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About This Quiz
Do you remember the French Revolution? Can you recall every battle, every coup d' eta, every execution? Or do you think that Napolean is just a desert with no greater significance? Take this quiz and find out!
Why was the French monarchy in crisis before the start of the revolution?
The extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy.
There had been two decades of poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease.
France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution.
All of the above.
France sent mass amounts of money and aid to America during the American Revolution. Which is odd, considering how Louis XVI did not support the Revolution happening in his country. Harvest had failed, and people were starving while the king and queen seemed to hemorrhage money they didn't have.
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How many phases were in there in the revolution?
1
2
3
The first phase of the revolution began after he harvests and the people are starving, open revolt soon follows. In the second phase, the fight is between the burgeois (middle class) and proletariat (working class) rather than between the burgeois and the nobility. The third phase was the bloodiest with reactionary gangs beating up revolutionists.
4
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Louis XVI was the last king of what line of monarchs?
House of Bourbon
House Bonaparte was the last house to rule France before it became a Republican government for the third and last time in 1870.
House of Valois
House of Lancaster
House of Bonaparte
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How old was Marie Antoinette when she married Louis XVI?
10
12
14
15
Marie Antoinette married Louis at age 15, to cement the new alliance between the French and Habsburg thrones. Louise was 16.
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What was Marie Antoinette rumored to have done?
She had an affair with her former music teacher.
She had a model farm built at Versaille so she and her ladies-in-waiting could dress up as milkmaids and shepherdess.
She sponsored the arts, in particular music.
All of the above.
However, Marie Antoinette never actually said that the starving poor should “eat cake” if they had no bread. In fact, the story of a wealthy fat woman who said “Let them eat cake!” appears in the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions, which was written around 1766 (when Marie Antoinette was just 11 years old).
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How were the estates of the realm divided prior the to revolution?
Poor Estate, Middle Estate, Rich Estate.
First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners).
First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners).
Kings Estate, Nobles Estate, Peasants Estate.
Minim Estate, Moderate Estate, Maximum Estate.
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How old was Marie Antoinette when she was sent to the guillotine?
26
18
45
37
Marie Antoinette died on October 16, 1793. She was 37 years old.
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What perentage of the estates were the Third Estate?
25%
45%
75%
98%
Despite the fact that they made up 98% of the Estates, the Third Estate could still be outvoted by the other two bodies. Leading up to the convening of the Estates-General, the Third Estate was frustrated and began to mobilize support.
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What did the Third Estate want leading up to the Estates-General?
Equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto–in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status.
The Third Estate wanted equal representation and voting by head and not by status. Sounds similar to the American Revolution, right?
To get rid of the monarchy entirely.
To get rid of the other two estates.
Two execute the king.
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What was the National Assembly?
The body of government run by the queen.
As the talks at the Estates-General stalled, the Third Estate met alone to discuss the constitutional reforms they wanted.
The Estates-General convened at Versailles but quickly erupted into hostility. The Third Estate decided to meet alone and form the National Assembly.
The body of government run by the king.
The body of government agreed upon by both Robespierre and the king.
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What was the "Tennis Court Oath"
The oath made by the king that promised he would give the Third Estate what they wanted.
The oath made by the Queen promising to make her infamous indoor Tennis Courts public.
The oath made between the members of the National Assembly during a meeting that occurred when the talks at the Estates-General had stalled.
The oath made between the members of the National Assembly during a meeting that occurred when the talks at the Estates-General had stalled. The Third Estate decided to meet at a nearby Tennis Court when they made an oath vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved. Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new assembly.
None of the above.
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When did the French Revolution begin?
May 25th, 1789
June 12th, 1789
August 1, 1789
July 14th, 1789
The medieval fortress signified royal authority and the abuse of the monarchy. The prison contained seven inmates at the time of the storming. Rioters were afraid of a military coup and stormed the Bastille in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons.
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How was the Bastille torn down?
By cannon.
By a pulley system involving horses and rope.
By explosives .
By hand
The revolutionaries didn't have any powerful explosives (or guns, remember that's why they were storming the Bastille!). Men, women, and children that stormed the fortress tore it down by hand. The bricks were later given or sold away as symbols of the breakdown of tyranny.
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What does “la Grande peur” mean?
The Great Third Estate
The Great Fear
After the storming of the Bastille, a great wave of revolutionary fervor and hysteria swept the country. Peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords, and the seigniorial elite.
The Great Fool
The Great Revolt
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What was a significant result from the Great Fear and the subsequent revolts?
The peasants executed the King and Queen.
The National Constituent Assembly abolished feudalism
The historian Georges Lefebvre later called the abolition of feudalism as the "death certificate of the old order."
The King executed all of those involved.
The monarchy was overthrown.
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What was the Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen?
The draft of the constitution written by the Assembly, which contained statements of Democratic principles written by the Assembly.
The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancient régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government.
A word-for-word translation of the Declaration of Independence into French.
An oath sworn by the King to grant his citizens more freedom.
All of the above.
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When was France's first written constitution adopted?
September 3, 1791
Adopted on September 3, 1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the moderate voices in the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the ability to appoint ministers.
August 4, 1789
September 8, 1792
October 3, 1791
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What happened to he king on August 10, 1792?
He was executed.
He was arrested.
The next month, hundreds of accused counter-revolutionaries were executed, and the National Convention proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic and the king was tried for treason and crimes against the state.
He tried to flee, leaving his family behind.
He tried to flee France with his family.
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When was King Louis XVI sent to the guillotine?
February 21, 1793
July 20, 1793
August 23, 1792
January 21, 1793
Nine months later, his wife Marie-Antoinette suffered the same fate.
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What was the Reign of terror?
A 10-month period after the execution of the king and queen, in which thousands of suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined.
In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention and enacted a series of radical measures. They eradicated Christianity and created a new calendar, sending thousands to the guillotine in the process.
A party thrown by Marie Antoinette.
A period in time where King Louis XVI executed all of his enemies.
None of the above.
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Who was Maximilien Robespierre?
The leader of the Revolution during its most radical phase and the reign of terror.
Robespierre was the leader of the Jacobins and the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his execution on July 28th, 1974.
The son of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.
Napoleons brother.
The leader of the Girondins.
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Who was Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de Mirabeau?
Marie Antoinette's lover.
A member of the Third Estate and the leader and president of the National Assembly.
Mirabeau was a moderate and di not agree with the extreme views of the Jacobins. Instead, he wanted to follow the English parliamentary form of government with the king serving as a constitutional head. He hoped that the National Assembly would co-operate with the king which made him suspect to the Jacobins who condemned him as a "traitor."
Louis XVI's best friend.
The Jacobin leader.
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Who was Marat (1742-1793)?
Marie Antoinette's favorite puppy.
A famous editor of the newspaper Ami Du Peuple (Friend of the People) where he attacked the court, the clergy, the nobles, and even the National Assembly.
Marat was famously responsible from the revolt of May 31, 1793, that expelled the Girondist members from their Assembly.He called for their execution and had no problem executing thousands of aristocrat in the name of the Revolution and "the people" he so loved.
Louis XVI and Marie's daughter.
Marie Antoinette's lover.
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Who was Danton (1759-94)?
Marie's brother and rumored lover.
A Jacobin and first president of the Committee of Public Safety.
At the start of the Revolution Danton had no qualms with violent executions but in the end, he attempted to work with the Girondist party and advocated for mercy and respect for government. He was later attacked and arrested by a power hungry Robespierre. On April 5th, 1794 he was executed despite being a supporter, albeit a less violent Jacobin, of the Revolution.
Robespierre son.
A Jacobin spy in the kings royal army.
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The guillotine was popularized during the French Revolution. Until what year did the guillotine remain a legal form of execution?
1778
1800
1905
1981
France's last guillotine execution was in 1977. It was abolished with all forms of capital punishment in 1981.
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Why were Revolutionaries called “sans-culottes"?
Because they didn't wear any pants.
Because they wanted to distinguish themselves from the French nobility who wore silk knee breaches.
The revolutionaries wore long trousers called pantaloons rather than the silk knee breeches of the nobility.
Because they made the "tennis court oath" completely nude.
Because they rioted in the streets naked.
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How is Bastille day celebrate today?
It is celebrated every year on July 14th.
A military parade is held on the Champs-Elysees on the morning of the 14th.
Picnics and feasts.
All of the above.
Bastile Day is celebrated very similarly to the way the 4th of July is celebrated in America. It is considered the French national pride day and the temporary unity of the French nation at the start of the Revolution.
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Who was Louis Antoine de Saint-Just?
A Spanish spy
Friend and collaborator of Robespierre
St. Just inspired the people of France to take up arms and die for their cause. He moved to the border of France as a commissary to the army. During the reign of terror St. Just was nicknamed "Angel of Death" as he organized the arrests and prosecutions of many famous figures of the revolution. He was arrested and guillotined during the Thermidorian Reaction.
A loyal friend to Louis and a staunch monarchist
A British spy
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What was the Thermidorian Reaction?
The reaction to the execution of the king and queen.
A coup d'etat against the leaders of the Jacobin club.
The National Convention had voted to execute the power-hungry and violent Robespierre and his friend Saint-Just (amongst other members of the revolutionary government).
While many of the French hated Marie Antoinette, the Therhmidorian Reaction from a group of Parisians who loved her.
A coup d'etat against the leaders of the Girondist s
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After the execution of Robespierre, what was the new government called?
The National convention
That National Assembly
The Directory
The National Convention had created a new constitution in 1795. The new government was the Directory which consisted of an executive council of 5 members. The Directory overwhelmed with corruption, political conflict, and financial problems. Without the army, they had no power.
The Estates-General
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What important event happened in 1799?
Robespierre rose from his grave.
Two words, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Returning from success in Egypt, Napolean ousted the Directory, established the Consulate, and named himself the First Consul. The French Revolution was over.
France was overthrown by Austria.
The Jacobins re-united and overthrew the Directory.
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What happened in 1804?
Napolean was assassinated and the Third French Republic was created.
Napoleon crowned himself emperor.
Napoleon crowned himself emperor making the dreams of the French Republic and the revolution nothing but a bloody memory.
Napoleon got married.
Napoleon created a desert by the same name.
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What happened in 1812?
A disastrous invasion of Russia led by Napoleon.
Two years later he abdicated the throne and was exiled to the island of Elba.
A successful invasion of Russia led by Napoleon.
Napoleons son took over as emperor.
Napoleon died.
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What was the Hundred Days Campaign?
100 days where any and all French nobility campaigned to be the next emperor.
Napoleon returned and reigned for just 100 days before dying.
Napoleon returned and reigned for just 100 days before being murdered.
Napoleon returned and reigned for just 100 days before being exiled again.
On February 26, 1815, Napoleon made his way back to France to reclaim power. The Great Powers of Europe did not like Napolean and declared him an outlaw. War broke out between the Great Powers of Europe (Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia) and Napoleon. After a horrible defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napolean abdicated once again and was exiled. He died at age 51.
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When did France finally become a Republic for the last time?
After the First Republic which was founded in 1782.
After the Second Republic which was founded in 1848.
After the Third Republic which was founded in 1870.
None of the above.
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France. It began on October 4, 1958. It replaced the parliamentary government of the Fourth Republic with a semi-presidential system.
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