The French Revolution – Key Concepts & Events

These flashcards cover the causes, key events, social changes, and lasting impacts of the French Revolution, helping you review everything from the Estates-General to the rise of Napoleon.

What three core ideas did the French Revolution popularise worldwide?

Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

Which event on 14 July 1789 is considered the symbolic start of the French Revolution?

The storming of the Bastille fortress-prison in Paris.

Name the three ‘estates’ into which French society was divided before 1789.

First Estate (Clergy), Second Estate (Nobility), and Third Estate (Commoners).

Which estate alone paid direct taxes such as the taille in pre-revolutionary France?

The Third Estate.

What term describes the social and political system of France before 1789?

The Old Regime.

Which French king’s financial crisis triggered the calling of the Estates-General in 1789?

Louis XVI.

Why was France’s treasury empty when Louis XVI ascended the throne?

Long wars, support for the American Revolution, and the extravagant court at Versailles had depleted finances.

What economic situation, frequently caused by bad harvests, widened the gap between rich and poor in 18th-century France?

Subsistence crisis.

Which 1789 oath declared that representatives would not disperse until France had a constitution?

The Tennis Court Oath.

Who were the two prominent leaders of the National Assembly during the Tennis Court Oath?

Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès.

Which document, adopted in August 1789, proclaimed natural and inalienable rights?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

According to the 1791 Constitution, who were ‘active citizens’?

Men over 25 who paid taxes equal to at least three days’ wages and could vote.

What new form of government did France adopt under the 1791 Constitution?

A constitutional monarchy with separation of powers.

Which political club, led by Maximilien Robespierre, represented the radical phase of the revolution?

The Jacobin Club.

What nickname was given to the Jacobins who wore long trousers instead of aristocratic breeches?

Sans-culottes.

On 10 August 1792, revolutionaries attacked which royal palace, leading to the imprisonment of Louis XVI?

The Palace of the Tuileries.

When did France officially abolish the monarchy and declare itself a republic?

21 September 1792.

For what crime was Louis XVI executed in January 1793?

Treason against the French nation.

What period from 1793 to 1794 is infamous for mass executions and strict controls?

The Reign of Terror.

Which device, named after its inventor, became a symbol of revolutionary executions?

The guillotine.

What happened to Robespierre in July 1794?

He was arrested, tried, and guillotined, ending the Reign of Terror.

What governing body replaced the Jacobins and consisted of five executives?

The Directory.

Which military leader used the instability of the Directory to seize power in 1799?

Napoleon Bonaparte.

What major social reform did the Convention pass in 1794 concerning colonies?

The abolition of slavery in French colonies (temporarily; reinstated by Napoleon, finally abolished in 1848).

Name the triangular trade route that supplied labour to Caribbean plantations.

Europe → Africa → Americas (slaves) and back to Europe with plantation goods.

Which woman authored the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen’ in 1791?

Olympe de Gouges.

What major women’s action on 5 October 1789 forced the royal family to move to Paris?

The March of Parisian women to Versailles.

When did French women finally gain the right to vote?

1946.

Which anthem, first sung by volunteers from Marseilles, became France’s national song?

La Marseillaise.

Which philosophers’ ideas about social contract and separation of powers influenced revolutionaries?

John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu.

What symbolised liberty in revolutionary iconography and was worn by sans-culottes?

The red Phrygian cap.

What bundle of rods symbolised strength in unity during the Revolution?

The fasces.

Which tax levied by the Church required peasants to pay one-tenth of their produce?

Tithe.

Define the term ‘livre’ in the context of pre-revolutionary France.

The unit of French currency before being discontinued in 1794.

What was the taille?

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

Which 1791 law made schooling compulsory for girls and allowed divorce on equal terms?

Revolutionary civil laws introduced by the National Assembly (early reforms for women).

Why did the revolutionary government abolish censorship in 1789?

To uphold freedom of speech and expression proclaimed as natural rights.

How did Napoleon standardise weights and measures across Europe?

By introducing the decimal-based metric system.

Where and when was Napoleon finally defeated, ending his rule?

At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

What overarching legacy did the French Revolution leave for 19th-century Europe?

The spread of ideas of liberty, equality before law, and the model of modern nation-states.

Which two Indian reformers drew inspiration from French revolutionary ideas?

Tipu Sultan and Raja Rammohan Roy.

What event is referred to as the ‘Great Fear’ during 1789?

Rural panic and peasant attacks on chateaux amid rumours of noble plots.

Which revolutionary calendar change renamed months and abolished Sundays?

The Republican Calendar introduced during the Reign of Terror.

What was the pain d’égalité?

Whole-wheat ‘equality bread’ mandated during Robespierre’s price controls.

Which executive body made up of five members governed France from 1795-1799?

The Directory.

What does the term ‘emancipation’ mean in the context of slavery?

The act of freeing enslaved individuals.

Which colour combination became the national colours of France during the Revolution?

Blue, white, and red (the tricolour).

What role did political clubs and cafés play in revolutionary France?

They served as forums for debate, spreading ideas and organising political action.

Which social class’s rise in the 18th century provided leadership and ideas for ending privileges?

The educated and prosperous middle class (merchants, lawyers, officials).

What key principle about sovereignty was affirmed in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen?

All sovereignty resides in the nation and its people.