The French Revolution - Class 9 History (Chapter 1) - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, and concepts from the lecture notes on The French Revolution (Class 9 History).

Louis XVI

Autocratic king whose lavish lifestyle and indecision helped spark revolutionary protests in France.

Three Estates

The old social order in France: First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility), and Third Estate (commoners).

Third Estate

The common people who bore the tax burden and included the educated middle class and peasants.

Clergy (First Estate)

Privileged group exempt from many taxes; part of the three-estate system.

Nobility (Second Estate)

Privileged landowners exempt from many taxes; held hereditary status.

Bourgeoisie (Middle Class)

Educated, wealthy segment of the Third Estate; challenged divine-right rule and valued merit.

Enlightenment thinkers

Philosophers like John Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu whose ideas on liberty and rights influenced revolutionary thinking.

Salons and coffee houses

Public venues where discussions of ideas and politics spread among the educated and middle classes.

Feudal privileges

Special rights enjoyed by the clergy and nobility that were abolished after the Revolution.

New middle class

Wealthy portion of the Third Estate that benefited from revolutionary reforms.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Foundational document proclaiming universal rights and the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Liberty, equality, fraternity

Core ideals promoted by the French Revolution.

Right to equality

Right ensuring equality before the law and equal opportunity (no discrimination).

Right to freedom of speech

Right to express opinions and freely pursue a profession or occupation.

Right to life

Fundamental right protecting the right to live and be free from unjust harm.

Right to vote

Democratic right to elect representatives (initially limited, but cited as an outcome of the era).

Directory

Five-member executive government that governed France after the Revolution, preceding Napoleon.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French military leader who rose during the Directory and became Emperor; expanded French influence in Europe.

Emperor of France

Title taken by Napoleon when he crowned himself in 1804.

Decimal system (weights and measures)

Napoleon-era reform: a uniform decimal-based system of weights and measures.

Private property protection

Napoleon’s legal reforms that safeguarded property rights.

Waterloo

Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, ending his rule in Europe.

Nationalism

A sense of collective identity and sovereignty that grew as mass movements after the Revolution.

Tipu Sultan

Indian ruler influenced by Revolutionary ideas of liberty and rights.

Raja Rammohan Roy

Indian reformer influenced by Enlightenment and Revolutionary ideas.

Slavery in France

Slavery persisted in parts of French rule until the first half of the 19th century.

Economic inequality

Important contradiction: universal rights did not immediately ensure economic equality.