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Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI's Marriage
Marie Antoinette and King Louis's marriage is very controversial. Marie Antoinette's mother is Maria Theresa, the Hapsburg Empress. Austria and France are long-term enemies, and the marriage was supposed to help create a bond between the two countries. But how could we have accepted our enemy as our leader? She doesn't know what we've been going through, and only takes up our resources. Her wasteful use of money earned her the name "Madame Deficit," and resentment towards Marie Antoinette grew. -
King Louis XVI's Reign Starts
The beginning of King Louis XVI's rule over France. When he started his reign, France was already heading towards destruction. Our crop failures throughout those years lead to us suffering from extreme starvation. Our economy was in ruins and we were suffering greatly. It was not a good time for King Louis, who wasn't interested or skilled in governing a country, to rule France. -
King Louis XVI's Coronation
King Louis's Coronation was very extravagant, which began the disconnect between him and his people. While he had large feasts in the Palace of Versailles, the French people were starving. Additionally, Louis was detached from the government. He would rather go out hunting than create a bill to help us. Anytime he would try to help us, it would be too little, too late. For example, he forced a meeting of the estates general to help the tax situation, but 97% of the population only had 1 vote. -
King Louis Aids in the American Revolutionary War and Sends France into Deeper Debt Along with Marie Antoinette
During the American Revolutionary War, King Louis decided to send exorbitant amounts of money and supplies to them to aid their fight against the British. Remember, we were starving and suffering from poverty because of the declining economic situation in France. The additional spending made by Marie Antoinette on gambling, clothing, jewels, and gifts did not help the debt. Louis's indecisiveness and lack of leadership skills allowed this serious problem to go on for as long as it did. -
The Tennis Court Oath
During the first meeting of the Estates-General in 175 years, King Louis denied the Third Estate Representatives with more voting power. He sided with the nobles and ordered the Estates-General to follow the old medieval rules. This caused our Representatives to declare themselves the National Assembly, whose purpose was to end absolute monarchy in France. This was all caused by Louis trying to reduce our power in government. The next events truly showed us the type of leader King Louis is. -
The Storming of the Bastille
After the Tennis Court Oath a few years earlier, King Louis XVI decided to station Swiss Soldiers around Versailles. This caused many people to think that he was planning an attack; either against the Third Estate representatives to stop the drafting of a new Constitution, or to massacre the French citizens. Everyone was scared, and decided to take action into their own hands by storming the Bastille. King Louis XVI's poor actions caused the storming, which greatly fueled the Revolution. -
Versailles Gets Stormed During the Women's March
In the Women's March, the Palace of Versailles was stormed by women who were angry about the rising prices of bread. The king and queen's negligence towards the people led to this event. They demanded that King Louis and Marie Antoinette move to Paris and leave behind Versailles. This is the first time in over 100 years that Versailles hasn't been occupied by the royal family. Many wonder if it'll stay this way, or if King Louis and Marie Antoinette will go back. -
King Louis Tries to Run Away
As the government of France were being restructured, King Louis made an extremely controversial decision. He took his family and fled to the Austrian Netherlands. Luckily, he was caught before he got to the border, and is now back at Paris under heavy guard. The fact that he left behind his country enraged the citizens. How could he abandon us like that? For this treason, he should be executed. He doesn't care about us, so we shouldn't care about him. -
King Louis Reluctantly Signs the Constitution
Following the establishment of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the National Assembly created a new Constitution. King Louis signed this Constitution in hopes that it would repair his relationship with the French citizens, but it was too late. The Constitution creates a limited constitutional monarchy, which strips Louis of his authority. It replaces him with the Legislative Assembly, which can create laws or approve or reject declarations of war. However, he can still enforce the new laws. -
Marie Antoinette is Tried For Treason
Since Marie Antoinette's family is Austrian, she sent letters to Austria while we were fighting them on the battlefield. Her infamous reign as queen did not help stop her from being convicted for treason. However, I believe that killing her for this reason will only anger the Austrians more. They're fighting us because they believe that we're going to spread our anti-monarch ideals to their country, and killing the queen after we already killed Louis will only fuel their determination more.