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

Fill in the Blank

Marie Antoinette was born in 1755 and died in 1793. How old would she have been in 1793?

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."