AQA A-level History · 2H

France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only)

50 exam-style questions with answers for 2H France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only) in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2H, Part one
State two features of the Ancien Régime. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: absolute monarchy (1); three estates (1); privileges for nobles and clergy (1); heavy taxes on the Third Estate (1).
Question 2 · Spec 2H, Part one
Name two philosophes. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Voltaire (1); Rousseau (1); Montesquieu (1); Diderot (1).
Question 3 · Spec 2H, Part one
Who was Turgot? [1 mark]
Answer:
Controller-General who tried to reform finances and free trade but was dismissed in 1776.
Question 4 · Spec 2H, Part one
Why was France in financial crisis by 1786? [1 mark]
Answer:
War debt, especially from the American war, and an unfair tax system.
Question 5 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Assembly of Notables (1787)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A body called by Calonne to approve tax reform, which refused.
Question 6 · Spec 2H, Part one
When did the Estates-General meet? [1 mark]
Answer:
May 1789.
Question 7 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Tennis Court Oath (1789)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Third Estate swore not to separate until France had a constitution.
Question 8 · Spec 2H, Part one
When was the Bastille stormed? [1 mark]
Answer:
14 July 1789.
Question 9 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Great Fear (1789)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peasant panic and attacks on châteaux in the countryside.
Question 10 · Spec 2H, Part one
What were the August Decrees (1789)? [1 mark]
Answer:
They abolished feudal privileges.
Question 11 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A statement of liberty, equality before the law and popular sovereignty.
Question 12 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It made clergy state employees and required an oath, dividing the Church.
Question 13 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Flight to Varennes (1791)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The royal family’s failed escape, which destroyed trust in the King.
Question 14 · Spec 2H, Part one
Who were the sans-culottes? [1 mark]
Answer:
Radical Parisian workers and artisans.
Question 15 · Spec 2H, Part one
What were the September Massacres (1792)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Mob killings of prisoners in Paris.
Question 16 · Spec 2H, Part one
When was Louis XVI executed? [1 mark]
Answer:
January 1793.
Question 17 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Vendée rising (1793)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Catholic and royalist revolt in western France.
Question 18 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the levée en masse (1793)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Mass conscription of the whole nation for war.
Question 19 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Committee of Public Safety? [1 mark]
Answer:
The body that ran the government during the Terror, dominated by Robespierre.
Question 20 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the Law of Suspects (1793)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It allowed the arrest of anyone suspected of opposing the Revolution.
Question 21 · Spec 2H, Part one
Who was Necker? [1 mark]
Answer:
The finance minister whose dismissal in July 1789 helped spark the storming of the Bastille.
Question 22 · Spec 2H, Part one
What were the cahiers de doléances? [1 mark]
Answer:
Lists of grievances drawn up for the Estates-General.
Question 23 · Spec 2H, Part one
What was the October Days (1789)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Women marched to Versailles and forced the royal family to move to Paris.
Question 24 · Spec 2H, Part one
Who were the Jacobins? [1 mark]
Answer:
A radical political club, led by Robespierre.
Question 25 · Spec 2H, Part one
When was the monarchy overthrown? [1 mark]
Answer:
10 August 1792, after the attack on the Tuileries.
Question 26 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was Thermidor (1794)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The overthrow and execution of Robespierre.
Question 27 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Directory? [1 mark]
Answer:
The government of five directors, 1795–1799.
Question 28 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Vendémiaire rising (1795)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A royalist rising in Paris crushed by Napoleon’s ‘whiff of grapeshot’.
Question 29 · Spec 2H, Part two
What happened in the Italian campaign (1796–1797)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon defeated Austria, ending with the Treaty of Campo Formio.
Question 30 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the coup of Brumaire (1799)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon seized power and set up the Consulate.
Question 31 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Concordat (1801)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement with the Pope restoring the Catholic Church in France.
Question 32 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Napoleonic Code (1804)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A unified law code confirming equality before the law and property rights.
Question 33 · Spec 2H, Part two
What were prefects? [1 mark]
Answer:
Officials appointed to run each department for the central government.
Question 34 · Spec 2H, Part two
When did Napoleon crown himself Emperor? [1 mark]
Answer:
December 1804.
Question 35 · Spec 2H, Part two
What happened at Austerlitz (1805)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia.
Question 36 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Continental System? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon’s blockade of British trade with Europe from 1806.
Question 37 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Peninsular War? [1 mark]
Answer:
The war in Spain and Portugal from 1808, a ‘Spanish ulcer’ for France.
Question 38 · Spec 2H, Part two
What happened in 1812? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia ended in disastrous retreat.
Question 39 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Battle of Leipzig (1813)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The ‘Battle of the Nations’ in which Napoleon was defeated.
Question 40 · Spec 2H, Part two
What were the Hundred Days (1815)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon’s return from Elba, ended at Waterloo.
Question 41 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the White Terror (1795)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Reprisals against Jacobins after Thermidor.
Question 42 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Constitution of Year III (1795)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Directory’s constitution with two councils and five directors.
Question 43 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Egyptian campaign (1798–1799)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt, ruined by Nelson’s victory at the Nile.
Question 44 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Legion of Honour (1802)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An award for service, creating a new elite based on merit.
Question 45 · Spec 2H, Part two
What were lycées? [1 mark]
Answer:
State secondary schools set up by Napoleon to train officials and officers.
Question 46 · Spec 2H, Part two
What happened at Trafalgar (1805)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Nelson destroyed the French and Spanish fleets, ending invasion plans.
Question 47 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the Treaty of Tilsit (1807)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peace with Russia and Prussia at the height of Napoleon’s power.
Question 48 · Spec 2H, Part two
What was the first Peace of Paris (1814)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The settlement after Napoleon’s first abdication, restoring Louis XVIII.
Question 49 · Spec 2H, Part two
State two reasons for Napoleon’s military success. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: speed and mobility (1); the corps system (1); artillery (1); talented marshals (1); divided enemies (1).
Question 50 · Spec 2H, Part two
State two reasons for the collapse of Napoleon’s empire. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the Peninsular War (1); the Russian campaign (1); the Continental System’s failure (1); allied coalitions (1).

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France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only)

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