Infamous queen Marie Antoinette is said to be a very misunderstood girl in history (Covington). Marie enjoyed a life of luxury, as did many other queens did in history. But during her reign, the country of France had a failing economy. In any country if the economy is good, people generally believe that their leaders are great, but if the economy is bad then that’s when the people starts turning against their leaders. That poor economy that France faced had to be blamed on someone, which were blamed on Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette’s love of fashion has gotten her killed, but her love has kept her alive in the world of fashion.
Marie Antoinette was the 15th child to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor Francis 1 (Castelot).
In late 1700s, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, which had completely opposite personalities, ruled the French monarch. The queen was a vivacious, bold, and outgoing person not an austere queen with simple taste and a stern manner of royalty. The queen made beneficent acts by kindly giving her personal allowance to the cadaverous poor people that were weak from hunger for the times of poverty. King Louis XVI, who lacked a stalwart personality, made frail and insufficient changes in the French government which caused him to face massive debt and resentment. Also, the redoubtable king caused fear for the middle and lower classes by forcing the French monarch to unwillingly assemble the Estates General to impose new land taxes.
Brief Summary- Dr. Munro Price, Modern European Historian at the University of Bradford, wanted to find out the truth of what the true actions and feelings of the King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were in those years before the collapse. After being dragged back to Paris from Versailles, they were then held prisoner in the capital. Concerned for their own safety, the King and Queen forced to agree with the revolution and its agenda. However, in secret, they both began devising a strategy and took the utmost precautions to hide their real policy. The Road from Versailles reconstructs much of what had been speculated until now as to the King and Queen’s clandestine diplomacy from 1789 until their executions. Dr. Price focuses on a small portion of history that has generally been unknown to the public, but could hold the key to the final days of the Old Regime and the mindset of the King. This book could give insight into the economic and social status
Furthermore, the queen of the France, Marie Antoinette, overspends the money on herself. This is a quote from a letter that she wrote to her mom, “On Tuesday I had a fete which I shall never forget all my life (Doc.B)”. In this quote, she is telling her mother about the party that she had, and this shows how ignorance she is. She doesn’t pay attention to the issues that the citizens are going through, and because of the overspent, France goes through a difficult time. Marie Antoinette helped the French Revolution to grow larger and more dangerous.
the French revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799. Louis XVI was King of France in 1789. Louis was a kind man, but he was raised to be a king and had little knowledge of common people. There was a story in France that when Louis' wife, Marie Antoinette, heard that the people had no bread, she said, "Let them eat cake." Marie Antoinette never said that, but it shows how little she knew (and some say cared) about life for the common people of France.
Many people may argue that Marie Antoinette was the biggest factor for why France fell into a revolutionary state, however, Marie Antoinette was a queen victimized and forced to play role from a young age to satisfy the French people who disapproved. Marie Antoinette was falsely blamed for her actions when in fact it wasn’t her fault. Marie Antoinette was forced to accept a society where she had to learn new customs and traditions. She had to leave everything behind, consequently become something she isn’t. Her frustration and unhappiness with Versailles was no surprise. Marie Antoinette was frustrated by her marriage. At Versailles her husband-to-be, Louis Auguste had no interest in her. In the film, Marie Antoinette, the director clearly
In conclusion,It was a struggle to get to the government we have today. Thanks to the french revolution that helped carve the way for that. Just to clarify one thing. Marie Antoinette never said “let them eat cake”. The French Revolution was a drastic change,the shaped the western
The king did nothing to help the peasants in their times of trouble, which caused even more uproar. The French were rapidly losing trust in the King, in fact many nobles began moving out of the palace of Versailles. Which again, caused peasants to lose jobs, because many women involved in the cottage industry sewed clothing for those living in
Marie de France was known for being the, “Best French Poet” of all time. Although many did not know her personally, many knew of her and her works of literature. She can be described as a romantic person for the way she chose to author her works. However, since she was never really officially known, she remains very mysterious. Marie de France was known for being the author of, “Lais of Marie de France.”
The story of revolution and resistance in 18th-century France is a complicated one, and no two historians tell the story the same way. However, it is clear that for the revolutionaries, Marie Antoinette’s significance was mainly, powerfully symbolic. "She and the people around her seemed to represent everything that was wrong with the monarchy and the Second Estate: They appeared to be tone-deaf, out of touch, disloyal (along with her allegedly treasonous behavior, writers and pamphleteers frequently accused the queen of adultery) and self-interested"( Moore 17 ). What Marie Antoinette was actually like was beside the point; the image of the queen was far more influential than the woman herself.
While many people may be familiar with the story of the French Revolution and history of Marie Antoinette, they may not fully comprehend the lively debate that continues to exist around Marie Antoinette. A debate over how Marie Antoinette should be remembered exists, with some arguing that Antoinette was spoiled and careless and others taking the stance that Antoinette was a victim of her harsh circumstances. Before delving into this controversy, background knowledge of Marie Antoinette’s life can assist in understanding the controversy. In 1770 at the age of fourteen, Marie Antoinette, daughter of Austrian empress Maria Theresa, was married to Louis XVI of France to strengthen French and Austrian relations. In 1774, Louis XVI became king and Marie Antoinette became queen. Dissatisfaction toward Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and economic turmoil led the French Revolution to begin in 1789, with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette eventually being guillotined in 1793 (Covington 56-65).
The biggest thing she was victimized for was the diamond necklace scandal. In 1781 Marie Antoinette was approached by Charles Boehmer about buying a necklace with 647 diamonds on it. Boehmer created the necklace for Louis XV, before he could finish the necklace Boehmer died. Later on he realized that he needed to sell the necklace to avoid financial ruin. When he approached Marie, she knew it was way too expensive for her to buy and she would not wear something that was intended for someone else. Boehmer continued to bother her to purchase it on several other occasions (Lotz 100). Later on Marie’s “friend” Jeanne informed Boehmer that she would be able to convince her to purchase the necklace. After she promised him that she would get Marie to reconsider she went to Cardinal de Rohan and told him that Marie wanted to purchase the necklace. She also told him that she didn't think it was wise for her to purchase it in person. He agreed to negotiate the purchase of the necklace with his own money (Lotz 104). Jeanne promised that Marie would pay him back over the next two years. After Cardinal de Rohan came to an agreement with Boehmer, the jeweler, the necklace was given to Jeanne so that she could give it to the queen. After Jeanne got hold of the necklace she then gave it to her husband to go sell in London. Not knowing what happened, Boehmer waited for the queen to show off his wonderful necklace, he waited feast day after feast day for her to wear it. He decided to write a letter to her saying he was glad the necklace was in her hands. Marie Antoinette not knowing what he was implying, burned the letter. Boehmer was having a financial crisis and need the money that he was owed. He decided he did not want to approach the queen directly and decided to talk to Madame Campan, her chief waiter, to inform her that she owed him money. She did not know of any such
Marie Antoinette did use the money unreasonably and abused the wealth and power she was inherited. But what led this to occur was the tradition of a system of government that created one person to control and overpower one another, leading to inequalities. The absolute monarch had many advantages on always being pleased while the others were judged and used for
King Louis XVI became king at a very young age. At age 15, he had little to no interest in politics and definitely was not prepared to be the leader of a country. Marie Antoinette wasn’t very interested in politics either and would much rather spend her day at the poker table than helping run the country. The members of the 3rd estate were very impacted by her gambling and huge spending. It caused the 3rd estate’s taxes to be raised exponentially and they already couldn’t afford food.
During that time, the economy of France was very poor, Marie Antoinette wore his lady fashion cloth and ate meals in front of public. Her life after married to Louis XVI became very luxurious, because the only thing she knew was spending money in her entertainments. Both of them spent money from government on their entertainments. They made the economy even worse when they wasted money. Instead of ruling the country, Louis XVI chose to spend money and have fun on his entertainment. When the citizens had no money to pay for their taxes, they were spending the money on their entertainment.
Before Marie Antoinette married Dauphin Louis XVI in 1770, the situation in France was already beginning to become disordered. The peasants, which made up about 90% of the population at the time, were treated unfairly and began to feel frustrated and upset with the Monarchy. At the time, Marie Antoinette was distrusted because of her foreign birth and many of the peasants saw her as the source of their problems and disliked her. She was often seen in the past as a bad Queen due to her careless spending and seemingly frivolous lifestyle, now with more evidence and sources, opinions have shifted. Many see Marie Antoinette as a victim of her own circumstances, as it can be seen by the state of affairs in France before her arrival, her upbringing and public opinion before her death during the French Revolution. This essay will illustrate that Marie Antoinette was indeed a victim of her circumstances.