France in Revolution, 1774-99 | Edexcel A-Level History (9HI0)

France in Revolution, 1774-99

157 questions
16 subtopics
Paper 2: the depth study, one option of sixteen
Paper 2

A Paper 2 depth study of France from the accession of Louis XVI to the coup of Brumaire, covering the ancien regime and the crisis that destroyed it, the revolution of 1789 and the attempt to build a constitution, the radicalisation and the Terror, and the unstable years of the Directory that ended with Bonaparte..

It covers the ancien régime and its challenges in 1774, problems facing France in the 1780s, the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers, the onset of revolution 1789, attempts to create a constitution, 1789–91, the political environment, 1789–93, breakdown of relations with the king, 1791–92, the revolution radicalised, 1792–93, preconditions for ‘terror’, organising the Terror, the Great Terror 1794, the coup of Thermidor, problems facing the Directory, the work of the Directory, dealing with internal and external threats and the coup de Brumaire 1799.

Sample questions from France in Revolution, 1774-99

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The ancien régime and its challenges in 1774

What were the parlements?

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Thirteen sovereign law courts, above all that of Paris, which registered royal edicts and could remonstrate against them, giving them a veto in practice.
The failings of Louis XVI and his ministers

What were Louis XVI's personal failings as a ruler?

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Indecision, a tendency to appoint and then abandon reforming ministers, and a preference for hunting and locksmithing over the business of government.
Attempts to create a constitution, 1789–91

What was the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)?

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A law reorganising the Church, making clergy elected, salaried state officials and requiring an oath of loyalty, which split the clergy.
Breakdown of relations with the king, 1791–92

Why was the flight to Varennes so damaging?

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The king's attempt to escape, and the declaration he left denouncing the revolution, destroyed the fiction that he accepted the new order and made republicanism respectable.
Preconditions for ‘terror’

What caused the revolt in the Vendée?

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Conscription in March 1793, on top of resentment at the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the persecution of refractory priests, in a devoutly Catholic region.
The Great Terror 1794

Who were the Indulgents?

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Danton, Desmoulins and their associates, who called for an end to the Terror and were executed in April 1794, leaving no organised opposition.
Problems facing the Directory

What was the coup of Fructidor (September 1797)?

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A purge, backed by the army, that annulled royalist election gains and deported opponents to keep the republican Directory in power.
Dealing with internal and external threats

Who were the emigres and what threat did they pose?

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Nobles and officers abroad who formed armies, sought foreign intervention and encouraged risings, and whose property was confiscated and sale of it made irreversible.

The 16 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The ancien régime and its challenges in 1774	Recall questions on absolutism and its practical limits, the parlements, the three estates, noble and clerical privilege, venality of office, and court faction.	10
Problems facing France in the 1780s	Recall questions on rural poverty and bread prices, the tax system and the scale of the debt, the cost of the American war, the Eden Treaty, and Enlightenment ideas.	10
The failings of Louis XVI and his ministers	Recall questions on the king's indecision, the reform attempts of Turgot, Necker and Calonne, the Assembly of Notables, and the reputation of Marie Antoinette.	10
The onset of revolution 1789	Recall questions on the cahiers, the dispute over voting by order, the Tennis Court Oath, the fall of the Bastille, and the night of 4 August.	10
Attempts to create a constitution, 1789–91	Recall questions on the Great Fear, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the October Days, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and active and passive citizens.	10
The political environment, 1789–93	Recall questions on the Jacobins, Girondins and Montagnards, Mirabeau, Brissot, Danton and Robespierre, the sans-culottes, the press and the Paris Commune.	10
Breakdown of relations with the king, 1791–92	Recall questions on the flight to Varennes, the Champ de Mars massacre, the emigres, the Declaration of Pillnitz, the drive to war, and the royal veto.	10
The revolution radicalised, 1792–93	Recall questions on the Brunswick Manifesto, the storming of the Tuileries, the September Massacres, Valmy, and the trial and execution of the king.	10
Preconditions for ‘terror’	Recall questions on war on several fronts, the Vendee revolt, the federalist risings, the levee en masse, inflation and the Maximum, and the pressure from the sections.	10
Organising the Terror	Recall questions on the two committees, the Revolutionary Tribunal, the representatives on mission, the Law of Suspects, and who the victims actually were.	9
The Great Terror 1794	Recall questions on the purge of the Hebertists and Indulgents, de-Christianisation and the Cult of the Supreme Being, the Law of 22 Prairial, and centralisation.	9
The coup of Thermidor	Recall questions on the wage maximum and the loss of sans-culotte support, Fleurus, who moved against Robespierre, the events of 9 Thermidor, and the White Terror.	10
Problems facing the Directory	Recall questions on royalist and Jacobin violence, the Conspiracy of Equals, the collapse of the assignat, the two-thirds bankruptcy, and dependence on the army.	9
The work of the Directory	Recall questions on the Constitution of 1795, the Two-Thirds Decree, financial and administrative reform, its treatment of religion, and how it is judged.	10
Dealing with internal and external threats	Recall questions on the Verona Declaration and the emigres, Vendemiaire, chouannerie, the coups of Fructidor and Floreal, and the state of France by 1799.	10
The coup de Brumaire 1799	Recall questions on why the Directory was vulnerable, the role of Sieyes, Bonaparte's return from Egypt, the events at Saint-Cloud, and the Consulate that followed.	10

France in Revolution, 1774-99 is 157 of the 6,832 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £9

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.