The French Revolution was a period of radical change of political, economic, and social structure in France in the eighteenth century. During this period, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were in power, but soon were beheaded by the infamous guillotine during the overthrowing of the French monarchy. This was caused by their neglect to address the agrarian distress between the middle class and peasants in France, the lack of trust between the French and their monarchy due to Queen Marie-Antoinette’s suspicious correspondences with Austria, and the sheer and absolute hatred that the French had for the Austrian Empire in which Queen Marie-Antoinette was born in. The French Revolution was brought about from many reasons, one of these …show more content…
As Austrophobic feelings increased, the French people’s desire to dethrone Queen Marie-Antoinette grew extremely strong. Many people who supported the execution via guillotine of King Louis XVI agreed that Queen Marie-Antoinette should also be executed on the same day (Kaiser, 596). This did not occur, because the French hoped that in prolonging her life they could somehow reach a negotiation with Austria and use her for part of it. This adversely made the French even more hateful towards Queen Marie-Antoinette because they believed that even if she was imprisoned, “the former queen was plotting to mobilize foreign forces against the Revolution” (Kaiser, 597). The utter fear the French had of their Austrian descended Queen led to her nickname as “The Austrian …show more content…
Edmund Burke was criticized by stating that the Queen fled her dwelling “en deshabille” (Blakemore, 514) which means nearly naked. Although there were several occurrences where people may have broken into the Queen’s dwellings, there was no physical proof of her running out of her room in less than acceptable attire. This shows how determined the French were to diminish the reputation of the Queen, even if it went as far as being almost satirical. Another great rumor during the time was that a “mob, frustrated that they could not find the queen, ‘pierced the mattress with pikes and committed other indignities’” (Blakemore, 520). Even though these things have next to no evidence, the mere fact that the French would go to the lengths to make up such elaborate and extreme stories that could possibly incriminate those mentioned in it if ‘witnesses’ said that the accounts were true, shows how much the French despised the Queen. This sheer amount of hatred towards the Queen and her Austrian heritage was the backbone to her demise and how Queen Marie-Antoinette lost her
...ult to choose her growing environment, and also she was influenced by Louis XVI, as I mentioned above. Marie Antoinette was just viewed as a traitor, because she support Austria instead. She will definitely support her brother, because he was her family. French people couldn't forgave her. After she married, she need time to get use to her new life, but her husband didn't stop her to spend that much money, because he himself did that too, so their behaviors slowly became a cause of French Revolution.
Catherine de Medici’s culpability for the turbulent events in France in 1559-72 remains a topic of some debate. Highly personal protestant pamphleteers associated Catherine with sinister comparisons to the contemporary evil Machiavelli which eventually developed into the ‘Black Legend’. Jean.H. Mariégol consolidates this interpretation, overwhelmingly assuming Catherine’s wickedness; the Queen Mother was deemed to be acting for ‘personal aggrandizement’ without an interest in the monarchy. Neale provides a corrective arguing a ‘dominant maternalism’ drove Catherine’s policies. Sutherland critiques Neale, suggesting he is guilty of using misconceived qualifying phrases from the ‘Black Legend’ stemming from the contemporary pamphlets, instead Sutherland and Heller attempt to disentangle Catherine from the context of the xenophobic Protestant pamphleteers that shaped much of Catherine’s historical analysis thus far, revealing the ‘politique’ whose moderate policies were a force for stability. Knecht is most convincing in his assertion that whilst the ‘Black Legend’ is a misrepresentation of her character and policies, Sutherland goes too far in whitewashing Catherine. Ironically, Catherine as a ‘politique’ aimed for complex policies and yet her role in French politics was over-simplified by contemporaries and arguably even by modern historians contributing to overly polarised interpretations. Instead we should bear in mind the violent pressures Catherine faced in the context of the collapse of monarchical authority and follow the more nuanced interpretation of her role.
King Louis attempted to escape, but was quickly captured, taken back to paris, and was tried and executed for crimes against the people. Louis XIV, executed in 1793, was the last Bourbon king of france. Nine months later, his wife was executed. His wife was Marie Antoinette, an Austrian. She married king louis XIV when she was only fifteen years old and had a tough time being queen ever since she got married. She Was blamed for the country going downhill, and she had to live under the supervision of the revolutionary once they took over. In 1793 her husband was executed, and nine month later, so was
Arranged marriages for political and royal reasons have never been uncommon in European history, although most of them never lead to the destruction of the Monarchy itself. Some may argue Marie Antoinette was destined for failure, while others believe it was her own doing that led to her fate at the guillotine. From her years as an Austrian Princess, to the last Queen of France, Marie always lived a lavish lifestyle. She was brought into a country where was lavish was on the outs due to economic struggle, but being wealthy alienated her from her people severely. She was famously misquoted for saying “Let them eat cake!” in reference to the bread shortage. A foreigner amongst her new kingdom, but no longer apart of the one she grew up in, Marie
King Louis nation had a massive reaction focused on the King’s plight and return. The Reaction was not only seen in Paris alone but also on the other provinces, where a widespread phobia caused by foreign invasion led to the utter news of the King’s escape. Nevertheless, Tackett identifies the royal family plight to flee France as one of the most critical moments in the history of the French revolution. The king’s flight opens a window to the whole of the French society during the revolution. The purpose of the Kings flight was to offer freedom of action in terms of power and this was in regards to the King’s power and rule. The royal couple together with their advisers had unclear political agenda for their nation. Similarly, it is in the vent of these unclear goals factored by the Kind’s technical knowhow of not making decisive decisions that led to the stoppage of the royal family at Varennes and thereafter their return to Paris. The consequence of their return to Paris was the onset of the constant possibility of the end of the Monarch reign. On the same case, it is as a result of the royal family escape attempt and failure necessitated the integrity of the King as a constitutional monarch. On a much more political notion, The King’s hope of survival is mitigated
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne de Habsbourg-Lorraine was born in the mid-eighteenth century as an archduchess and princess, to Maria Teresa, the Austrian Empress, at the very apex of the European hierarchal pyramid. She was an essential part to the oldest royal European house, as it became known that her sole duty in life was to unite the two great powers and long-term enemies of Austria-Hungary and France by marriage. She was brutally overthrown by her own starving people and portrayed to the world as a villain and abuser of power, whereas sympathy for the young queen should be shown.
The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.
Marie-Antoinette tried to fix the rapidly deteriorating position of the crown by having secret negotiations with Antoine Barnave, who was the leader of the constitutional monarchist section in the National Assembly.19 Barnave was the one who managed to coax Louis to sign the new constitution of France in 1791.20 But Marie undermined his position by trying to break off the revolution by secretly bringing her brother Leopold II into things.21 She encouraged him towards military intervention in French affairs, leading to a manifesto with Austria and Prussia promising to help the French monarchy in 1791.22 After the French people declared war on Austria in 1792 because of fears of invasion,23 Marie and Louis sided with Austria because they hoped it would crush the revolutionary forces and ideas of the people.24 But none of this helped because the royal family was involved with events too far out of their control. The people absolutely hated that she was supporting her brother’s invasion of France, rather than helping the French. The “Let them eat cake” rumor did not help her either, because it was helping fuel the people’s hatred of her by showing off her ignorance to how her people felt. There was also a thief who posed as Marie in 178525 who stole a 647-diamond necklace and it was taken to London to be sold in England.26 She was found to be not
The French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...
Cause of the French Revolution The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution. Many people were making a case for a new concept of society, in which commoners, especially the educated middle classes (bourgeoisie), had.
Causes of the French Revolution On July 14, 1789, several starving working people of Paris and sixty soldiers seized control of the Bastille, forever changing the course of French history. The seizing of the Bastille wasn’t caused by one event, but several underlying causes such as the Old Regime, the raising of taxes, the American revolution, and the idea and beliefs of the philosophers. The immediate causes of the revolution were the rising price of bread and the locking of the third estate out of its meeting hall. Finally, the spark was the ordering of the Swiss guards to Paris by Louis the XVI. The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime.
The counter claim won't afflict too much damage hopefully.Whenever Marie Antionette was queen of France she didn't pay much heed to the need of her subjects. It is said that whenever she was told that her French subjects did not have any bread to eat she simply said,"qu'ils mangent le gâteau," which later translated to let them eat cake. Many also hated for using tax dollars on clothing and rennovating her castle. Many hated the queen these reasons and is what perpetually lead to her death.
Causes and Effects of the French Revolution The Revolution. The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism.
The French Revolution, which occurred from 1789 to 1799, was a time where the monarchy was overthrown, a republic was formed, and limits were put on the church. The French Revolution ended with the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The French Revolution created France’s legislative assembly, which is still in place today. Many would argue that the Enlightment was a cause of the French Revolution, but the Enlightment was not one of the main drivers for the Revolution. The bad living conditions, France’s monarchy, and the involvement in the American Revolution and other wars caused the French Revolution.
Jean Plaidy and John Russell are both Historians who opposed the idea of Marie Antoinette having any responsibility in the invoking nor the starting of the French Revolution. Plaidy and Russell both state that the Dauphin’s only duty to France and her people was to simply bore the country an heir to continue the reign of the Bourbon Dynasty. Thus, the Dauphine’s duties were not to foresee the country’s affairs, organise and implement laws nor take part in government relations, accordingly, Marie Antoinette was not responsible for the French Revolution because firstly, she eventually bore the country and heir and fulfilled her duties and secondly, the country’s affairs such as the laws and how the government operated were never her responsibilities,