Lauren - French Revolution Monarchs

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were prominent figures in the times before the revolution. They were known to be weak leaders and big spenders, some even going as far as to nickname Marie Antoinette the “Duchess of Debt.”

Lots of unrest during this time was caused by the extravagant spending done by the king and queen, but were they really all to blame? Antoinette and Louis made many bad decisions in terms of ruling the country but I believe it was out of ignorance rather than malice. Both were thrust into royalty early in their lives, by getting married at 14 the king and queen didn’t have enough experience not having everything done for them. Neither had a chance to think for themselves or learn how to do things without anyone else. As the Dauphine and Dauphin, everything was done for them.  
                It wasn’t helpful that they didn’t have good role models. Louis XIV wasn’t known to be a strong leader and was more concerned with himself than the kingdom or the people who were starving. Maybe if Louis XVI had been taught how to lead France they would’ve been better equipped to handle the growing debt and unrest that was taking place during this time. Marie Antoinette or Louis XVI didn’t choose to be in power. Ever since Louis was young he was going to be King, whether he liked it or not. He was born into royalty and had no say in the matter. It didn’t matter if he was interested in politics or a strong ruler at all. They weren’t the only reason France was bankrupt either. France had money problems long before they came into power. The royal family’s personal spending made up little of Frances total expenses and it is believed that other royals spent more than Marie did.
                The palace of Versailles was also completely out of the way of Paris, therefore the queen and king really had no idea how bad it was. They didn’t visit Paris except to the rich areas and didn’t see how badly the poor were living. Marie Antoinette already had the odds against her once she married Louis. The French were very unaccepting of foreigners and didn’t like Austria at the time. Marie, being from Austria, already had a majority of France against her before she even ruled. She wasn’t as shallow and vain as the people made her out to be either. Marie spent much of her time advocating for smallpox vaccinations, giving money to charity and even starting her own. She even invited poor children to play with hers and did everything in her power to keep them from become snobbish royalty.

The monarchy and Old Regime was unfair but the queen and king didn’t purposely ruin the economy of France. They believed what they were doing was for the best and without ever having to experience the problems of the poor they didn’t know any better. They weren’t the only royalty that didn’t care about the people and many before them were way worse, but the accumulation of everything contributed to the stigma around royals and their selfish ways. In my opinion Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were simply victims of a rough time and didn’t intentionally hurt the country, but instead did what they thought was best despite being ignorant to the problems they were causing until it was too late.