Question

What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?​

Answer 1

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1. The ideas of ‘La Patrie’ (the fatherland) and ‘Le Citoyen’ (the citizen) emphasised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution

2. A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard

3. New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the nation.

4. A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.

5. Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.

6. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

7. The revolutionaries further declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism. In other words, to help other peoples of Europe to become nations.

Answer 2

Answer:

The French revolutionaries took the following steps to create a sense of collective identity among the French people

(i) They introduced the ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and Ie citoyen (the citizen), emphasizing the concept of a united community enjoying equal rights under a Constitution.

(ii) They choose a new French flag, the tricolour, to replace the royal standard.

(iii) The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.

(iv) In the name of the nation, new hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated.

(v) They established a centralized administrative system, which formulated uniform laws for all citizens.

(vi) They adopted a uniform system of weights and measures.

(vii) All internal custom duties were abolished.

(viii) They promoted the French language, as spoken and written in Paris, over regional dialects.

(ix) They declared that it was the mission and destiny of the French nation to liberate people of Europe from despotism, What It meant was that they would help other people of Europe to become nation-states like them