Test: The French Revolution- 1 - UPSC MCQ

- Option A: Sceptre - Symbol of royal power
The sceptre is a traditional symbol of royal authority and power. It has been used historically to represent the governing power of a monarch.

- Option B: Red Phrygian cap - Symbol of unity
This is incorrect. The Red Phrygian cap is a symbol of liberty or freedom, not unity. It was worn by freed slaves in ancient times and adopted during the French Revolution as a symbol of emancipation.

- Option C: The Law Tablet - Symbol of ignorance
This is incorrect. The Law Tablet symbolizes that the law is the same for all and that all are equal before it, not ignorance.

- Option D: The bundle of rods or fasces - Symbol of freedom
This is incorrect. The bundle of rods or fasces symbolizes strength through unity, not freedom. It indicates that while a single rod can be broken, a bundle of rods is much stronger.

Thus, the only correctly matched pair is Option A: (a) Sceptre - Symbol of royal power.

- The Assertion is true. The sans-culottes did indeed wear long striped trousers to distinguish themselves from the nobles who wore knee breeches.
- The Reason is true. The choice of attire was a deliberate act to symbolize the end of the power held by those who wore knee breeches.
- While both statements are correct, the Reason does not directly explain why the sans-culottes chose to wear long striped trousers. The attire choice was more about social symbolism than a direct consequence of the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breeches.

• Assertion (A) Correctness: The assertion is correct. Robespierre did indeed implement a policy of severe control and punishment during the Reign of Terror, targeting those he perceived as enemies of the republic.
• Reason (R) Correctness: The reason is correct. Robespierre believed that using terror was necessary to establish and consolidate democracy and to swiftly deal with the enemies of Liberty.
• Explanation: The reason provides a logical explanation for the assertion. Robespierre's belief in using terror to swiftly and severely deal with perceived enemies aligns with his actions during the Reign of Terror, where many individuals were arrested and guillotined. This aligns with his vision of curbing threats to the republic promptly.

- Assertion Correctness: The assertion is correct. Women in revolutionary France indeed demanded political rights equal to men, including the right to vote and hold political office.
- Reason Correctness: The reason is also correct. Women were disappointed by the Constitution of 1791, which reduced them to passive citizens, leading to their continued struggle for equal political rights.
- Explanation: The reason provided does logically explain why the assertion is true. The disappointment of women due to being reduced to passive citizens after expecting equal political rights justifies their continued struggle for equality.

The burden of financing the state's activities through taxes fell on the Third Estate alone because:

- The First Estate comprised clergy exempt from most taxes.
- The Second Estate included nobility with significant tax exemptions.
- The Fourth Estate refers to the press, not associated with historical tax burdens.
- The Third Estate, made up of commoners, bore the brunt of taxes, leading to social discontent culminating in the French Revolution.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen aimed to establish fundamental rights such as liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression as natural and inalienable rights, ensuring that these rights belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.

Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason during the French Revolution.

- Option A: (a) 1st estate - Nobility
Incorrect. The 1st estate comprises the Clergy, not the Nobility.
- Option B: (b) 2nd estate - Clergy
Incorrect. The 2nd estate comprises the Nobility, not the Clergy.
- Option C: (c) 3rd estate - Big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, etc.
Correct. The 3rd estate includes big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, landless laborers, and servants.
- Option D: (d) 3rd estate - Nobility
Incorrect. The Nobility is part of the 2nd estate, not the 3rd estate.

- Option A: Arthur Young - French revolutionary leader: This is incorrect. Arthur Young was an Englishman who traveled through France and wrote detailed descriptions of his observations from 1787 to 1789, but he was not a French revolutionary leader.
- Option B: Louis XVI - Called the Estates General in 1789: This is correct. Louis XVI, the King of France, called together an assembly of the Estates General on 5 May 1789 to pass proposals for new taxes, marking the beginning of significant events leading to the French Revolution.
- Option C: Mirabeau - President of the National Assembly: This is incorrect. Although Mirabeau was a prominent leader and orator of the Third Estate and played a significant role in the early stages of the French Revolution, he was not the President of the National Assembly. Jean-Sylvain Bailly was the President during the Tennis Court Oath.
- Option D: Abbé Sieyès - Leader of the peasant revolts: This is incorrect. Abbé Sieyès was a clergyman and political writer who authored the influential pamphlet "What is the Third Estate?" He was a key figure in the early stages of the French Revolution but was not the leader of the peasant revolts.
Thus, the correctly matched pair is Louis XVI - Called the Estates General in 1789.

Both the Assertion and Reason are true.
- The French nobility and clergy did indeed enjoy exemptions from paying taxes to the state.
- The first two estates in French society, the clergy and the nobility, were indeed entitled to certain privileges by birth, including tax exemptions.
- Therefore, the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

A subsistence crisis signifies an extreme situation where the fundamental means of livelihood are at risk, often due to factors like food scarcity, rising prices, or weakened production, as depicted during certain periods in French history.

The storming of the Tuileries Palace in August 1792 by enraged Parisians, leading to the massacre of the king's guards and the subsequent imprisonment of the royal family, triggered the declaration of war by the National Assembly against Prussia and Austria in April 1792.

The national anthem of France, sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris, is "La Marseillaise."

Statement (i) is correct because the French government was obliged to increase taxes to meet its regular expenses due to the rising debt and interest payments on loans.

Statement (iii) is correct because the society of estates was part of the feudal system that dated back to the middle ages.

Statement (iv) is correct as the term "Old Regime" is indeed used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789.

Statement (ii) is incorrect because it is stated that only members of the third estate paid taxes, not the first estate.

Thus, the correct statements are (i) , (iii) and (iv).

Both the Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, and Reason is the correct explanation of Assertion.
Assertion (A) states that Louis XVI had to call a meeting of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes because he did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone. This is accurate as the monarch could not levy taxes unilaterally; he required the approval of the Estates General, which was the political body representing the three estates of French society.
Reason (R) explains that in France of the Old Regime, the monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of the Estates General. This is also true, as the king had the authority to summon the Estates General, which had not been convened since 1614 before Louis XVI called it in 1789 to address the financial crisis facing the kingdom.Thus, since both statements are true and the Reason correctly explains the Assertion, the correct choice is option 2.

- Option A: Tithe - Tax paid directly to the state: This is incorrect. Tithe was a tax levied by the Church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.
- Option B: Clergy - Group of persons invested with special functions in the Church: This is correct. The Clergy refers to the group of persons invested with special functions in the Church.
- Option C: Taille - A tax levied by the Church: This is incorrect. Taille was a direct tax to be paid to the state.
- Option D: Livre - A tax on agricultural produce: This is incorrect. Livre was a unit of currency in France, discontinued in 1794.
Correct Pair: Clergy - Group of persons invested with special functions in the Church

Assertion is correct: French society did face significant financial challenges in the eighteenth century due to a variety of reasons outlined in the assertion.

Reason is correct: The reasons provided in the reason statement are accurate in explaining the financial crisis faced by the French government.

Reason is the correct explanation of assertion: The reason effectively explains why the financial difficulties detailed in the assertion came about, establishing a logical connection between the two statements.

- Option A: (a) Robespierre - Guillotine inventor
Incorrect. The guillotine was named after Dr. Guillotin, who invented it, not Robespierre. Robespierre used the guillotine during the Reign of Terror but did not invent it.

- Option B: (b) Louis XVI - Executed on 21 January 1793
Correct. Louis XVI was indeed executed on 21 January 1793.

- Option C: (c) Pain d'égalité - White flour bread
Incorrect. Pain d'égalité translates to "equality bread" and was made of wholewheat, not white flour. The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden during Robespierre's rule.

- Option D: (d) Directory - Seven member executive body
Incorrect. The Directory was indeed an executive body made up of five members that ruled France after the fall of the Jacobin government.