Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette

Chapter 4 (purple section)

Multiple Choice

What do these pie charts reveal about the causes of the French Revolution?

• all the estates were taxed equally

• the upper classes paid the most taxes

• the poorest classes paid all the taxes

• the third estate was the wealthiest

Multiple Choice

What name did Louis XIV give himself?

• The Sun King

• The Son King

• The Most Catholic King

• The Lord Protectorate

Primary Focus

• Identify Marie Antoinette and describe her effect on the French people

• Explain the meaning behind the legendary saying, "then let them eat cake."

Chapter 4 Vocabulary

• Dauphin (n): The title given to the prince who is next in line to inherit the French throne.

• Indulge (v): To allow someone to do what they want; to spoil someone

• Arrogance (n): A belief or feeling of superiority

• "Foreign Ambassador" (phrase): A person from another country who is an official representative of his or her government

Marie Antoinette

• Born in Vienna, Austria in 1755

• Mother = Austrian Empress Maria Teresa

• Father = Holy Roman Emperor Francis I

• Education focused on religious and moral principals, not academics

Map of Europe 1748

French - Austrian Alliance

• Alliance created between the two countries in 1756

• France and Austria had been enemies for around 200 years before this alliance

• Alliance did not change people's feelings about each country

• French people thought the alliance was a trick to weaken France under the illusion of friendship

• Marie Antoinette was promised to Louis XVI to strengthen this alliance

Marriage to Louis XVI

• Married at the age of 14 before she'd ever met Louis Augustus (Louis XVI)

• Many French people did not trust her from the start

• Visited Paris for the first time 3 years after she was married, the first time she encountered common French people

• 1774 - Became Queen of France (19 yo). Louis XV died suddenly of Smallpox

Multiple Choice

Who was Marie Antoinette's husband

• Louis XVI

• Francis I

• Louis XV

• Louis XIV

Queen of France

• While some did not trust Marie, others were happy with Marie and Louis XVI

• Louis XVI had simple tastes unlike Louis XV

• Some people viewed the two as a breath of fresh air and hope for the future

Marie as Queen

• People quickly began to dislike her

• Rumors about her interfering in her husband's decisions about matters of state

• She was raised as a rich and spoiled child

• As an adult, she was determined to always get her way

• King Louis XVI indulged her

Problems in France

• Courtiers realized they could use Marie to get things from the King

• Louis XVI fired Louis XV's ministers who had begun to make reforms

Problems in France

• Reforms to have the aristocrats (2nd Estate) pay a fair portion of taxes, which aristocrats resisted

• Firing the ministers made aristocrats happy because they could live their lives as they had before

The Extravagant Queen

• Lived in luxury and had little understanding of how ordinary people lived

• Loved to spend money and have a good time

• Hated to be bored so she avoided boredom at the expense of her queenly duties

Extravagant Queen

• Louis XVI gave her an allowance double the previous queen's

• Marie Antoinette was still constantly in debt

• Loved to gamble

• Constantly bought new clothes (~$2 million per year)

Extravagant Queen

• Had access to the French crown jewels, but still bought her own jewelry

• Wore elaborate hairstyles that could reach several feet high

• Hairdos could have miniature scenes of people, houses, animals

• Le Petit Trianon

Le Petit Trianon

Le Petit Trianon

• Small mansion gifted to Marie by Louis XVI when she became queen

• Closed off the grounds so the public could not access her area

• She had it remodeled and the gardens were redone to match current styles

• Also had Hameau de la Reine built for her enjoyment

Hameau de la Reine

The Queen's Hamlet

• Built a "peasant village" on the grounds

• She had people pose as peasants and walk around the village

• Marie and her friends would pretend to be peasants and act as shepherdesses or milkmaids

• At the same time, the government was in debt, people were starving, and peasants suffered

Marie & the Revolution

• Many blame Marie Antoinette and her spending and thoughtless behavior as the cause of the French Revolution, but this is not entirely the case

• To many French people, Marie was the symbol of everything that was wrong with the monarchy and social structure in France

"Then let them eat cake."

• At the start of the French Revolution, people were hungry due to the food shortage

• It was rumored that when Marie learned that people were rioting and didn't have bread, Marie responded with, "well, then let them eat cake."

• Historians now believe she never said this BUT the people of France at the time believed she did

• Convinced the people that she was cold-hearted and cruel

Multiple Choice

Why did many people disapprove of Marie Antoinette?

• She was Austrian

• She was accused of interfering with political decisions that the King was expected to make

• She built a make-believe peasant village at Le Petit Trianon

• All are correct

Multiple Choice

A famous story told about Marie Antoinette has her saying which of the following?

• "Then let them eat cake."

• "I am the state."

• "After me, the deluge."

• "I feel like the universe is going to fall on me."