The Outbreak of the Revolution

The king needed the approval of the Estates-General for new taxes. Exam tip: remember the relation between tax and assembly.

The Third Estate felt the old method was unfair to them. Exam tip: remember the voting dispute.

Royal troop movement created fear and led people to search for weapons. Exam tip: remember the link between fear and search for arms.

Peasants opposed feudal dues and their records. Exam tip: connect rural revolt with feudal order.

The storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 had national importance because it demonstrated that ordinary people could challenge the authority of the absolute monarchy. The Bastille was a fortress-prison associated with royal arbitrary power, so its capture became a powerful symbol of the Revolution. The event encouraged popular action in other parts of France and weakened the impression that the king’s authority was unquestionable. It was not a royal victory, a decision to raise taxes, or a religious celebration. Thus, option A correctly explains its national significance.

The National Assembly opened the path to limit power through a constitution. Exam tip: see it as the beginning of constitutional politics.

Two votes of the First and Second Estates could outweigh one vote of the Third Estate. Exam tip: understand the inequality of voting method.

Women were troubled by bread shortage and high prices. Exam tip: link the women's march with food crisis.

The Bastille was stormed mainly by the people of Paris on 14 July 1789. Paris was the political centre of France and had a large population suffering from food shortages, rising bread prices and economic uncertainty. The fortress-prison stood in the eastern part of the city and was attacked because it represented royal arbitrary power and also contained arms and ammunition. Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes were important French cities, but they were not the city whose people captured the Bastille. Therefore, option A is correct.

The National Assembly wanted to make a constitution and limit royal power. Exam tip: remember the term constitutional government.

Peasants feared that nobles were arranging attacks against them. Exam tip: remember rumour and peasant reaction.

The Revolution spread in different forms in towns and villages. Exam tip: mention both Paris and rural revolt.

The National Assembly aimed to make a constitution and limit royal power. Exam tip: treat constitution as the central word.

The Estates-General shows political crisis and Bastille shows popular revolt. Exam tip: remember both events together.

King Louis XVI called the Estates General in 1789, making option A correct. The assembly met at Versailles on 5 May 1789 to discuss the financial crisis facing the French monarchy, especially the problem of state debt and taxation. Representatives of the clergy, nobility and Third Estate attended it. The meeting became a major step toward the Revolution because the Third Estate soon challenged the old system of voting by separate orders and declared itself the National Assembly. The other years refer to different historical developments and do not mark the calling of the Estates General.

France's treasury was nearly bankrupt because of wars and royal expenditure. In 1789, Louis XVI called the Estates General to obtain approval for changes in taxation and for new tax proposals. Choosing a new king was not its purpose, since Louis XVI was already the king. Exam tip: Associate the Estates General with France's financial crisis and the issue of taxation.

Under the old voting system, the First, Second, and Third Estates received one vote each. Thus, the clergy and nobility could combine to defeat the Third Estate by 2 votes to 1, even though it represented most of the population. Voting according to population was a demand of the Third Estate, not the old arrangement. Exam tip: Remember that voting by estate meant one vote for each estate.

On 17 June 1789, the representatives of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, so option B is correct. They argued that they represented the entire French nation because the Third Estate included the great majority of the population. This declaration challenged the traditional arrangement in which the three estates met and voted separately. It also transferred the claim to political authority from the king and privileged orders toward the nation and its representatives. The Third Estate did not become a royal council, military group or church council; each of those choices describes a different institution.

On 20 June 1789, the representatives were prevented from entering their meeting hall, so they gathered in an indoor tennis court at Versailles. There they swore not to disperse until France had a constitution. This event is known as the Tennis Court Oath. The storming of the Bastille occurred later, on 14 July 1789. Exam tip: link the Tennis Court Oath with the resolve to frame a constitution.

They pledged not to separate until a constitution was made. In exams link it with constitution making.