Class 9 History – The French Revolution (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, taxes, institutions and events from Chapter 1: The French Revolution. Designed to reinforce essential concepts for Class 9 History revision.

French Revolution

A landmark uprising beginning 14 July 1789 with the storming of the Bastille, leading to the end of absolute monarchy and the spread of liberty, equality and democratic rights.

Bastille

A fortress-prison in Paris, symbol of royal despotism, stormed by an angry crowd on 14 July 1789.

First Estate

The clergy in pre-revolutionary France who enjoyed privileges and paid no taxes.

Second Estate

The nobility of France who held land, collected feudal dues and were exempt from taxes.

Third Estate

Common people—peasants, workers, bourgeoisie—who bore the entire tax burden.

Taille

The direct tax paid by members of the Third Estate to the state.

Tithes

A religious tax (one-tenth of produce) collected by the Church from peasants.

Feudal Dues

Payments and services peasants owed to their noble landlords under the feudal system.

Middle Class (Bourgeoisie)

Eighteenth-century traders, manufacturers, lawyers, teachers and officials who were wealthy and educated but lacked privileges by birth.

Enlightenment Philosophers

Thinkers like Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu whose writings on liberty and equality inspired revolutionaries.

John Locke

Philosopher who rejected the divine right of kings in ‘Two Treatises of Government’.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher who proposed government based on a social contract between people and rulers.

Montesquieu

Author of ‘The Spirit of the Laws’; advocated separation of powers into legislative, executive and judiciary.

Social Contract

Rousseau’s idea that political authority rests on an agreement between governed and government.

Estates-General

Representative assembly of the three estates, summoned by Louis XVI in May 1789 to approve new taxes.

Tennis Court Oath

Pledge taken 20 June 1789 by Third Estate deputies to draft a constitution limiting the king’s power.

National Assembly

Body formed by the Third Estate; framed the 1791 Constitution and limited royal authority.

Active Citizens

Men over 25 who paid specified taxes and could vote for electors after 1791.

Passive Citizens

Women and poorer men without the right to vote under the 1791 Constitution.

Constitutional Monarchy

System created in 1791 where the king’s powers were checked by an elected assembly and separate judiciary.

Jacobin Club

Radical political club of small shopkeepers, artisans and wage-earners that led revolutionary action in 1792.

Reign of Terror

Period (1793-1794) when Robespierre’s government used severe controls and mass guillotinings against enemies of the republic.

Guillotine

Device for capital punishment widely used during the Reign of Terror.

Maximilien Robespierre

Leader of the Jacobins; ruled during the Reign of Terror and was executed in July 1794.

Directory

Five-member executive set up after Robespierre’s fall; its instability paved the way for Napoleon’s rise.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Military leader who seized power after the Directory; spread French revolutionary ideals across Europe.

Society of Revolutionary Republican Women

Notable women’s club that demanded equal political rights during the Revolution.

Abolition of Slavery (1794)

Law passed by the Jacobin government ending slavery in French colonies (later re-introduced by Napoleon).

Subsistence Crisis

Acute shortage of food and soaring bread prices caused by poor harvests and rising population.

Liberty, Democratic rights, Equality, Fraternity

Core ideals and slogan of the French Revolution promoting freedom, equal rights and brotherhood.Also the legacy of French revolution

Marseillaise

Patriotic song sung by volunteers from Marseilles; later adopted as the national anthem of France.

Indirect Taxes

Taxes on everyday items such as salt and tobacco, paid mainly by the Third Estate.