Exercises on the causes of the French Revolution

The French Revolution began in 1789 and lasted until 1799, when Napoleon Bonaparte took over France with the Coup of the 18th of Brumaire. This event was influenced by the ideals of:

a) Romanticism

b) Enlightenment

c) Socialism

d) Anarchism

e) Nihilism

In 1789, the picture of French society was one of intense economic crisis and great social upheaval. The French king, as a way out of the crisis, chose to summon the Estates General. Select the alternative that correctly describes what the General States are about:

a) an assembly convened in times of crisis that brought together representatives of the three states (classes) to debate solutions.

b) an assembly was held in which members of the French nobility met in Versailles for a week to choose new bureaucrats for the country.

c) was the immediate dismissal of all ministers in the nation.

d) the summoning of the great representatives of the Church in France to advise the king in making decisions.

e) an emergency and compulsory tax that was called in moments of great crisis. The population was obliged to provide an extra contribution to the royal coffers.

The French Revolution broke out in 1789 and was a consequence of a great economic crisis and the intense exploitation that the nobility and clergy exerted on the people. When the movement started, the action of the people soon turned against the nobility and, in particular, against the king and his luxurious lifestyle. The French king during the revolution was:

a) Louis XIV

b) Louis XV

c) Louis XVI

d) Louis XVII

e) Louis XVIII

Much of the events and major decisions taken during the French Revolution were carried out by the people, the mass made up mainly of peasants. In addition to the people, another class that had great weight with the outbreak of the Revolution and its conduction was:

a) the bourgeoisie.

b) the nobility.

c) the clergy.

d) the vassals.

e) none of the above answers.

LETTER B

The ideological inspiration for the French Revolution was extracted from the Enlightenment. Concepts were taken from the Enlightenment ideals that claimed that the State should be built on institutions legitimized by the people and that all citizens should be treated equally by the law.

LETER A

The Estates General was a kind of emergency assembly convened by French monarchs only in moments of intense crisis. The last time it had been summoned in France was in the 16th century. When Louis XVI summoned this assembly in 1789, it was expected that a solution to the crisis would be reached, but this was not what was seen, as the Third Estate broke with the Estates General and created the National Constituent Assembly.

LETER C

Louis XVI was the French king during the early years of the French Revolution. Louis XVI was forced by the revolutionaries to abandon the Palace of Versailles, located on the outskirts of Paris, and settled in the Tuileries Palace. He participated in counterrevolutionary efforts and during the Terror phase he was seen as an enemy of the people and for this he was guillotined in 1793.

LETER A

The bourgeoisie played a large part in the events of the French Revolution, which was also considered a bourgeois revolution. The French bourgeoisie saw the privileges of the nobility and clergy, as well as the organization of the absolutist state, as an obstacle to their economic interests and to the development of the nation.