Describe any five major events that led to the outbreak of the French Revolution.
Answer:
Points to remember
- Denied entry to the Estates General : Most of the members of the third estate , which comprised of the peasants, artisans and women were denied entry to the assembly .
- Voting rights: Members of the third estate demanded the power to vote to be given to each member which was rejected by the king .
- National Assembly: The members of the third estates assembled at the hall of indoor tennis at Versailles and declared themselves as the national assembly .
- Revolt by the Peasants: Peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux after rumours started spreading about the bands of brigades hired by manors to destroy their crops .
- Fall of the Bastille Prison: Due to bad harvests in winter the price of bread increased and bakers hoarded the supplies . As a result, people had to spend hours in line due to which angry women stormed into the shops . The agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille .
Answer to be written
Five major events that led to the outbreak of the French Revolution are
- Denied entry to the Estates General: Most of the members of the third estates like peasants, artisans and women were denied entry into the assembly called by the Louis XVI on 5th May 1789 to increase taxes .
- Voting Rights: Earlier the voting in the assembly were conducted based on the principle that each estate will have one vote but this time the representatives of the third estate demanded that the voting should be conducted on the principle of assembly as a whole where each member will get one vote but the king rejected this proposal. As a sign of protest, the members of the third estate walked out of the assembly.
- National Assembly: On 20 June they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in Versailles and declared themselves as a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France to limit the powers of the monarch .
- Revolt by the Peasants: In the countryside , rumours started to spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands to destroy the ripe crops . Caught in a frenzy of fear , peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux . They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues which forced a large number of nobles to flee from their homes , many of them migrated to neighbouring countries .
Fall of the Bastille Prison: A bad harvest happened due to a severe winter which led the price of bread to rose , the bakers exploited this situation and hoarded supplies . People had to spend hours in long queues at the bakery due to which the crowd of angry women stormed into the shops . At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris . On 14 July , the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille .
