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When people think of The French Revolution, they think of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. The blame for The French Revolution was put mostly on her. Marie Antoinette is a misunderstood historical figure who does not deserve the bad name she has been given. She was the first victim of bad publicity, for example, the infamous saying “Let them eat cake”. Marie Antoinette did contribute to the debt the French state was in, but only slightly. Her husband, Louis XVI’s, grandfather contributed to the debt much more than her or Louis XVI did. She did not do enough damage to be blamed entirely for the debt and revolution.
Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna, Austria as an Archduchess. Marie was the fifteenth child of the Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. Marie did not exactly have the ideal childhood. Marie’s mother sometimes neglected her because there were many other children to take care of. In an article on Wikipedia it says, “Maria Antonia later described her relationship with her mother as one of awe-inspired fear” (“Marie Antoinette” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia). To end the bad relationship between Austria and France, Marie was arranged to marry the fourteen year old dauphin of France, Louis Auguste.
After getting married, Marie was officially restyled from Maria Antonia to Marie Antoinette, Dauphine Of France (“Marie Antoinette” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia). Marie and Louis did not consummate their marriage for seven years. Her mother constantly criticized her for it, going as far as saying she was no longer pretty. Because of the lack of affection from both her mother and her husband, Marie started to spend more and more money on parties, gambling, clothes and the like (“Marie Antoinette” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia).
Marie was definitely not the cause of The French Revolution. Her husband’s grandfather, Louis XV should take more of the blame. During Louis XV’s reign (which was from 1715-1774) he spent extreme amounts of money on warfare and adding to the Palace of Versailles. During his time as King, France went through three wars, the first one beginning in 1733 and the last ending in 1763. In the last of these wars, The Seven Years War, France lost their territories in Canada, Louisiana, and parts of the Caribbean (“Louis XV (1710-1774). ” ). Louis XV also put many add-on’s to Versailles.
He added things such as apartments and improved the garden, and some of these things were not finished until the 1990’s. It is no wonder that Louis XVI and Marie were not great rulers when they had to follow Louis XV. As uneducated as Marie was, she did not fully understand the economic problems France was in (“Marie Antoinette. ” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th Edition). Supposedly, when Marie was told that the people had no bread, she said “Let the eat cake! ” (“Marie-Antoinette. ” Britannica Biographies). Marie never actually utter those words.
Another princess named Maria Theresa, was probably the one who said it, a century before Marie was ever queen (Covington, Richard. “Marie Antoinette. “). This statement ruined Marie forever. Although Marie did not fully understand the economic problems, she knew that there were some and tried her best to help. She reduced household staff because there were people with unnecessary positions based on privilege. This upset many people. Marie and her husband were in favor of change, it was the nobles who opposed the financial reforms that the government suggested (“Marie Antoinette. ” Lucidcafe: Library).
Unfortunately, no matter how much Louis and Marie did, their fate was the guillotine. They were arrested for treason. Marie was guillotined on October 16, 1793, at 37 years old, without any proof of her charges (“Marie Antoinette. ” Lucidcafe: Library). Marie Antoinette does not deserve to be blamed for The French Revolution. Louis XV contributed to the debt more than she ever did. She never uttered the words “Let them eat cake! “. She did try to make things better in France. Marie Antoinette is a misunderstood historical figure who does not deserve the bad name she has been given.