French Revolution

1) Look back at the information on these sheets. List the reasons why many people in
France were critical of:
a) the nobility- Owned a large piece of land with no taxes. Had more political power.
b) the King- People thought the king had too much power. The king was being selfish and lazy.
c) The clergy- Little taxes had to be paid, had more political power.

2) What might a French peasant have grumbled about in 1789? The price of bread being doubled.

3) Look at source A. Explain what point you think the cartoonist was making. Remember
to explain the significance of the three characters, as well as the caption underneath. I think the cartoonist was trying to explain that peasants are caring and providing for the feudal lords and
the clergy. The caption is telling what peasants hope for which is an equal and fair system.

4) How does the author of source B describe the lives of French peasants? (remember: it
is not enough to say ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – you need to give examples from the source!) The author of source B tells that the life of French peasants is hard because they are poor and are working with very little. Yet they have to pay many taxes to the king and the nobles.

5) Study sources A, B and C together. Do these sources explain why poor people in
France resented the rich? Explain your answer using the sources. Sources A,B, and C don't state that the poor people of France resented the rich, the sources only gave examples of how hard life was for them. The sources explained that they simply wished the times of hard labor with no reward were over.

6) Rousseau (source D) was an influential writer at this time. Along with other writers
like Voltaire, he wanted France to have a more democratic form of government. Who
would be most influenced by his words and why? (remember to include extracts form
the source in your answer.) The peasants would have been most influenced with his writing because his writing was based on his belief that the people should have more power; and that is what the peasants have been asking for. The title of his writing basically tells it all.

7) The pamphlet which source D came from was banned in 1775. Why do you think this
was? Which members of French society would want it to be banned? I think it was banned because the nobles and clergy; people who have a more extravagant life would be in fear that after the peasants read this piece of writing they would revolt against them and the King.