The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a process that influenced every country in the western world.
Getting to know her is fundamental to understanding Brazil's independence and even current politics. That's why we've prepared several exercises on the French Revolution, divided into levels of difficulty and commented out for you.
Good studies!!
Easy level
question 1
In 1791, the French settlers wanted to challenge the yoke of the metropolis, which reserved the right of monopoly over its goods. Slaves also take the opportunity to rise up and the “sang-melés” (literally, mixed blood) claim French citizenship. They obtain it in 1792 and the following year, slavery is abolished.
Ribbe, Claude. L'indépendence d'Haïti. Consulted on 09/04/2020
What was the episode, which took place in August 1791, that caused so much change in Haiti?
a) The Fall of the Bastille in Paris.
b) The coronation of Bonaparte as Emperor of the French.
c) The promulgation of the Declaration of Human and Citizen's Rights.
d) The death of King Louis XVI by the guillotine.
Correct alternative: c) The promulgation of the Declaration of Human and Citizen's Rights.
This document, promulgated on August 26, 1789, declared that all men were born free and equals, something that was quickly interpreted as an invitation to abolition and political independence by the Haitians.
a) WRONG. The Fall of the Bastille took place on July 14, 1789.
b) WRONG. Bonaparte's coronation took place on December 2, 1804.
c) WRONG. Louis XVI's death by the guillotine was on January 21, 1793.
question 2
"Terror is understood to be (...) a type of particular regime, or rather, the emergency instrument that a Government uses to keep itself in power."
(No. Bobbio, Policy Dictionary, UNB editor)
Check the alternative that expresses the characteristics of the Period of Terror in France:
a) Anyone suspected of being counterrevolutionary could be arrested and even guillotined.
b) Despite the atmosphere of fear decreed by Robespierre, the constitutional guarantees of judgment were maintained.
c) The chaotic situation between the Jacobins and the Girondins caused the latter to decree a state of Terror.
d) The years of terror were not so rigorous: just the propaganda of the counterrevolutionaries that spread this unjustified fame.
Correct alternative: a) Anyone suspected of being counterrevolutionary could be arrested and even guillotined.
The Period of Terror was characterized by a violent persecution of those suspected of conspiring against the French Republic. As such, no formal charges were required for opponents to be brought to prison and death.
b) WRONG. Judgment guarantees were suppressed through the Suspects Law of 17.09.1793.
c) WRONG. What happened was the opposite of what is expressed in the sentence. Whoever decreed the Period of Terror forms the Jacobins.
d) WRONG. The years of terror were really severe for all those who opposed Robespierre's ideas, and this is not just about counterrevolutionary propaganda.
question 3
Look carefully at the picture below and mark the correct alternative:
a) The design disapproves of the way the servants dress, which was ridiculed by the clergy and the nobility.
b) The image portrays the French society of the Ancien Régime - clergy, nobility and serfs - when only the latter paid taxes.
c) The criticism of the social injustice that prevailed in French society is perceived, as only the nobles were taxed.
d) It is a symbol of the social diversity that existed in France.
Correct alternative: b) The image depicts the French society of the Old Regime - clergy, nobility and serfs - when the latter paid taxes.
a) WRONG. The drawing is not about criticizing the way servants dress or not.
c) WRONG. The image is a criticism of social injustice, but the nobles were not taxed.
d) WRONG. Quite the opposite, as there was no social diversity in Ancien Régime France.
question 5
In Brazil, among the revolts that were influenced by the French Revolution, we can highlight:
a) Beckman's Revolt
b) Revolt of the Tailors (or Bahia Conjuration)
c) War of Emboabas
d) War of Straws
Correct alternative: b) Revolt of the Tailors (or Bahia Conjuration)
The Tailors' Revolt took place in 1798 and claimed the same rights as French revolutionaries such as freedom, social equality and changes in government.
a) WRONG. The Beckman Revolt took place in 1684-1685, before the French Revolution.
c) WRONG. The Emboabas War took place in 1707 to 1709, before the French Revolution.
d) WRONG. The Canudos War took place in 1896-1897. In spite of having been after the French Revolution, this one had little influence in this movement.
Middle level
question 6
Read the two articles below, taken from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, August 26, 1789.
Article 1: Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can only be based on common utility.
Article 6: The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to compete, personally or through their representatives, in its formation. It has to be the same for everyone, whether it's protecting or punishing. All citizens, being equal in their eyes, are equally admissible to all dignities, public places and jobs, according to their capacity, and without any distinction other than that of their virtues and talents.
Both articles introduce, in the policy, the principle of:
a) Universal income
b) Nationality
c) Citizenship
d) Free movement of persons
Correct alternative: c) Citizenship
Citizenship is the concept expressed in both articles, because through it, all human beings are equal before the law, putting an end to the status society that existed under the Ancien Regime.
a) WRONG. There is no reference to universal income in the cited articles.
b) WRONG. The texts do not mention nationality or foreign issues.
d) WRONG. Nor is there anything that concerns the free movement of people.
question 7
“It is up to you, therefore, to decide whether Luís is an enemy of the French people, whether he is a foreigner (...) Luís fought the people: he was defeated. He is a barbarian, a foreign prisoner of war (...) the traitor was not the king of the French, he was the king of some conjurors. It did secret troop recruitments, it had private magistrates; he considered the citizens as his slaves (...).”
Speeches and reports. Saint-Just. Lisbon: Presence, 1975, p. 41.
Saint-Just's speech, with its accusatory tone, refers to the relations between the population and King Louis XVI, during the revolutionary process, which resulted in:
a) The trial of Louis XVI.
b) The oath of the Constitution by the king
c) The fall of the Bastille.
d) The seizure of power by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Correct alternative: a) The trial of Louis XVI.
After the fall of the Bastille, King Louis XVI feels threatened and prefers to flee with his family. The captured man is returned to his duties, but he does not resist when a mob invades the Tuileries Palace and arrests him. Later he would be accused of treason and guillotined.
b) WRONG. The author makes no reference to the Constitution.
c) WRONG. Here we are talking only about King Louis XVI and not about the invasion and destruction of the Bastille.
d) WRONG. Napoleon Bonaparte is not mentioned in the text.
question 8
"It was not simply opportunism to call for revolution all the oppressed in feudal society. (...) Furthermore, the French revolutionary process meant a bet on Reason, against everything it wanted limit its power and apprehension of the world and human Action as an instrument capable of intervening successively in the direction of story."
(TONET, Ivo – French Revolution: from 1789 to 1799. http://ivotonet.xp3.biz/arquivos/revolucao_francesa.pdf. Consulted on 07/29/20)
Which attitude of the French Revolution represented a "bet on Reason" as the text says?
a) The replacement of the Gregorian calendar for the revolutionary calendar.
b) The closing of convents and monasteries, expulsion and even death of religious.
c) The institution of universal suffrage at all levels.
d) Military victory against the enemies of the Revolution.
Correct alternative: b) The closing of convents and monasteries, expulsion and even death of religious.
Religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular were pointed out by the Enlightenment and the bourgeoisie as one of the institutions to be eliminated from society. As a result, the clergy were severely repressed, churches sacked and monasteries closed.
a) WRONG. The replacement of calendars reveals the revolutionaries' willingness to control the lives of the population.
c) WRONG. Only universal male suffrage was instituted and women had to wait a long time to vote.
d) WRONG. Military victories were not identified as an impediment to France's progress.
question 9
The Civil Code of France, better known as the “Napoleonic Code” was a compendium of laws, instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1804, where some principles defended by the Revolution were enshrined. French. Among them, we CANNOT mention:
a) Separation of Church and State
b) It eliminated the birth tax exemption.
c) Civil marriage and divorce.
d) Collective ownership.
Correct alternative: d) Collective ownership.
Collective property was not enshrined in the Napoleonic Code, but private property.
question 10
Napoleon Bonaparte waged wars across Europe with the aim of spreading the ideals of the French Revolution. However, in 1804 he sent troops to Haiti to regain control of the Caribbean colony. This decision reflects the impasse between:
a) Enlightenment ideals and colonialism.
b) The bourgeoisie and the French army.
c) The "sans-culottes" and the French elite
d) Americans and Haitians
Correct alternative: a) Enlightenment ideals and colonialism
Colonialism, practiced by nations like France, was incompatible with Enlightenment ideas that defended freedom and equality for all. That is why it is a contradiction for Napoleon Bonaparte to want to impose them in Europe, while fighting for his colony in America.
b) WRONG: In this case, the bourgeoisie and the army agreed that Haiti should go back to being a colony.
c) WRONG. The sans-culottes took little part in politics after Bonaparte came to power.
d) WRONG. The Independence of the United States and the Revolution in Haiti frightened the whole of America, but this alternative does not fit in this passage.
Hard level
question 11
On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies that initially constituted the United States of America (USA) declared their independence and justified the rupture of the Colonial Pact. In words deeply subversive for the time, they affirmed the equality of men and proclaimed their inalienable rights: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They asserted that the power of the rulers, who were responsible for defending those rights, derived from the ruled. These revolutionary concepts that echoed the Enlightenment were taken up with greater vigor and breadth thirteen years later, in 1789, in France.
Emilia Viotti da Costa. Presentation of the collection. In: Wladimir Orchard. Chinese Revolution. São Paulo: UNESP, 2003 (with adaptations).
The influence of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment is still felt in the Brazilian Constitution. From the reading of the text, which principle is enshrined in the Magna Carta that was inspired by the facts that occurred in the century. XVIII?
a) "The Federative Republic of Brazil, formed by the indissoluble union of States and Municipalities and the Federal District."
b) "No one will be deprived of rights for reasons of religious belief or philosophical or political conviction (...)"
c) "All power emanates from the people, who exercise it through elected representatives or directly, under the terms of this Constitution."
d) "The Legislative, Executive and Judiciary Powers are independent and harmonious among themselves."
Correct alternative: c) "All power emanates from the people, who exercise it through elected representatives or directly, under the terms of this Constitution."
The American Constitution, directly influenced by Enlightenment ideas, enshrines the principle that power comes from the people and not from the sovereign or any deity. The 1986 Constitution of Brazil also enshrines this principle.
a) WRONG. This article enshrines the principle of territorial unity, something that is not expressed in the text of the question.
b) WRONG. Here we see how the ideal of respect for religious and political freedom is enshrined as a constitutional right, something that is not mentioned in the statement of the question.
d) WRONG. This phrase reminds us of the independence of powers, ideas by Montesquieu that were incorporated into the American Constitution, but which are not mentioned in the passage above.
question 12
"The bourgeoisie was becoming economically relevant in France in the pre-revolution years, but I did not see this same growth happening with political power. Antoine Barnave (1761-1793), one of the most important names in the Revolution, said at one point that “A new distribution of wealth presupposes a new distribution of power“.
(CORRADINI, Raphael. French Revolution: stages, causes and consequences. https://www.politize.com.br/revolucao-francesa/). Consulted on 07/29/20.
This historic moment lived by the bourgeoisie can be summarized in the following option:
a) Alternation between political parties.
b) Balance of political forces.
c) class struggle
d) Power division
Correct alternative: d) Power division
The text expresses the historical change in the role of the bourgeoisie in the 18th century: from a class without political power to the protagonist class of national politics. Therefore, "power sharing" is the correct alternative.
a) WRONG. Political parties were not an 18th century reality and are not mentioned.
b) WRONG. The text does not speak of a balance of power, but of its distribution.
c) WRONG. The concept of "class struggle", elaborated by Karl Marx, is not present in the text.
question 13
French Revolution or Revolutionary Process? There is no doubt that the bourgeois and popular movement, which began in 1789, was a landmark not only in France but also in Western history for breaking with the Ancien Regime.
Therefore, mark the alternative that characterizes the French historical context before the outbreak of these events:
a) the growing political mobilization of the peasants of the Third Estate, led by the bourgeoisie, against the privileges of the clergy and the nobility.
b) the balance and economic prosperity of France, resulting from the Industrial Revolution and the good harvests registered in the 1780s.
c) the support of King Louis XVI's absolutist monarchy to successive peasant rebellions against the nobility.
d) the strengthening of the Bourbon dynasty in France and Spain, after the victorious participation in the US war of independence, in 1774.
Correct alternative: a) the growing political mobilization of the peasants of the Third Estate, led by the bourgeoisie, against the privileges of the clergy and the nobility.
b) WRONG. France was experiencing a serious economic crisis caused by bad harvests and the Industrial Revolution process already started in England.
c) WRONG. Louis XVI's monarchy did not support any peasant revolt against the nobles.
d) WRONG. The Bourbon dynasty was not strengthened by the US war of independence. On the contrary, because it was a conflict that had as consequences many expenses for both France and Spain.
question 14
The French Revolution was marked by a series of political upheavals. In November 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte led a coup d'état that ended the Directory, inaugurating a new phase in French history.
Tick the INCORRECT alternative on the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte:
a) The bourgeoisie saw the general as the most suitable person to maintain the rights conquered by the revolutionaries and to pacify France.
b) Faced with the intrigues and the division of power among the members of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte proposes a centralizing solution, where powers are concentrated in his figure.
c) Bonaparte had the support of the Army which saw in him a great leader and which really led him to several military victories.
d) Napoleon Bonaparte gained support among the Jacobins who believed in his reformist promises.
Correct alternative: d) Napoleon Bonaparte gained support among the Jacobins who believed in his reformist promises.
This is the wrong alternative, because Bonaparte did not negotiate with the Jacobins, who represented the most radical face of the revolution and frightened the bourgeois. All other sentences are correct.
question 15
The independence process of the Spanish colonies in Latin America is linked to the French Revolution and the Enlightenment. Check the answer that confirms this sentence.
a) The “criollos” and “chapetones” united to give independence to the Spanish-American viceroyalties, supported by France, which wanted to be the new American colonial power.
b) The colonial elites recognize José Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, as the new king, in the hope that he will improve colony-metropolis relations.
c) Faced with the invasion of Napoleonic troops in Spain, part of the “Creole” elite declared themselves faithful to King Fernando VII, but changed their minds when he returned and abolished the 1812 Constitution.
d) Enlightenment ideas had little influence on the Hispanic-American emancipation process being restricted to a literate elite that found no space among those who fought for independence.
Correct alternative: c) Faced with the invasion of Napoleonic troops in Spain, part of the “Creole” elite declares himself faithful to King Ferdinand VII, but changes his mind when he returns and abolishes the Constitution of 1812.
The “criollos” were against Napoleon Bonaparte, but they also turned against King Ferdinand VII when he failed to comply with the Magna Carta of 1812 which declared that America and Spain were equal.
a) WRONG. “Criollos” and “chapetones” had different views on their role in America. France also did not want to become a new American colonial power.
b) WRONG. The colonial elites of America did not recognize José Bonaparte as the new king of Spain.
d) WRONG. Enlightenment ideas influenced American elites to break away from the metropolis.
question 16
The Garden and Palace of Luxembourg in Paris were built by Queen Maria de' Medici in the early 17th century. With the Revolution, property was confiscated, turned into a prison and, in 1795, the Directory made its headquarters there. The gardens, which were previously forbidden to the public, started to receive well-dressed burghers willing to resort to that space previously reserved for royalty.
The change in the role of the Jardin de Luxembourg reflects:
a) The urban transformations that took place after the Revolution, but without political significance.
b) Respect for the old places that were owned by the French royal family.
c) Detachment, on the part of the nobility, from their lands in order to build an egalitarian society.
d) The appropriation of the bourgeoisie in spaces previously exclusive to royalty.
Correct alternative: d) The appropriation of the bourgeoisie to spaces previously exclusive to royalty.
After the French Revolution, the properties of the nobility were confiscated and appropriated by the government. Within the ideal of equality, some were open to the public, such as the garden and the Luxembourg Palace.
a) WRONG. The urban transformations in Paris after the French Revolution were also related to politics.
b) WRONG. The text does not talk about respect, on the contrary, it shows that the bourgeois took advantage of the place.
c) WRONG. The properties of the nobility had been confiscated and there were no detachments on the part of this sector.
We have more texts on this subject for you:
- French Revolution
- Robespierre
- Constituent Assembly in the French Revolution
- Enlightenment
- French Revolution (abstract)
