Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

Background 1755-1793 Born an Austrian Archduchess Married Louis XVI at age 14 Became queen of France four years later

Reign Appointed friends to positions of power Spent enormous amounts of money on diamonds, gambling and clothes Gave birth to a boy in 1781 (Louis Joseph) Had a small village at Versailles

People resented the fact that she was Austrian and spent money lavishly Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI decide to stay at Versailles, even after the Bastille falls People thought she said “Let them eat cake” upon hearing about the suffering of peasants (never said it)

A mob storms Versailles in October of 1789 Rumors had spread that Versailles was holding all of the grain She and Louis XVI are forced to reside at the Tuileries (pronounced “twooleries”) She will try to escape in 1791, but will fail and will be a prisoner here until 1793

1783 1793

She is put on trial for conspiring with other countries Her brother was Leopold II, Habsburg Emperor Found guilty of treason and sentenced to death On Oct 16th, she was paraded around Paris for an hour and finally executed

Louis XVI 1754-1793

Reign Loved at first, but resented for his indecisiveness His indecisiveness allowed Marie Antoinette to make most of the decisions Still acts as king, even though under house arrest at Tuileries

Tuileries

Tries to escape to Austria in 1791, but captured The Brunswick Manifesto is intercepted July 25th, 1792 This said that Prussia would punish France if the royal family was harmed

The Brunswick Manifesto is taken as proof that Louis is collaborating with foreign countries Louis is arrested August 13th and France is declared a Republic on Sept. 21st Louis was accused of high treason and sentenced to death (Jan. 1793)

Timeline Must have 10 events from French Revolution Need four pictures, color and a title This will be graded and will come in handy next week

Writing Assignment Pretend you are on the jury for the trials of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI You must determine two things Are they guilty? If they are guilty, what should their sentence be You need 10 sentences total