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    Marie Antoinette

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    Marie Antoinette was born in Austria in 1755 and married Louis-Auguste, the heir to the French throne, when she was 15 to strengthen ties between Austria and France. She struggled to adjust to life in France and faced criticism for her lavish spending. As resentment against the monarchy grew during a period of famine and financial troubles, Marie Antoinette became a target of the public's anger. In 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille and the royal family was imprisoned. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed - Louis in 1793 and Marie Antoinette later that same year.

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    Marie Antoinette

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    Marie Antoinette was born in Austria in 1755 and married Louis-Auguste, the heir to the French throne, when she was 15 to strengthen ties between Austria and France. She struggled to adjust to life in France and faced criticism for her lavish spending. As resentment against the monarchy grew during a period of famine and financial troubles, Marie Antoinette became a target of the public's anger. In 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille and the royal family was imprisoned. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed - Louis in 1793 and Marie Antoinette later that same year.

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    Marie Antoinette was born in Austria in 1755 and married Louis-Auguste, the heir to the French throne, when she was 15 to strengthen ties between Austria and France. She struggled to adjust to life in France and faced criticism for her lavish spending. As resentment against the monarchy grew during a period of famine and financial troubles, Marie Antoinette became a target of the public's anger. In 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille and the royal family was imprisoned. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed - Louis in 1793 and Marie Antoinette later that same year.

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    174 views5 pages

    Marie Antoinette

    Uploaded by

    api-272468069
    Marie Antoinette was born in Austria in 1755 and married Louis-Auguste, the heir to the French throne, when she was 15 to strengthen ties between Austria and France. She struggled to adjust to life in France and faced criticism for her lavish spending. As resentment against the monarchy grew during a period of famine and financial troubles, Marie Antoinette became a target of the public's anger. In 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille and the royal family was imprisoned. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed - Louis in 1793 and Marie Antoinette later that same year.

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    Blackstock 1

    Madison Blackstock
    French 111
    Professor Wallenbrock
    2 December 2014
    Historical Moment in France: Marie Antoinette
    Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna was born on November 2, 1755, in Vienna,
    Austria. She was the daughter of the Empress of Austria, Maria Theresa and the Emperor
    of the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I. At the time of her birth, the relationship between
    Austria and France was strained. Hoping to establish an alliance Maria Theresa betrothed
    Marie Antoinette to Louis-Auguste. At this moment Louis-Auguste was only eleven, but
    was the heir to the French throne after his father, Louis Ferdinand, died. At age fifteen,
    Marie Antoinette married Louis-Auguste. She did not adjust well to the French lifestyle.
    Many of her letters she wrote to her mother still exist and Antoinettes homesickness is
    made quite apparent through these letters. Marie Antoinette became the queen of France
    in 1774, after the passing of Louis-Augustes grandfather, Louis XV. Shortly after this
    Maria Theresa discovered that Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste had yet to
    consummate their marriage. She sent her son and Marie Antoinettes brother Joseph II to
    fix this.
    Louis-Auguste is thought to have been a quiet, introverted person and Marie
    Antoinette an extravagant extrovert. Louis-Auguste never took a mistress, but Marie
    Antoinette is rumored to have taken many. Many are likely rumors though, as most of
    France hated her. Her relationship with Swedish Count Axel Fersen is the most widely
    speculated upon however. It is said by some that Louis-Auguste was aware and approved

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    of this relationship though. Marie Antoinette is regarded by many as frivolous and
    extravagant, but many historians debate this pointing to instances in which she helped the
    lower classes.
    In 1789, many French were pushing for a Democracy and after a particularly bad
    farming season and a rise in taxes, the people became livid enough to demand it,
    especially in light of the extravagant life of Marie Antoinette and the other royalty that
    the papers portrayed. Many historians disagree with this view, explaining that Marie
    Antoinette was an enemy of the people before she even arrived, being born into a rival
    family of the Bourbons. In fact, the popular saying Let them eat cake, rumored to have
    been said by Antoinette has recently been proved false. However, an incident regarding a
    1.5 million francs necklace soiled Marie Antoinette reputation, even though she was
    innocent.
    Together Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI had four children, two daughters and
    two sons. Their first child was Marie Therese, named after Marie Antoinettes mother.
    Three years later Louis Joseph was born. Then Louis Charles was born, who died at
    seven from tuberculosis, and finally Sophie, who only survived a eleven months.
    In 1789, Bastille was stormed and shortly after Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, and
    their children, Marie Therese and Louis Joseph, were forcefully moved to the Tuileries in
    Paris, where they were closely watched. Marie Antoinette reached out to other royals,
    including her siblings for help. In 1791, completely desperate Marie Antoinette planned
    an escape attempt for her and her family. It failed and the family was then locked within
    the Tower. On January 23, 1793 Louis XVI was beheaded. Marie Antoinette was then
    moved to the Conciergerie, a horrible prison. There she was treated cruelly and was

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    forced to watch the beheading of her best friend and see her head piked and paraded in
    front of her. Marie Antoinette was allowed to have visitors and through this her jailers
    discovered that the royalist were planning to bust her out. She was immediately put on
    trial and beheaded on October 16, 1793. In 1895, Marie Antoinettes son died and six
    months later Maria Therese was taken to Austria as a prisoner exchange.

    Works Cited
    "Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 29 Nov.
    2014.

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    "Marie Antoinette | Queen of France." Marie Antoinette | Queen of France. N.p., n.d.
    Web. 28 Nov. 2014. <http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95nov/antoinette.html>.
    Covington, Richard. "Marie Antoinette." Smithsonian. Smithsonian, Nov. 2006. Web.
    29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/marie-antoinette
    134629573/?no-ist=&utm_campaign=05162014&page=6>.
    Rodriguez McRobbie, Linda. "What Happened to Marie Antoinette's Children?"
    Mental Floss. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
    <http://mentalfloss.com/article/25186/what-happened-marie-antoinettes
    children>.

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