vote.

Key Terms to Remember:

• Tithe: Tax levied by the church, equal to one-tenth of agricultural produce.
• Taille: Direct tax paid by the Third Estate to the state.
• Subsistence Crisis: An \textreme situation where basic means of livelihood are endangered.
• Sans-culottes: Radical Jacobin members who wore long trousers instead of fashionable knee breeches.
• Guillotine: Execution device featuring a heavy falling blade used during the Reign of Terror.