The 20 quiz questions
Question 1 : What was the name of the assembly that adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?
Possible answers:
- National Convention
- The Directory
- Estates-General
- National Constituent Assembly
Explanation: The National Constituent Assembly adopted the Declaration on August 26, 1789. This founding text proclaims the natural and inalienable rights of man.
Question 2 : Which revolutionary was nicknamed "the Incorruptible"?
Possible answers:
- Robespierre
- Saint-Just
- Danton
- Marat
Explanation: Maximilien de Robespierre was nicknamed "the Incorruptible" for his moral integrity. He was one of the main figures of the Terror before being guillotined in 1794.
Question 3 : Which King of France was executed during the French Revolution, on 21 January 1793?
Possible answers:
- Louis XVI
- Louis XV
- Louis XVIII
- Louis XIV
Explanation: Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793 at Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde), convicted of high treason. His wife Marie-Antoinette suffered the same fate 9 months later.
Question 4 : What event on June 20, 1789 saw deputies swear not to separate until they had given France a Constitution?
Possible answers:
- Festival of the Federation
- Night of August 4th
- Tennis Court Oath
- Storming of the Tuileries
Explanation: The Tennis Court Oath was sworn in a real tennis court in Versailles when Third Estate deputies found their hall locked.
Question 5 : Which Queen of France was guillotined on October 16, 1793?
Possible answers:
- Marie-Antoinette
- Marie Leszczyńska
- Anne d'Autriche
- Marie de' Medici
Explanation: Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was executed nine months after her husband. She is famous for the (apocryphal) phrase "Let them eat cake".
Question 6 : What is the name of the violent repression period led by the Committee of Public Safety in 1793-1794?
Possible answers:
- The June Days
- The Thermidorian Reaction
- The Great Fear
- The Reign of Terror
Explanation: The Reign of Terror (September 1793 - July 1794) saw the execution of thousands of "suspects". It ended with Robespierre's fall on 9 Thermidor.
Question 7 : Which French doctor gave his name to the execution instrument used during the Revolution?
Possible answers:
- Guillotin
- Bichat
- Sanson
- Laennec
Explanation: Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed this machine to make executions more "humane". Ironically, he was opposed to the death penalty.
Question 8 : Which motto originated from the French Revolution?
Possible answers:
- Fluctuat nec mergitur
- Unity is strength
- Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
- Work, Family, Fatherland
Explanation: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" became the motto of the French Republic, enshrined in the Constitution. It appears on public buildings and coins.
Question 9 : Which revolutionary journalist was assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday?
Possible answers:
- Desmoulins
- Marat
- Hébert
- Brissot
Explanation: Jean-Paul Marat, editor of "L'Ami du peuple", was stabbed on July 13, 1793. His assassination was immortalized in Jacques-Louis David's painting.
Question 10 : What event on August 4, 1789 abolished feudal privileges?
Possible answers:
- Tennis Court Oath
- Night of August 4th
- Storming of the Bastille
- Flight to Varennes
Explanation: The Night of August 4th saw the Constituent Assembly abolish seigneurial privileges, tithes, and corvées. It was the official end of the Ancien Régime.
Question 11 : In June 1791, where was the royal family arrested during their escape attempt?
Possible answers:
- Strasbourg
- Metz
- Varennes
- Montmédy
Explanation: Louis XVI and his family were recognized and arrested in Varennes-en-Argonne, near the border. This event definitively discredited the king.
Question 12 : Which revolutionary political club met in a former Dominican convent?
Possible answers:
- Breton Club
- Feuillants Club
- Cordeliers Club
- Jacobin Club
Explanation: The Jacobin Club (officially "Society of the Friends of the Constitution") met at the Jacobin convent. Robespierre was its most influential leader.
Question 13 : Which calendar was established in 1793 to break with the Christian era?
Possible answers:
- National calendar
- Revolutionary calendar
- Republican calendar
- Julian calendar
Explanation: The Republican Calendar, created by Fabre d'Églantine, had 12 months of 30 days with poetic names (Vendémiaire, Brumaire...). It was abandoned in 1806.
Question 14 : What were the volunteer soldiers who defended Revolutionary France against European armies called?
Possible answers:
- The Federates
- The National Guards
- The Chouans
- The Volunteers of Year II
Explanation: The sans-culottes were popular revolutionaries, but armies were composed of volunteers and then conscripts following the levée en masse of 1793.
Question 15 : Which Corsican general seized power in the coup of 18 Brumaire, ending the Revolution?
Possible answers:
- Hoche
- Lafayette
- Napoléon Bonaparte
- Dumouriez
Explanation: Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory on November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire Year VIII). He became First Consul then Emperor of the French in 1804.
Question 16 : What symbol represents the French Republic, often wearing a Phrygian cap?
Possible answers:
- The Fatherland
- Marianne
- Reason
- Liberty
Explanation: Marianne is the allegory of the Republic and Liberty. Her bust adorns town halls and her face appears on French postage stamps.
Question 17 : Which revolutionary political group was named after a region in southwestern France?
Possible answers:
- The Vendéens
- The Girondins
- The Bretons
- The Provençals
Explanation: The Girondins (from Gironde) were moderate deputies opposed to the Montagnards. Many were guillotined in 1793.
Question 18 : Which 1792 battle was the first major victory of the revolutionary armies against the Prussians?
Possible answers:
- Valmy
- Fleurus
- Jemmapes
- Austerlitz
Explanation: The Battle of Valmy (September 20, 1792) stopped the Prussian invasion. Goethe declared: "From this place and this day begins a new epoch in world history."
Question 19 : Which political regime succeeded the National Convention in 1795?
Possible answers:
- The Consulate
- The Empire
- Constitutional Monarchy
- The Directory
Explanation: The Directory (1795-1799) was a regime of five directors. Weakened by corruption and instability, it was overthrown by Bonaparte.
Question 20 : Which event of July 14, 1789 marks the symbolic beginning of the French Revolution?
Possible answers:
- The flight to Varennes
- The Night of August 4
- The storming of the Bastille
- The Tennis Court Oath
Explanation: The storming of the Bastille freed only 7 prisoners, but the symbol of a royal fortress overthrown by the people became the founding myth. July 14 became a national holiday in 1880.
