French Society During The Late Eighteenth Century

Question 1

What significant event occurred on 14 July 1789 in Paris?

Answer 1

The storming of the Bastille.

Question 2

What was the Bastille a symbol of?

Answer 2

The despotic power of the king.

Question 3

What did the citizens gather to form in response to the king’s actions?

Answer 3

A peoples’ militia.

Question 4

How many men and women gathered in front of the town hall on 14 July 1789?

Answer 4

About 7,000.

Question 5

What did the citizens search for in government buildings?

Answer 5

Arms.

Question 6

What was the outcome of the fight at the Bastille?

Answer 6

The commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners were released.

Question 7

What did the people do with the fragments of the demolished Bastille?

Answer 7

They sold them in the markets as souvenirs.

Question 8

What were the protests following the storming of the Bastille primarily against?

Answer 8

The high price of bread.

Question 9

True or False: Most people at the time anticipated the execution of the king.

Answer 9

False.

Question 10

What did historians later view the events of July 1789 as the beginning of?

Answer 10

A chain of events that ultimately led to the execution of the king.

Question 11

Fill in the blank: The Bastille was seen as a _______ of the king’s power.

Answer 11

symbol

Question 12

Who ascended the throne of France in 1774?

Answer 12

Louis XVI

Louis XVI was from the Bourbon family of kings.

Question 13

How old was Louis XVI when he became king?

Answer 13

20 years old

Question 14

Who was Louis XVI married to?

Answer 14

Maric Amroinette

Question 15

What financial situation did Louis XVI inherit upon his accession?

Answer 15

An empty treasury

Question 16

What contributed to the empty treasury of France during Louis XVI’s reign?

Answer 16

Long years of war and the cost of maintaining an extravagant court

Question 17

Which war did France participate in that increased its debt?

Answer 17

The American Revolutionary War

Question 18

By how much did France’s debt increase due to the American Revolutionary War?

Answer 18

More than a billion livres

Question 19

What was the total debt of France during Louis XVI’s reign?

Answer 19

More than 2 billion livres

Question 20

What interest rate did lenders begin to charge the French government?

Answer 20

10 percent

Question 21

What percentage of its budget did the French government have to spend on interest payments?

Answer 21

An increasing percentage

Question 22

What was the third estate responsible for in terms of taxes?

Answer 22

Paid all taxes to the state

Question 23

What term is used to describe the society and institutions of France before 1789?

Answer 23

Old Regime

Question 24

What percentage of the population did peasants make up in the eighteenth century?

Answer 24

About 90 percent

Question 25

Who owned about 60 percent of the land in France?

Answer 25

Nobles, the Church, and richer members of the third estate

Question 26

What privileges did members of the first two estates enjoy?

Answer 26

Exemption from paying taxes

Question 27

What were feudal privileges that nobles enjoyed?

Answer 27

Feudal dues from peasants and services from the peasants

Question 28

What services were peasants obliged to render to the lord?

Answer 28

Work in his house and fields, serve in the army, build roads

Question 29

What is the name of the tax levied by the Church from peasants?

Answer 29

Tithes

Question 30

What is the taille?

Answer 30

A direct tax paid to the state

Question 31

What type of taxes did members of the third estate pay?

Answer 31

Direct and indirect taxes

Question 32

Fill in the blank: The burden of financing the state activities through taxes was borne by the _______.

Answer 32

third estate

Question 33

What three groups made up the three estates in French society?

Answer 33

* Clergy * Nobility * Third estate (big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans)

Question 34

True or False: All members of the third estate were poor.

Answer 34

False

Question 35

What was the livre?

Answer 35

Unit of currency in France, discontinued in 1794

Question 36

What does the term 'clergy' refer to?

Answer 36

Group of persons invested with special functions in the church

Question 37

What is the definition of 'tithe'?

Answer 37

A tax levied by the church, typically one-tenth of agricultural produce