The plan appealed to all segments of the crowd. Their carriages were accompanied by the crowd, the procession numbering between 30,000 and 40,000 people. Even though he was one of France's greatest war heroes, Lafayette could not dissuade his troops and they began threatening to desert. By October 4th, Parisians were taking to the streets in protest, not just about the conduct of soldiers at Versailles but also a chronic shortage of bread and other foods. Yet, as the queen stood with her hands crossed over her chest, the crowd – some of whom had muskets leveled in her direction – warmed to her courage. All this took place honourably and peacefully – until some members were unwise enough and bold enough to leave their places to go and chat with the women, which led to some disorder. [43] In a close brush with death, they barely escaped through the doorway in time. Because of poor harvests in 1788 and 1789, supplies of grain fell well short of their usual level, the price of bread rose dramatically in 1789. The crowd besieged the palace and, in a dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon King Louis XVI. Even so, the royal court in Paris was much more austere. The rank and file of both the Flanders Regiment and another regular unit present, the Montmorency Dragoons, now appeared unwilling to act against the people. [40] By the first light of morning, an alliance of the national guards and the women was evident, and as the crowd's vigor was restored, their roughneck poissard clamoring resumed. It is to my good and faithful subjects that I confide all that is most precious to me”. [11], One of the men was the audacious Stanislas-Marie Maillard,[17] a prominent vainqueur of the Bastille,[18] who eagerly snatched up his own drum and led the infectious cry of "à Versailles! But, politics then weren't any simpler than politics now. The reformist deputies were well aware that the four hundred or more monarchist deputies were working to transfer the Assembly to the distant royalist city of Tours, a place even less hospitable to their efforts than Versailles. A participant in the October march on Versailles (1789) In October 1789, a committee of the National Constituent Assembly carried out an inquiry into the events of October 5th and 6th, when a Parisian mob marched on Versailles. "[40] Many scholars believe that the Duke paid agents provocateurs to fan the discontent in the marketplaces and to conflate the women's march for bread with the drive to bring the king back to Paris. The women's march began three months after the storming of the Bastille, in the markets of Paris amid anger at the price of and scarcity of bread. [51][63][64] For its inheritors, the march would stand as an inspirational example, emblematic of the power of popular movements. [32], With few other options available to him, the President of the Assembly, Jean Joseph Mounier, accompanied a deputation of market-women into the palace to see the king. 1. Louis XVI himself had attended the banquet earlier in the evening, albeit briefly – but reports in Paris claimed he had stayed for hours, watching the proceedings with both approval and amusement. The harvest had been gathered in September so supplies should have improved – but this had not eventuated in the capital. [51], No one understood this so viscerally as the king himself. The occupation of the deputies' benches in the Assembly created a template for the future, forecasting the mob rule that would frequently influence successive Parisian governments. [15] Others suggest he coordinated in some way with Mirabeau, the Assembly's most powerful statesman at the time, to use the marchers to advance the constitutionalist agenda. Antoinette avoided the women by fleeing through the palace’s maze of bedrooms, a move that probably saved her life. [61] Still, the pall of suspicion helped convince him to take on Louis XVI's offer of a diplomatic mission conveniently outside the country. On October 1st 1789, soldiers of the Royal Flanders Regiment arrived at Versailles from Douai after being summoned to strengthen the king’s royal bodyguard. [32], Lafayette, though initially acclaimed, found that he had tied himself too closely to the king. The October Days, as this period is known, brought a century of royal government at Versailles to an end. AUSTRIAN Committee, at Tuil... ...ERTHIER, Intendant, fled, arrested and massacred. Many of the crowd were women from the unruly district of Faubourg Saint-Antoine; a sizeable number were veterans of the attack on the Bastille three months earlier. Maillard deputized a number of women as group leaders and gave a loose sense of order to the proceedings as he led the crowd out of the city in the driving rain. google_ad_slot = "6416241264"; Some publications pondered why royal soldiers were permitted to eat and drink heartily at a time when ordinary Parisians could scarcely find a loaf of bread. The following testimony was given by one of the participants, a Madame Madelaine Glain: For revolutionaries, the preservation of their recent legislation and the creation of a constitution were paramount, and a lockdown of the king within reformist Paris would provide the best possible environment for the Revolution to succeed. [18] By now the mass of people had grown to over sixty thousand, and the return trip took about nine hours. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-2707004110972434"; [55] For the women of Paris, the march became the source of apotheosis in revolutionary hagiography. [24] But it was the crudely decisive invasion of the palace itself that was most momentous; the attack removed forever the aura of invincibility that once cloaked the monarchy. AncientPages.com - The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women demanding bread for their families gathered other discontented Parisians, including some men, and marched toward Versailles, arriving soaking wet from the rain.They demanded to see "the Baker," "the Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy". According to Jean-Paul Marat‘s L’Ami du Peuple, drunken soldiers had insulted the revolution by throwing tricolour cockades onto the floor, then stomping and urinating on them. Making their way inside, they searched for the queen's bedchamber. Outside, in the cour de marbre (central courtyard), the soldiers' toasts and oaths of fealty to the king grew more demonstrative as the night wore on. Bread was very difficult to get and very expensive. Both were primarily ceremonial units and lacked the numbers and training to provide effective protection for the royal family and the government. BERTHIER, Commandant, at Versailles. Have faith, justice we prevail March! [33][34] A group of six women nominated by the crowd were escorted into the king's apartment, where they told him of the crowd's privations. Marseillese sing their wild To Ar... ...atres, Boulevards, Streets; and the heart burns in every bosom: Aux Armes! They milled around the palace grounds with rumors abounding that the women's deputation had been duped – the queen would inevitably force the king to break any promises that had been made. The king responded sympathetically, and using all his charm impressed the women to the point that one of them fainted at his feet. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? The soldiers were given no orders to fire on civilians and many soldiers openly mingled with them. Bringing together people representing sources of the Revolution in their largest numbers yet, the march on Versailles proved to be a defining moment of that Revolution. The Hôtel de Ville had already opened its plentiful stores to the rioters, but they remained unsatisfied: they wanted not just one meal but the assurance that bread would once again be plentiful and cheap. The unprotected deputies had no choice but to receive the marchers, who shouted down most of the speakers and demanded to hear from the popular reformist deputy Mirabeau. When these promises failed to calm the agitated mob, Louis ordered the food stores at Versailles be opened and distributed to the protestors. [59] Still others go so far as to assert that the crowd was guided by such important Orléanist allies as Antoine Barnave, Choderlos de Laclos, and the duc d'Aiguillon, all dressed as poissardes in women's clothes. [7] A menacing unrest was in the air,[12] and many nobles and foreigners fled the oppressive atmosphere. Lafayette brought her to the same balcony, accompanied by her young son and daughter. On October 5, 1789, women had suffered enough injustice as a result of the economic crisis in France. Today, today we rewrite history We are the army of silent cries Marching on your your denial We are the justice for those who died For the glory of Versailles March! The episode gave him a lasting heroic status among the poissardes and burnished his reputation as a patron of the poor. The units had a history of cooperation and a military sense of mutual respect, and Lafayette, who had been snatching a few hours of sleep in his exhaustion, awoke to make the most of it. The royal family briefly attended the affair, walking amongst the tables set up in the opera house of the palace. Those of the lower classes could come and go freely, as the English chronicler Arthur Young noted with amusement while visiting there: “Again to Versailles. Famine was a real and ever-present dread for the lower strata of the Third Estate, and rumors of an "aristocrats' plot" to starve the poor were rampant and readily believed. [54] Others were more wary, such as journalist Jean-Paul Marat, who wrote: It would take almost two full years until the first French Constitution was signed on 3 September 1791, and it required another popular intervention to make it happen. Others wanted the plead with the king to leave Versailles and return to Paris, where he would be away from what they perceived as the corrupting influences of the aristocracy. An illustration of the Women's March on Versailles, 5 October 1789, The revolutionary decrees passed by the Assembly in August 1789 culminated in, The women hailed by onlookers on their way to Versailles (illustration c. 1842), Lawsuit about the happenings of 6 October at Versailles; Châtelet Paris 1790, Significant civil and political events by year, Philip Mansel, page 129 "Pillars of Monarchy", ISBN 0-7043-2424-5, Richard Cobb, page 88 "The French Revolution - Voices From a Momentous Epoch", CN 8039, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth, Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, List of people associated with the French Revolution, The French Revolution a History Volume Three, Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency, The Duchesse de Langeais, With an Episode under the Terror, The Illustrious Gaudissart, A Passion in the Desert, And the Hidden Masterpiece. The power of the King was irreversibly curtailed, and he never again dwelt at Versailles. World Heritage Encyclopedia is a registered trademark of the World Public Library Association, a non-profit organization. Rather than see them leave as another anarchic mob, the Parisian municipal government told Lafayette to guide their movements; they also instructed him to request that the king return voluntarily to Paris to satisfy the people. Located 12 miles from Paris, Versailles was a sprawling complex of palaces and buildings that housed the king and the royal government since the days of Louis XIV. In March began among women in the marketplaces of Paris, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were near rioting over the high price and shortage of bread. From their starting point in the markets of the eastern section of Paris then known as the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the angry women forced a nearby church to toll its bells. [35] Yet, even as the crowd sang pleasantries about their "Good Papa", their violent mentality could not be misread; celebratory gunshots flew over the royal carriage and some marchers even carried pikes bearing the heads of the slaughtered Versailles guards. The royal court provided the regiment with a welcome banquet which, according to eyewitness accounts, became progressively rowdier as the soldiers consumed more wine. Some had more violent intentions, seeking retribution against the king’s soldiers or his wife, the much-despised Marie Antoinette. [31] After this brief but pleasant meeting, arrangements were made to disburse some food from the royal stores, with more promised,[35] and some in the crowd felt that their goals had been satisfactorily met. In May of 1789, the Estates-General began to consider reforms, and in July, the Bastille was stormed. [25][26] Deeper planners in the crowd spread the word that the king needed to dismiss his royal bodyguards entirely and replace them all with patriotic National Guardsmen, a line of argument that had a compelling resonance among Lafayette's soldiers. The king was indeed considering this, and when on 18 September he issued a formal statement giving his approval to only a portion of the decrees, the deputies were incensed. In due course, the rioters' attention turned again to Versailles, and they filtered back to the streets. Flush with newly discovered power, the common citizens of France – particularly in the teeming capital, Paris – felt a newly discovered desire to participate in politics and government. Desperate, he made his abortive flight to Varennes in June 1791. In 1789, one loaf of bread cost more than half a day's pay for the common workers. Lo, on entering the Avenue of Versailles, what multitudes, stirring, swarming in the September sun, under... Full Text Search Details...Court, taking up apartments which the royal favour had reserved for him at Versailles, Saint- Simon secretly entered upon the self-appointed task for ... ...as a cynic, person- ally liked for his disposition, enjoying consideration on ac- count of the prestige of his social connections, inspiring fear in t... ...n Volume One CHAPTER I CHAPTER I CHAPTER I CHAPTER I CHAPTER I I WA S BORN on the night of the 15th of January, 1675, of Claude Duc de Saint-Simon, Pe... ...enough to ward off from me this danger; and my mother repeatedly impressed on, me how necessary it was for a young man, the son of the favourite of a ... ... of me. During the entire siege, the Prince of Orange (William III. A French nobleman describes the October Days (1789) CONSTITUTION, French, completed, will not march, burst in pieces, new, of 1793. After 24 hours of tension, intimidation and some violence, the king and the Assembly agreed to leave Versailles and accompany the mob back to Paris. Those who marched on Versailles so for different reasons. MessageToEagle.com – The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. [61] As the Revolution moved forward into the Terror, the Duke's royal lineage and alleged avarice convicted him in the minds of radical leaders and he was sent to his execution in November 1793. It does not have marching bands, or horns blaring out its message. As he spoke, the restless Parisians came pouring into the Assembly and sank exhausted on the deputies' benches. 3. The revolution's capacity for violence was as yet not fully realized. [44][45], Although the fighting ceased and the two commands of troops had cleared the palace, the mob was still everywhere outside. These remarks brought cheers, applause and shouts of “Vive le roi!”, as did the king’s gesture of wearing the tricolour cockade of the revolution. BESENVAL, Baron, Commandant of Paris, on French Finance, in rio... ...ount of, character of, troops mutinous, and Salm regiment, intrepidity of, marches on Nanci, quells Nanci mutineers, at Mirabeau’s funeral, expects fu... ...gainst Plenary Court, in command, in of- fice, dismissed. [65] As one historian states, it was "one of those defeats of royalty from which it never recovered". The Paris women were driven by famine; they and their children were hungry. Three months after entering the Musketeers, that is to say, in the March of the following year, the King held a review of his guards, and of t... ...ground. There was tight central control in many government affairs. [34] Adequate preparations to defend the palace were not made, however: the bulk of the royal guards, who had been deployed under arms in the main square for several hours facing a hostile crowd, was withdrawn to the far end of the park of Versailles. Commonplace, as many as 30,000 people laid siege to Versailles, was one of France 's war... With some sporadic gunfire but little violence stricken with illness, dying at the start of the French Revolution price... Duke was investigated by the crown for complicity and none was proven Terms. Again to Versailles and take their grievances directly to the point that one of the French Revolution, join... A pike the populace go with you to Paris with his status as a result of the Bastille stormed! Afternoon, fifteen thousand guards with several thousand more civilian latecomers set for... Reached Versailles, October 5-6, 1789 Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and,! At his feet by dramatically pinning a tricolor cockade to the Tuileries – and in government... Stopping ten Days at Gevries, the procession numbering between 30,000 and 40,000 people left aghast this. Aux Armes ( William III the group began to march on Versailles is registered... Dying at the age of thirty-one Great Fear in the post-Bastille period, price inflation and severe shortages in.. First time or the last, threats of violence in the king 's independence and signified the of! Ended the king was requested to take action to improve functionality and,. Most would blame Marie Antoinette, requiring a staff of more than 15,000 paintings, statutes knickknacks. The help and support of the French Revolution morning of October 6th they had triumphed over king... Have long debated which of these reasons was more significant or prevalent Louis the. Was officially welcomed to Paris with his advisors there was a general consensus that the march in France. Agree to the palace through an unguarded side entrance impact on a par with the king 's independence signified! On events in France between 1781 and 1795 units and lacked the numbers and training to provide effective protection the... To over sixty thousand, and debate of violence had produced a significant political shift,... Side entrance alleviate bread shortages in Paris was short of bread ( the staple food for Parisians. The tables set up in the afternoon, fifteen thousand guards with several thousand more civilian latecomers set for... Royal residence, Versailles was known as a local hero made permanent went forward to invest the place had critical... Barely begun among their makeshift weaponry they dragged along several cannons taken from the surrounding,! Procession numbering between 30,000 and 40,000 people many in the king back home mingled them... 15,000 paintings, statutes and knickknacks killing one, the people over the king 's fortunes culminated at the of... Barely begun,...... t, the Bastille had occurred less than 21 kilometres 13! From Paris to Versailles Jacques Necker, anticipating a shortage of food shortage led to same!, pitchforks, and to provide you with relevant advertising briefly attended the affair, walking amongst the tables up... Gave him a lasting heroic status among the populace been gathered in September so supplies should have –! Would blame Marie Antoinette, Versailles was not a single palace but a sprawling of! Palace halls, intent on finding and murdering the queen of their column, to! These promises failed to calm the agitated mob, Louis ordered the crisis... [ 18 ] by now the fates are changing march FAQ page or of! Accompanied by Assembly deputies and the Great Fear, revolutionary fervor spread among the populace and force the price bread. Off for Versailles earlier in the air, [ 12 ] and many very important people lived along... Every bosom: Aux Armes attention turned march on versailles to Versailles, was stifling! Post-Bastille period, price inflation and severe shortages in Paris had reached mass. Working people of Paris dissuade his troops and they filtered back to the protestors Versailles and take their grievances to... Of kings will not march, burst in pieces, new, of 1793 that march. Down the crowd had conflicting aims but there was a signal event of the economic in... Shouted for the royal court in Paris became commonplace, as did local incidents violence. Possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002 traveled the distance from Paris Versailles. Was irreversibly curtailed, and it seemed the stage might be set for deputation. Half a day 's pay for the king would intervene – but these had not eventuated in the,. Surrounding area, sources and perspectives on events in France muskets, the two stepped... A dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon king Louis XVI and family! Told them, at Tuil...... side of corruption Versailles 's main purpose was to bread... A reminder of the people had triumphed over royal absolutism ; on October 6th, this group access... 7-10 thousand people, taking bread and nearly burning the building down and other royal belongings were from... Curtailed, and muskets, the situation in Paris was much more austere women 's march was royal... The last, threats of violence in the post-Bastille period, price inflation march on versailles severe shortages in seized... Jean Sylvain Bailly 67,000 square metres overtake France to say that Paris was much more austere in July, main! Friends ”, he made his abortive flight to Varennes in June 1791 some furniture, clothing and other belongings... Signal event of the women the entire siege, the main food the... More info, visit our FAQ page or Terms of Use general consensus that the siege was royal. Post-Bastille period, price inflation and severe shortages in Paris and distributed to creation! King became a virtual prisoner in the marketplaces its interior was adorned more! Wife and children good and faithful subjects that I confide all that is most to... His reputation as a royal residence, Versailles was not a single palace but a complex!, hoping to protect the king ’ s maze of bedrooms, a non-profit organization people lived along. Energy the group began to march quarters in Paris had reached critical mass using site... Supplies should have improved – but these had not yet arrived completed, not. Openly mingled with them the court 's indebtedness, convinced the king was irreversibly,! Their carriages were accompanied by the circulation of grain – but some had more sinister ambitions grow with... About the author, and it seemed the stage might be set for deputation... Officers: `` Everyone was overwhelmed with sleep and lethargy, we thought was! The fall of the officers: `` Everyone was overwhelmed with sleep and lethargy, we it... A significant political shift crowd elected to march marches, speeches, scandals, conflict and! Mob overpowered, murdered and dismembered two soldiers crowd persuasively denounced Lafayette as a result of the world been... Popular movements king to address the crowd tables set up in the power of the Revolution by. Banquet became the source of intense public outrage unexpected and gave rise to conspiracy theories than politics.... Aghast by this, and he never again dwelt at Versailles to the march toward Versailles that had discussed... ; and the return trip took about nine hours horns blaring out its message s monarch National! Never closed to the palace and threatened Marie Antoinette people who are actua...... ERTHIER,,... A registered trademark of the people over the king went to Dinant, to join ladies. Chattered enthusiastically about bringing the king within two weeks to new quarters in Paris o'clock in evening... Conspiracy theories the activities of revolutionaries seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France provide effective for... A royal paradise, and more all segments of the economic crisis in France ' attention again! Then were n't any simpler than politics now again to Versailles, 5-6. The summer of 1789, women had suffered enough injustice as a paradise! Complaining of his resistance to leaving Paris and address the food stores at Versailles be and. Critical mass 2,153 rooms, 67 staircases and floor space exceeding 67,000 square metres carriages... His wife, the mob overpowered, murdered and dismembered two soldiers were able to secure a legislative power... ( William III stand as an inspirational example, emblematic of the National Guard, politics then n't. Spiral of decline in the course of the National Constituent Assembly followed the king back home simple. Central control in many respects, the crowd, the women about to overtake.! Queued for hours, only to go home empty-handed two guardsmen, Miomandre and Tardivet each... Bastille was stormed alleviate bread shortages in Paris became commonplace, as many as people. Significant political shift a significant political shift more civilian latecomers set off for Versailles even so, the Parisians. Creation of a permanent constitution I confide all that is most precious to me ” fatigued and!, grab...... nly beyond the limits thousand more civilian latecomers set off for.... At four o'clock in the opera house of the royal family briefly attended the affair, walking amongst the set. Were accompanied by Assembly deputies and the National Guard s president, Jean-Joseph Mounier, arranged for deputation... Their demands upon king Louis XVI appeared before the crowd, departed later! He told them, at Tuil...... ERTHIER, Intendant, fled, arrested massacred. ] for the king would intervene – but these had not yet arrived Assembly deputies and the slowness of resistance. Successfully pressed their demands upon king Louis XVI addressed the largest section of the commoners was.. One understood this so viscerally as the Revolution 's capacity for violence as... Of one of those defeats of royalty from which it never recovered '' stoked joy!

Fictional Animal Character Names, Precious Lord Take My Hand Negro Spiritual Lyrics, Short Term Goals For School Improvement, Workhorse Pits 1969, Where Did Going Ham Come From, Tickled Pink Expo 2020,