French revolution

Question 1

What triggered the French Revolution?

Answer 1

Years of feudal oppression, economic hardship, and political inequality under the Ancien Régime.

Question 2

What was the Ancien Régime?

Answer 2

France’s old feudal system ruled by the Bourbon monarchy.

Question 3

Who made up the Third Estate?

Answer 3

Commoners, including the bourgeoisie, urban workers, and peasants.

Question 4

What was the tax burden in France before the Revolution?

Answer 4

The Third Estate carried the tax burden while the First Estate and Second Estate were exempt.

Question 5

What financial crisis worsened under which king?

Answer 5

France’s financial crisis worsened under Louis XVI.

Question 6

What did Louis XVI call in 1789 due to the financial crisis?

Answer 6

The Estates-General.

Question 7

What did the Third Estate form after breaking away?

Answer 7

The National Assembly.

Question 8

What was the Tennis Court Oath?

Answer 8

A vow by the National Assembly to create a constitution.

Question 9

What significant event occurred on July 14, 1789?

Answer 9

The Storming of the Bastille.

Question 10

What was the Great Fear?

Answer 10

A period where peasants attacked feudal lords.

Question 11

What did the August Decrees accomplish?

Answer 11

Abolished feudal obligations.

Question 12

What document asserted liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty?

Answer 12

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Question 13

What did the Constitution of 1791 establish?

Answer 13

A limited monarchy.

Question 14

What happened to the monarchy after a failed escape attempt?

Answer 14

Trust in the monarchy collapsed.

Question 15

What was the Declaration of Pillnitz?

Answer 15

A threat by European monarchies to intervene in France.

Question 16

Who led France in declaring war on Austria and Prussia in 1792?

Answer 16

The Girondins.

Question 17

What did the National Convention do?

Answer 17

Abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.

Question 18

When was King Louis XVI executed?

Answer 18

January 1793.

Question 19

What was the Reign of Terror?

Answer 19

A period of violent purging of perceived enemies by the radical Jacobins.

Question 20

Who led the radical Jacobins during the Reign of Terror?

Answer 20

Maximilien Robespierre.

Question 21

How many suspected enemies were executed during the Reign of Terror?

Answer 21

Over 15,000.

Question 22

What led to Robespierre’s arrest and execution?

Answer 22

His paranoia and extremism.

Question 23

What was the Thermidorian Reaction?

Answer 23

The period after Robespierre; a shift back to moderation.

Question 24

What did the Constitution of 1795 create?

Answer 24

A more conservative government.

Question 25

What was the Directory?

Answer 25

A corrupt five-member executive body that took control (1795–1799).

Question 26

Who was a rising general during the Directory period?

Answer 26

Napoleon Bonaparte.

Question 27

What event marked the end of the French Revolution?

Answer 27

Napoleon's coup d’état in 1799.

Question 28

Fill in the blank: The old feudal order before the Revolution is known as the _______.

Answer 28

Ancien Régime.

Question 29

Fill in the blank: The educated middle class that led early revolutions were known as the _______.

Answer 29

Bourgeoisie.

Question 30

True or False: The Sans-culottes were moderate revolutionaries.

Answer 30

False.

Question 31

What was the main purpose of the Declaration of Rights of Man?

Answer 31

To assert equality.

Question 32

What was the main outcome of the National Assembly's formation?

Answer 32

The beginning of the French Revolution.