The Outbreak of the Revolution

The king wanted approval for new taxes so the financial crisis is clear. Exam tip: connect the Estates-General with fiscal problems.

Versailles was the centre of the royal court and the dispute began there. Exam tip: remember the link between place and power.

With one vote per estate the first two estates could overrule the Third. Exam tip: understand the gap between numbers and votes.

Two privileged estates together could make two votes. Exam tip: write voting inequality as a cause.

The Third Estate claimed to represent the nation. Exam tip: connect the National Assembly with the demand for sovereignty.

The direct answer is A: the members would not separate until a constitution was made. In 1789, representatives of the Third Estate found that the old meeting arrangement did not give them fair political importance. They declared themselves the National Assembly. When they found their meeting hall closed, they gathered in an indoor tennis court. There they took an oath to remain united and continue meeting until France had a constitution. Option A is correct because it expresses the central promise of the Tennis Court Oath: political representatives would not abandon their work before constitutional government was established. Option B is wrong because the oath was not a promise to give the king a new tax; taxation was part of the wider crisis, not the oath’s determination. Option C is wrong because the Bastille was a fortress-prison, not a place where the members promised to live. Option D is wrong because leaving Paris would have ended their political action, whereas they promised to continue it. The memory cue is: Tennis Court Oath equals “no separation before constitution.” It marks the demand for representative and constitutional rule.

Though noble Mirabeau was linked with opposition to old privileges. Exam tip: write both the person and his role.

Sieyes presented the Third Estate as an important part of the nation. Exam tip: connect the pamphlet with representation.

The governing concept is the historical importance of institutional continuity and interruption. The Estates-General, a representative assembly of the three orders, had last met in 1614. Its reopening in 1789, after roughly 175 years, showed the seriousness of France’s financial and political crisis. The monarchy needed representatives to discuss taxation and approve measures, but the meeting also created an opportunity for the Third Estate to challenge the old order. Option A is correct because it identifies the return of a representative institution after a very long gap. Options B, C, and D refer to events or institutions unrelated to the 1789 meeting.

The presence of troops created fear of repression. Exam tip: write troop concentration and public reaction together.

The Bastille symbolised royal despotism so the attack was symbolic. Exam tip: write immediate and symbolic causes separately.

The Invalides was linked with the search for weapons. Exam tip: remember the sequence before the Bastille.

The crowd's anger was linked with the Bastille as a symbol of repression. Exam tip: connect the person with the event's symbol.

Bread crisis and search for arms intensified popular revolt in Paris. Exam tip: study urban economic and political unrest together.

The Great Fear was linked with peasants' reaction in villages. Exam tip: distinguish Bastille and Great Fear.

Feudal records listed the labour services, taxes and other dues owed by peasants. By burning them, peasants aimed to destroy the legal documents that nobles used to enforce these obligations. Preparing a new constitution was a later political process, not the peasants’ immediate aim. Exam tip: link the Great Fear with attacks on feudal obligations and the destruction of records.

Rumours turned rural discontent into action. Exam tip: write the link between rumours and peasant violence.

Rural revolt pressured the National Assembly to remove feudalism. Exam tip: connect cause and effect.

The direct answer is option A: because it moved toward ending feudal privileges. The night of 4 August 1789 was important because the National Assembly adopted measures against the old feudal system. Before the Revolution, peasants and other ordinary people were burdened by feudal dues, obligations and privileges enjoyed by nobles. During the night of 4 August, representatives agreed to abolish or give up many feudal privileges. This attacked the legal and social inequalities of the old regime, so it was a social step of the Revolution. Option A is correct because removing feudal privileges changed the relationship between privileged groups and common people. Option B, electing a new king, is wrong because the event was not about choosing a monarch. Option C, building the Bastille, is wrong because the Bastille already existed and was stormed on 14 July. Option D, stopping the Estates-General, is wrong because the revolutionary representative process continued; the event concerned feudal privileges, not ending that meeting. The word “social” is important: the change affected social hierarchy and privileges, not merely a military event. Remember the date pair: 14 July challenged royal authority, while 4 August attacked feudal privileges. A common mistake is to describe 4 August as the storming of the Bastille.

The march to Versailles began because women in Paris faced severe shortages and rising bread prices. However, it quickly became a political action as well as a protest about food. The marchers demanded that the king respond to the people's suffering and support the changes being made in the name of the nation. Their movement showed that ordinary people, especially women, could directly influence national politics.

The marchers went to Versailles, where the king and the National Assembly were located. Under intense public pressure, the king and his family were brought back to Paris, where they could be watched more closely by the people. Thus, the event connected an economic grievance with a major political result. Option A is correct; the other choices describe events that did not happen as a result of this march.

The Third Estate turned the old assembly into new national politics. Exam tip: understand the process in order.

The governing concept is chronological sequencing. The Estates-General met in May 1789, but representatives of the Third Estate soon declared themselves the National Assembly. On 20 June they made the Tennis Court Oath, promising not to separate until France had a constitution. On 14 July, Parisian people stormed the Bastille, making the crisis a mass popular uprising. Therefore, option A gives the correct progression from institutional meeting to political reorganisation, constitutional commitment, and armed popular action. Option B reverses the order of the opening events, option C places the October women’s march too early, and option D incorrectly mixes a later event with the 1614 date.

The voting method raised the question of representation and power. Exam tip: write the core cause of dispute.

The Bastille symbolised royal power so its fall was a major signal. Exam tip: remember the symbolic challenge.

The Third Estate wanted representation according to numbers. Exam tip: connect democratic spirit with voting.