The Outbreak of the Revolution

The correct answer is C. The Bastille was a fortress-prison in Paris, but its importance to revolutionaries was mainly symbolic. It represented the arbitrary and despotic authority of the Bourbon monarchy, because the king could use lettres de cachet to imprison people without an ordinary public trial. Its fall on 14 July 1789 therefore became a powerful sign that the people could challenge royal absolutism. The Bastille did not symbolize farming, cheap bread, or a constitution. Bread prices helped create popular anger, and constitutional change was a revolutionary goal, but neither was the prison's central symbolic meaning.

The correct answer is A. Bread was the main food of ordinary people in eighteenth-century France, so a shortage or sharp rise in its price immediately threatened urban families. Poor harvests reduced supplies, while the wider financial and economic crisis increased hardship. Workers and other residents of Paris had to spend a very large share of their income on bread; when prices rose, they could not easily afford other necessities. This food crisis turned economic suffering into political unrest and helped bring crowds into the streets. A sea storm, a new university, and foreign games had no comparable connection with the revolutionary disturbances.

The correct answer is B. When Louis XVI concentrated troops around Paris in 1789, many people interpreted the movement as a possible attempt to intimidate the representatives and suppress the revolutionary changes. The action therefore produced fear, suspicion and alarm rather than confidence in the monarchy. This atmosphere helped encourage Parisians to organise, search for weapons and eventually attack the Bastille. Celebration and joy would suggest that people welcomed the royal military presence, while complete trust would contradict the existing political tension, food shortages and hostility toward royal authority. The troop concentration was thus an important immediate cause of popular mobilisation.

The Great Fear was linked with rural areas of France. Exam tip: identify rural and urban events separately.

Peasants attacked nobles' properties and feudal records. Exam tip: link it with anti-feudal protest.

Records contained proof of peasants' feudal dues. Exam tip: remember the link between records and dues.

On this night the National Assembly struck a major blow at feudalism. Exam tip: remember the date and decision together.

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

The women’s march from Paris to Versailles took place on 5 October 1789, so the correct choice is B. Thousands of women were angry about the high price and shortage of bread, which made daily life extremely difficult for ordinary families. They marched to demand food and to make the king respond to the crisis. The event also showed that women from the people could directly influence revolutionary politics rather than remaining passive observers. The date must be distinguished from 14 July, the storming of the Bastille.

The marchers reached Versailles, where the National Assembly was meeting and the royal family lived. Their pressure helped bring the king and his family from Versailles to Paris, placing them closer to the people and under revolutionary supervision. Thus, the march was both a response to economic hardship and a political action. Option B, 5 October 1789, correctly connects the date with the bread crisis and the movement of the royal family.

Events like bread unrest and storming of the Bastille happened in Paris. Exam tip: treat Paris as a revolutionary centre.

The storming of the Bastille became a symbol of people's power. Exam tip: write it as a symbolic event of revolution.

The one vote per estate system seemed unfair to the Third Estate. Exam tip: remember the voting dispute.

The National Assembly wanted to make a constitution for France. Exam tip: remember the link between National Assembly and constitution.

The Estates-General was France’s representative assembly, but it was not summoned from 1614 until 1789. Therefore, it had no active role in national affairs for about 175 years. Option B is incorrect because the three estates did not have equal voting power; the voting system itself became a major dispute in 1789. Exam tip: remember 1614 as the previous meeting and 1789 as the year it was summoned again.

The correct answer is B. France's government was short of money in 1789 because of war debts, the cost of supporting the American Revolution, and the expensive royal court. Louis XVI wanted to raise additional revenue through new taxes, but the political situation required the Estates-General to approve important fiscal measures. The assembly represented the clergy, nobility and Third Estate, so its convocation became necessary when the monarchy could no longer solve the crisis without broader consent. The king did not call it to sell the Bastille, build a Church, or simply stop a war. Those choices do not explain the immediate fiscal purpose of the meeting.

Forming a separate assembly was a major step against the old order. Exam tip: write it as a political challenge.

The presence of royal troops created fear among people. Exam tip: remember the link between troops and search for arms.

Peasants opposed feudal dues and noble rights. Exam tip: link rural action with anti-feudal protest.

The Bastille event showed the rebellious courage of the people. Exam tip: understand the symbolic message of the event.

The National Assembly wanted to limit royal power through a constitution. Exam tip: write the link between constitution and limited monarchy.