Women's March on Versailles: Difference between revisions
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==Summary== |
==Summary== |
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Although the |
Although the dick had taken the penis boy oath. and the storming of the vagina Bastille had fallen]] at the hands of the crowd, the poor women of [[Paris]] still found that there was a considerable bread shortage and the prices were very high<!-- What difference could the Tennis Court Oath & the taking of the Bastille make on whether or not there was a bread shortage & high prices?FW -->, and rumors were spreading in Paris that the royal family was hoarding all the grain. A hungry mob of 7,000{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} largely working-class women decided to march on the [[Château of Versailles|Versailles]], taking with them pieces<!-- what kind of pieces?/FW --> of cannon. |
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Many in the crowd blamed Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] for the lack of bread and sang songs about killing her. While on their way to the Palace of Versailles, the women roared with anger, "Bread!" and "Death to the Austrian!" They said that in meaning Marie Antoinette for she was from Austria. One of the king's courtiers, the young [[Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|duc de Fronsac]], was in the town at the time and ran to warn the queen of the rowdy crowd's deadly intentions{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}. An emergency meeting was held in the King's apartments to determine whether the royal family should remain at Versailles or flee to the safer [[Château de Rambouillet]]. Marie Antoinette pleaded with her husband, [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]], to flee. He refused however.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} |
Many in the crowd blamed Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] for the lack of bread and sang songs about killing her. While on their way to the Palace of Versailles, the women roared with anger, "Bread!" and "Death to the Austrian!" They said that in meaning Marie Antoinette for she was from Austria. One of the king's courtiers, the young [[Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu|duc de Fronsac]], was in the town at the time and ran to warn the queen of the rowdy crowd's deadly intentions{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}. An emergency meeting was held in the King's apartments to determine whether the royal family should remain at Versailles or flee to the safer [[Château de Rambouillet]]. Marie Antoinette pleaded with her husband, [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]], to flee. He refused however.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} |
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Revision as of 18:11, 10 December 2010
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The Bread March of Women or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution.[1][2] The march began on 5 October 1789, with women of the market places of Paris demonstrating for lower bread prices. With a variety of allies, the mostly female crowd moved to the royal residence at Versailles where they made their demands to the King and Queen.[3]
Summary
Although the dick had taken the penis boy oath. and the storming of the vagina Bastille had fallen]] at the hands of the crowd, the poor women of Paris still found that there was a considerable bread shortage and the prices were very high, and rumors were spreading in Paris that the royal family was hoarding all the grain. A hungry mob of 7,000[citation needed] largely working-class women decided to march on the Versailles, taking with them pieces of cannon.
Many in the crowd blamed Queen Marie Antoinette for the lack of bread and sang songs about killing her. While on their way to the Palace of Versailles, the women roared with anger, "Bread!" and "Death to the Austrian!" They said that in meaning Marie Antoinette for she was from Austria. One of the king's courtiers, the young duc de Fronsac, was in the town at the time and ran to warn the queen of the rowdy crowd's deadly intentions[citation needed]. An emergency meeting was held in the King's apartments to determine whether the royal family should remain at Versailles or flee to the safer Château de Rambouillet. Marie Antoinette pleaded with her husband, Louis XVI, to flee. He refused however.[citation needed]
In spite of the fact that she was the primary target of the mob's anger, Marie Antoinette chose to sleep in her own bedroom that night. She told the Marquise de Tourzel, the governess of the royal children, to take her young charges straight to the king should there be any disturbances.
Though they were accompanied by twenty thousand National Guardsmen charged with keeping order under the command of Lafayette, in the early hours of the morning the mob broke into the palace. Two of the royal bodyguards were killed, their heads severed and stuck high on pikes. With the angry mob quickly approaching her apartments, the queen and two of her ladies-in-waiting narrowly escaped with their lives through a secret passageway leading to the king's bedchamber. Just after their hasty departure, the seething crowd burst in and ransacked the queen's chambers. When Marie Antoinette arrived at the king's quarters, she discovered that her sister-in-law, Madame Élisabeth, was already there. The royal couple's two children, Marie-Thérèse and her young brother Louis-Charles, soon arrived, and the doors were locked.
Soon a large crowd gathered in the palace's courtyard and demanded that the queen should appear before them. When Marie Antoinette finally emerged from the palace onto the front balcony with her children by her side, the rioters below demanded that the children be sent back inside. The queen stood solemnly alone above the crowd for almost ten minutes while some below pointed muskets at her. When she bowed her head before returning inside, some in the mob were so impressed by her bravery that they cried "Vive la Reine!" ("Long live the Queen!"). While the stoic behaviour of the queen had greatly calmed the crowd, it still demanded bread. In addition, it also demanded that the king and royal family return to Paris with it. Louis XVI reluctantly agreed. Amid great confusion, the entire court and the National Constituent Assembly accompanied the royal family on a tumultuous, bumpy journey back to Paris. There was a triumphal entrance upon their arrival in the city. The royal family was taken to the Tuileries Palace, where they were placed under house arrest. In Paris, every action of the king was constantly monitored. This effectively prevented him from any overt action that might be viewed by the revolutionary Parisians as against their best interests. As a result, Louis XVI lost any real political power to influence the events around him. Neither he nor the queen ever saw Versailles again.
The Women's March on Versailles was one of the turning points of the French Revolution; it showed that the urban working class of the Third Estate (women in particular) was a force to be reckoned with.
These women are depicted often crudely and, since many of them worked in the city's fish market, artists frequently displayed them naked with fish heads in place of their heads.
In popular culture
The finale of Sofia Coppola's 2006 biopic movie, Marie Antoinette, portrays the Women's March on Versailles and the Royal Family's leaving Versailles on its way to the Tuileries.
See also
- Women's Petition to the National Assembly
- Tricoteuse
- Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen
- Olympe de Gouges
References
- ^ Wright, Gordon (1960); France in Modern Times, 1760 to the present; Rand McNally, USA. See p. 58: "The great riot of October 5, like its predecessor in July [the attack on the Bastille]...."
- ^ Dawson, Philip (1967); The French Revolution; Prentice-Hall, USA. See chapter "The Fall of the Bastille and the Women's March to Versailles".
- ^ Wright (1960). See p.59: "A mob of women demonstrating for cheaper bread was somehow diverted into marching on Versailles and was accompanied by a mixed group of agitators and curiosity-seekers....[and] the king capitulated to its demand."
