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The French Revolution ICSE Class 8 History Notes

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History & CivicsICSE Class 8 · Chapter 4

The French Revolution ICSE Class 8: Causes, Course, Impact and Napoleon

Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The French Revolution (1789-1799) overthrew the absolute monarchy of Louis XVI and the privileges of the clergy and nobles in France. It was caused by an unequal society, heavy taxes on commoners, a bankrupt government and new ideas of liberty. Its slogan, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, inspired democratic movements across the world.

What The French Revolution is about

In 1789 France was ruled by King Louis XVI, who claimed to rule by divine right. Society was divided into three estates: the clergy, the nobles and everyone else. The first two enjoyed privileges and paid few taxes, while peasants, workers and the middle class carried the burden. When the government ran out of money, the king called a meeting of the three estates, and the commoners seized the chance to demand change. On 14 July 1789 the people of Paris stormed the Bastille prison, and within a few years France had abolished feudal privileges, executed its king and declared a republic.

The CISCE curriculum asks for a brief study of the revolution: its causes, the outbreak, its impact, the post-revolution period and Napoleon Bonaparte. This page follows that order. You do not need to memorise every event of the 1790s; you do need a clear story of why the revolution happened, what it achieved and how Napoleon both spread and limited its ideas.

The French Revolution belongs to the theme 'The Growth of Nationalism' because it taught people that a nation belongs to its citizens, not to a king.

Weightage: CISCE publishes no question paper, marking scheme or chapter weightage for Class VIII History and Civics: your school sets and marks the exam. The French Revolution sits in the History: The Growth of Nationalism section of the CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII).Source: CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII), RDCD 2016

Key concepts

Social causes: the three estates

French society under the Old Regime (the system before 1789) was divided into three estates:

  • First Estate: the clergy (church officials). They owned much land, collected a tax called the tithe from peasants and were exempt from most taxes paid to the state.
  • Second Estate: the nobility. They held the top posts in the army and government, collected feudal dues from peasants and were also largely exempt from taxes.
  • Third Estate: everyone else, the great majority of the population: peasants, artisans, workers and the middle class (merchants, lawyers, doctors, teachers). They paid almost all the taxes, such as the taille (a direct tax), as well as dues to the lords and tithes to the Church.

The educated middle class resented that birth, not ability, decided a person's rights and position.

Worked example

(3 marks) Name the three estates of French society before 1789 and state one grievance of the Third Estate.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. First Estate: clergy; Second Estate: nobility - 1 mark.
  2. Third Estate: commoners (peasants, workers, middle class) - 1 mark.
  3. Grievance: they paid almost all the taxes while the privileged paid few - 1 mark.

Answer: The First Estate was the clergy, the Second the nobility and the Third Estate everyone else, from peasants to merchants. The Third Estate's main grievance was that it paid nearly all the taxes, including the taille, tithes and feudal dues, while the first two estates enjoyed privileges and paid very little.

Political, economic and intellectual causes

Political: Louis XVI was an absolute monarch who ruled by 'divine right'. People had no say in government, and the king could imprison anyone without trial. Queen Marie Antoinette was unpopular for her lavish spending.

Economic: France was nearly bankrupt. Long wars, including French help to the Americans in their War of Independence, and the extravagance of the court had created huge debts. Bad harvests in 1788 raised the price of bread, the staple food of the poor.

Intellectual: thinkers of the Enlightenment questioned old ideas.

  • Rousseau, in The Social Contract (1762), argued that government should be based on an agreement with the people.
  • Montesquieu, in The Spirit of the Laws (1748), proposed separating power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.
  • Voltaire attacked the privileges of the Church and religious intolerance.

Example of others: the success of the American colonies in winning independence (1783) showed that people could overthrow unjust rule.

Worked example

(2 marks) How did the American War of Independence contribute to the French Revolution?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. French help to the Americans added to the government's debt - 1 mark.
  2. The American example inspired French people to fight for liberty - 1 mark.

Answer: France spent heavily helping the American colonists, which deepened its financial crisis, and French soldiers and thinkers returned inspired by the Americans' successful fight for liberty.

The outbreak of the revolution (1789)

1. Meeting of the Estates-General (May 1789): to raise taxes, Louis XVI called the Estates-General, an assembly of the three estates that had not met since 1614. Each estate traditionally had one vote, so the clergy and nobles could outvote the Third Estate.
2. National Assembly (June 1789): the Third Estate demanded voting by head (one member, one vote). When refused, its members declared themselves the National Assembly.
3. Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789): locked out of their hall, they met in an indoor tennis court and swore not to separate until they had given France a constitution.
4. Fall of the Bastille (14 July 1789): with rumours that the king was gathering troops, crowds in Paris stormed the Bastille, a prison-fortress that stood for royal tyranny. 14 July is now France's national day.
5. End of feudal privileges (4 August 1789): the Assembly abolished feudal dues and privileges.
6. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 1789): declared that people are born free and equal in rights, including liberty, property and resistance to oppression.

Worked example

(2 marks) What was the Tennis Court Oath?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. On 20 June 1789, members of the Third Estate met in a tennis court after being locked out of their hall - 1 mark.
  2. They swore not to separate until France had a constitution - 1 mark.

Answer: On 20 June 1789, the members of the National Assembly (mostly from the Third Estate), finding their meeting hall locked, gathered in a nearby indoor tennis court and swore not to disperse until they had drawn up a constitution for France.

From monarchy to republic and the Terror

1. Constitution of 1791: France became a constitutional monarchy; the king's powers were limited and an elected Legislative Assembly made laws, though only citizens who paid a certain amount of tax could vote.
2. War and suspicion: the king tried to flee in 1791 and was caught; France went to war with Austria and Prussia in 1792.
3. Republic (September 1792): the monarchy was abolished and France was declared a republic.
4. Execution of the king: Louis XVI was executed in January 1793; Marie Antoinette later that year.
5. Reign of Terror (1793-1794): the Jacobins under Maximilien Robespierre ruled harshly; thousands of suspected enemies were executed by the guillotine. Robespierre himself was executed in July 1794.
6. The Directory (1795-1799): a government of five directors took over, but it was weak and divided, which opened the way for a military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Worked example

(2 marks) What was the Reign of Terror? Who led it?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. A period (1793-1794) of harsh rule when thousands of suspected enemies of the revolution were executed - 1 mark.
  2. Led by Robespierre and the Jacobins - 1 mark.

Answer: The Reign of Terror (1793-1794) was a period when the revolutionary government executed thousands of people suspected of opposing the revolution. It was led by Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Rise: Napoleon was a brilliant army general. In 1799 he overthrew the Directory and became First Consul, holding real power. In 1804 he crowned himself Emperor of the French.

Reforms at home:

  • The Napoleonic Code (Civil Code, 1804): one set of laws for all of France; equality before the law, the right to property, and abolition of privileges based on birth.
  • A centralised administration, a national bank (the Bank of France) and state schools.
  • An agreement with the Pope that restored the Catholic Church in France, under state control.

Conquests: his armies conquered much of Europe and spread revolutionary ideas such as equality before the law and the end of feudalism.

Decline and fall: defeat at sea at Trafalgar (1805); the failed invasion of Russia (1812); defeat at Leipzig (1813) and exile to Elba (1814); return and final defeat at Waterloo (1815); exile to St Helena, where he died in 1821.

Assessment: he preserved key gains of the revolution (equality before law, end of feudal privilege) but ended political liberty and ruled as a dictator.

Worked example

(3 marks) Mention three reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Napoleonic Code (1804): equality before law, right to property - 1 mark.
  2. Centralised administration / Bank of France - 1 mark.
  3. System of state schools / agreement with the Church - 1 mark.

Answer: (1) The Napoleonic Code of 1804 gave France one set of laws based on equality before the law and the right to property. (2) He set up a strong centralised administration and the Bank of France. (3) He developed a system of state-run schools.

Impact of the French Revolution

On France:
1. End of absolute monarchy and of the privileges of the clergy and nobility.
2. Abolition of feudalism: peasants were freed from feudal dues.
3. Equality before the law and rights of citizens, as declared in the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
4. A uniform system of weights and measures: the metric system was introduced.

On the world:
1. Spread of the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity, democracy and the sovereignty of the people.
2. Growth of nationalism: the idea that the nation belongs to its citizens inspired later movements, including those for the unification of Italy and Germany.
3. Napoleon's conquests carried revolutionary laws into other parts of Europe.
4. Inspired later freedom struggles, including in colonies; Indian thinkers and leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries drew on its ideals.
The revolution also showed the dangers of violence, as in the Reign of Terror.

Worked example

(4 marks) Explain four ways in which the French Revolution influenced the world.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Spread the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity - 1 mark.
  2. Promoted democracy and the sovereignty of the people - 1 mark.
  3. Encouraged nationalism (unification of Italy and Germany) - 1 mark.
  4. End of feudalism in lands conquered by Napoleon / inspired freedom movements - 1 mark.

Answer: (1) It spread the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. (2) It taught that power belongs to the people, encouraging democracy. (3) It fostered nationalism, which later inspired the unification of Italy and Germany. (4) Napoleon's armies ended feudal privileges in many conquered lands, and its ideals inspired later freedom struggles.

The French Revolution in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Privilege and unfair taxation

Suppose in your housing society the families in the two largest flats refuse to pay the maintenance charges, so the smaller flats must pay extra to cover them, but only the large-flat owners sit on the committee.

Which grievance of pre-revolutionary France does this resemble? What might the smaller-flat families demand?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. A privileged few pay nothing while the majority pays more.
  2. The majority has no say in decisions.
  3. They would demand equal charges and a fair vote, as the Third Estate did.

Answer: It resembles the Third Estate's grievance: the clergy and nobles paid few taxes and controlled power. The smaller-flat families would demand fair sharing of costs and one vote per family, just as the Third Estate demanded voting by head.

Memory hook: Pay without a say leads to protest.

Separation of powers

Imagine a school where the same teacher makes the rules, catches the rule-breakers and also decides their punishment, with no one to appeal to.

Which Enlightenment thinker argued against such a system, and what did he propose?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. One person holding all powers can easily misuse them.
  2. Montesquieu argued for separating legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Answer: Montesquieu, in The Spirit of the Laws, argued that power should be divided between those who make laws, those who carry them out and those who judge, so that no one can misuse all power. India's Constitution follows a similar idea.

Memory hook: Make, carry out, judge: three hands, not one.

Symbols of freedom

Suppose an old building in your city was once used to lock up people who criticised the ruler without any trial, and one day a crowd breaks in and frees the prisoners.

Which famous event of 1789 does this resemble, and why was it important?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Bastille was a prison-fortress seen as a symbol of royal tyranny.
  2. On 14 July 1789 Parisians stormed it.
  3. Its fall showed that the king's power could be challenged and is now France's national day.

Answer: It resembles the fall of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The event mattered less for the few prisoners freed than as a symbol: the people had defeated a fortress of royal tyranny.

Memory hook: Fourteen July, the fortress falls.

Topics in this chapter

The French Revolution: key facts

Key dates of 1789
Estates-General meetsMay
Tennis Court Oath20 June
fall of the Bastille14 July
feudal privileges abolished4 August
Declaration of the Rights of ManAugust
Monarchy to republic
Constitution: 1791; republic: September 1792; Louis XVI executed: January 1793; Terror: 1793-1794; Directory: 1795-1799
Napoleon
First Consul 1799; Emperor and Civil Code 1804; Trafalgar 1805; Russia 1812; Leipzig 1813; Elba 1814; Waterloo 1815; died 1821
Thinkers
Rousseau: The Social Contract (1762); Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (1748); Voltaire
Slogan
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
Fraternity means brotherhood.

How the school exam asks The French Revolution

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Question typeHow it is askedMethod
Causes (4 marks)Explain the social, political, economic and intellectual causes of the French Revolution.One clear point under each heading, with a name or example.
Events (2-3 marks)What was the Tennis Court Oath / fall of the Bastille / Reign of Terror?Date, what happened, why it mattered.
Picture-based (2-3 marks)A cartoon of a peasant carrying a priest and a noble on his back is shown.Identify the three estates and explain the unequal tax burden.
Napoleon (3-4 marks)Reforms of Napoleon; was he a child of the revolution or its enemy?Reforms first, then a balanced judgement.

Tricks to remember The French Revolution

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • Causes: S-P-E-I

    'Some People Eat Ice-cream': Social, Political, Economic, Intellectual.

    Use it when: Organising a causes answer.

  • Three estates

    Pray (clergy), Fight (nobles), Pay (everyone else).

    Use it when: Remembering who belonged where.

  • Napoleon's fall

    'Trafalgar to Waterloo: sea, snow, Leipzig, two islands': Trafalgar 1805, Russia 1812, Leipzig 1813, Elba 1814, Waterloo 1815, St Helena.

    Use it when: Decline in order.

The French Revolution: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Example 1: Fall of the Bastille · 1 mark · MCQExam level

On which date did the people of Paris storm the Bastille?
(a) 5 May 1789
(b) 20 June 1789
(c) 14 July 1789
(d) 4 August 1789

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. 5 May: Estates-General met; 20 June: Tennis Court Oath; 4 August: feudal privileges abolished.
  2. 14 July: fall of the Bastille.

Answer: (c) 14 July 1789.

Example 2: Assertion and reason: voting · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder exam level

Assertion (A): The Third Estate demanded voting by head in the Estates-General.
Reason (R): Under voting by estate, the clergy and nobles could together outvote the Third Estate two to one.
(a) Both A and R are true and R explains A
(b) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Third Estate did demand one member, one vote: A is true.
  2. With one vote per estate, the first two estates could outvote the Third: R is true and explains A.

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R explains A.

Example 3: Bread and revolution · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

Why did a bad harvest in 1788 add to the anger of the people of Paris?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Poor harvests reduced grain supply and the price of bread rose sharply.
  2. Bread was the main food of the poor, so many went hungry while the court lived in luxury.

Answer: The bad harvest caused a shortage of grain, so bread prices rose steeply. Since bread was the main food of the poor, many families went hungry, and their anger was directed at a government and court that seemed indifferent to their suffering.

Example 4: Declaration of Rights · 3 marks · Short answerExam level

State three principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights.
  2. Natural rights include liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.
  3. Sovereignty rests with the nation; law is the expression of the general will.

Answer: (1) People are born and remain free and equal in rights. (2) Their natural rights include liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. (3) Sovereignty belongs to the nation, and laws should express the will of the people.

Example 5: Napoleon: friend or enemy of the revolution? · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

'Napoleon was both a child of the revolution and its destroyer.' Explain.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Child: a junior officer from a minor Corsican noble family, he rose to the top through ability, which became possible once privileges of birth ended.
  2. Child: the Napoleonic Code kept equality before law and the end of feudal privileges.
  3. Destroyer: made himself emperor, ending the republic.
  4. Destroyer: censored the press and ruled as a dictator, ending political liberty.

Answer: Napoleon rose through merit, which the revolution's ending of birth-based privilege made possible, and his Civil Code preserved equality before the law and the abolition of feudalism. Yet he crowned himself emperor, ending the republic, censored the press and ruled as a dictator, destroying the political liberty the revolution had sought. So he was both.

Example 6: Why the Directory failed · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

Why was France ready to accept Napoleon's rule in 1799?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Directory was weak, divided and corrupt.
  2. France faced war abroad and disorder and economic trouble at home.
  3. Napoleon was a popular, victorious general who promised order and stability.

Answer: After years of upheaval, the Directory was weak, divided and unable to solve economic problems or end the wars. People wanted order, and Napoleon, a popular and victorious general, offered strong leadership and stability.

Example 7: Violence and change · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Do you think the Reign of Terror helped or harmed the revolution? Give a reasoned answer.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Supporters argued it defended the republic against foreign enemies and rebels at a time of war.
  2. But thousands, including many innocent people, were executed without fair trials.
  3. Fear turned people against the revolution and led to Robespierre's fall.
  4. Judgement: it harmed the revolution's ideals of liberty and justice.

Answer: Its defenders said harsh measures were needed to protect the young republic from foreign armies and internal rebels. However, thousands, many innocent, were executed without fair trial, which went against the revolution's own ideals of liberty and justice. The fear it spread turned people against the radicals and ended with Robespierre's execution. On balance it harmed the revolution's ideals.

Case-study practice (Section B style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 7-mark question split into 2 + 3 + 2 marks.

Picture-based: the burdened peasant

Study the description of a famous kind of cartoon from 1789 and answer the questions.

An old peasant, bent over a stick, carries on his back a well-fed priest and a nobleman in fine clothes with a sword. Papers marked 'taxes' and 'dues' stick out of their pockets.

  1. (i) · 2 marks

    Identify the three estates shown in the cartoon.

    Answer

    Answer: The priest: First Estate (clergy); the nobleman: Second Estate (nobility); the peasant: Third Estate (commoners).

    1 mark for First and Second, 1 for Third.

  2. (ii) · 3 marks

    What is the cartoonist trying to show? Mention two taxes or dues paid by the peasant.

    Answer

    Answer: That the Third Estate carried the whole burden of society while the privileged estates lived off its work. The peasant paid the taille to the state, the tithe to the Church and feudal dues to the lord.

    1 mark for the message, 1 each for two taxes or dues.

  3. (iii) · 2 marks

    How was this situation changed by the revolution in August 1789?

    Answer

    Answer: On 4 August 1789 the National Assembly abolished feudal privileges and dues, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man proclaimed that all citizens are equal in rights.

    1 mark each.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

State two intellectual causes of the French Revolution. (2 marks) (2 marks)

StepMarks
Rousseau's Social Contract: government by consent of the people.1
Montesquieu's separation of powers / Voltaire's attack on privilege.1

Describe three events of 1789 that marked the outbreak of the revolution. (3 marks) (3 marks)

StepMarks
Third Estate forms the National Assembly; Tennis Court Oath (20 June).1
Fall of the Bastille (14 July).1
Abolition of feudal privileges (4 August) / Declaration of Rights (August).1

Explain four results of the French Revolution for France. (4 marks) (4 marks)

StepMarks
End of absolute monarchy; republic.1
Abolition of feudalism and privileges.1
Equality before law; Declaration of Rights.1
Metric system / Napoleonic Code.1

Where students lose marks in The French Revolution

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Saying the revolution happened in one day, 14 July 1789

    The Bastille is the best-known event.

    Do this: Call it the outbreak; the revolution lasted roughly 1789-1799.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Putting the middle class in a separate 'fourth estate'

    Students think rich people could not be commoners.

    Do this: Merchants, lawyers and doctors were all part of the Third Estate.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Mixing up Rousseau's and Montesquieu's books

    Both French thinkers of the same period.

    Do this: Rousseau = Social Contract (people's will); Montesquieu = Spirit of the Laws (separation of powers).

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Writing only praise or only criticism of Napoleon

    One-sided answers.

    Do this: Give his reforms and his dictatorship, then judge.

    Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

Practice questions on The French Revolution

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

    Who was the king of France when the revolution began?
    (a) Louis XIV
    (b) Louis XV
    (c) Louis XVI
    (d) Napoleon

    Hint

    Executed in 1793.

    Answer

    (c) Louis XVI.

  2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQHarder exam level

    Which book argued for the separation of powers?
    (a) The Social Contract
    (b) The Spirit of the Laws
    (c) The Wealth of Nations
    (d) The Rights of Man

    Hint

    Montesquieu.

    Answer

    (b) The Spirit of the Laws.

  3. Q3 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

    What was the taille?

    Hint

    A direct tax.

    Answer

    A direct tax paid to the state, mainly by the Third Estate.

  4. Q4 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level

    When had the Estates-General last met before 1789?

    Hint

    Over 170 years earlier.

    Answer

    In 1614.

  5. Q5 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder exam level

    Why did the middle class lead the revolution though it was relatively well off?

    Hint

    Wealth without rights.

    Answer

    Though educated and often wealthy, the middle class had no political power or social privileges, since rank depended on birth. Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, it wanted a society based on merit and equal rights.

  6. Q6 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

    What does 'fraternity' mean in the slogan of the French Revolution?

    Hint

    Family feeling.

    Answer

    Brotherhood: the idea that all citizens should treat one another as brothers.

  7. Q7 · 2 marks · Very short answerExam level

    Name the battle in which Napoleon was finally defeated and the place of his last exile.

    Hint

    1815; an island in the South Atlantic.

    Answer

    Battle of Waterloo (1815); exiled to St Helena.

  8. Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    How did Napoleon's conquests spread the ideas of the revolution?

    Hint

    Laws in conquered lands.

    Answer

    In many conquered lands Napoleon introduced versions of his Civil Code, abolished feudal dues and privileges of birth, and set up efficient administration, spreading ideas of equality before the law. People exposed to these ideas later demanded them for their own nations.

  9. Q9 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Why is the French Revolution placed under the theme 'The Growth of Nationalism'?

    Hint

    Who does a nation belong to?

    Answer

    The revolution declared that sovereignty belongs to the nation, meaning its citizens, not to a king. Common laws, a national army of citizens and symbols like the tricolour flag created a feeling of belonging to one nation. These ideas inspired nationalist movements in Europe and beyond.

  10. Q10 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    Why did Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 fail?

    Hint

    Distance and winter.

    Answer

    The Russians retreated, burning crops and supplies, so the huge French army found little food. After Moscow was abandoned and burnt, Napoleon had to retreat in the bitter Russian winter, and most of his soldiers died of cold, hunger and attacks.

  11. Q11 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    Compare the Third Estate's position before and after August 1789 on two points.

    Hint

    Taxes and rights.

    Answer

    Taxes and dues: before, it paid almost all taxes plus feudal dues and tithes; after 4 August 1789 feudal dues and privileges were abolished and taxes were to be shared by all. Rights: before, it had no political power and rank depended on birth; after the Declaration of the Rights of Man, all citizens were declared equal in rights and eligible for public office by ability.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.What was the Old Regime?Show answer

    The social and political system of France before 1789.

  2. 2.Who led the Reign of Terror?Show answer

    Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins.

  3. 3.When was France declared a republic?Show answer

    September 1792.

  4. 4.When did Napoleon become emperor?Show answer

    1804.

  5. 5.What was the Napoleonic Code?Show answer

    The Civil Code of 1804: one set of laws for France with equality before the law.

  6. 6.What was the slogan of the French Revolution?Show answer

    Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

Best order to study it

  1. Learn the three estates and their privileges or burdens.
  2. Learn the political, economic and intellectual causes.
  3. Learn the events of 1789 in date order.
  4. Learn the move to a republic and the Terror in outline.
  5. Learn Napoleon: rise, reforms, fall and assessment.
  6. Learn the impact on France and the world.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

  • Three estates: clergy, nobles (privileged, few taxes), Third Estate (majority, paid taille, tithe, feudal dues).
  • Causes: absolute monarchy of Louis XVI; bankruptcy from wars and luxury; bread prices after the 1788 harvest; Rousseau, Montesquieu, Voltaire; American example.
  • 1789: Estates-General (May), National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath (20 June), Bastille (14 July), feudalism abolished (4 August), Declaration of Rights (August).
  • 1791 constitution; republic September 1792; Louis XVI executed January 1793; Terror 1793-1794 (Robespierre); Directory 1795-1799.
  • Napoleon: First Consul 1799, Emperor 1804, Civil Code 1804; Trafalgar 1805, Russia 1812, Leipzig 1813, Waterloo 1815, died at St Helena 1821.
  • Impact: end of absolute monarchy and feudalism, equality before law, metric system; liberty-equality-fraternity, democracy and nationalism spread worldwide.

The French Revolution: frequently asked questions

How detailed should my answers on the French Revolution be?

The CISCE curriculum asks for a brief study. Know the causes under clear headings, the main events of 1789 with dates, the outline from republic to Napoleon, and the impact.

Did Marie Antoinette really say 'Let them eat cake'?

There is no reliable evidence that she said it; the story was told about other royals before her. Do not use it as a fact in answers.

Why is the Bastille so important if it held only a few prisoners?

Because of what it stood for: royal power to imprison people without trial. Its fall showed that ordinary people could defeat that power.

Based on: CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII), History and Civics (Class VIII); CISCE RDCD: Curriculum Pre-School to Class VIII