The King and the Revolution.

The King and the Revolution.

Tasks…

1) Carefully look at sources A, B, and D. What kind of person do you think Louis XVI was?

2) Now look at sources C and D. How would you describe Marie-Antoinette?

3) Can you be sure that your descriptions of Louis and his queen are accurate? Explain your answer.

4) Find all the dates on this worksheet and write them in your margin. Next to each date, write down the event it relates to.

5) In what three ways did Louis behave badly in the years 1789-1791?

6) How did Louis show that he could not be trusted during this time?

7) What point was the cartoonist of source E trying to make? Explain your answer.

8) Mini-essay (at least one page of your exercise book) – How did Louis deal with the difficulties he faced in the years 1789 – 1791? Use the information and sources on this sheet, as well as your previous work.

1.      I think that Louis XVI was not really a terrible person. He was educated to be an absolute ruler of France because that was the kind of government established in the country. It was not entirely his choice. However, during his reign he could have carried out measures to improve the peasants ‘living conditions. When the Revolution broke out, he demonstrated certain sympathy towards people since he accepted to rule under a constitutional ruler. I think he was an undecided King and that was one of the reasons why the revolution began.

Some people also believed that he was an honest man who wished to do good, but he had not either genius or education to govern France properly and avoid the revolution.

2.      Marie Antoinette was clear examples of how luxurious were the royalist´s lifestyle. He had a strong influence over Louis XVI´s decisions regarding politics. She was highly criticized for spending so much money and people considered that her extravagance had been a major cause of exhausting the government’s finances.

3.      I cannot be sure because this is what I can interpret from people´s opinion from that time. I think that the clergy or the noble may have thought that they were great monarchs since they provided rich people with a lot of privileges. However, poor people had a critical view on Louis and I think that their opinion is an accurate one.

4.       1774                                  Louis came to the throne.

May 1789                                Meeting of the three Estates.

5-6 October, 1789                                 The Paris mob attacked Louis’s palace at Versailles.

September 1791                                when the constitution was finally proclaimed, Louis signed an oath of loyalty.

June 20-21, 1791                               Louis attempted to escape to Montmedy, near the Austrian Netherlands.

June 22^nd                                Louis and his family were captured and brought back to Paris.

September 3^rd 1791                                The constitution was proclaimed and Louis swore an oath of loyalty to it.

          September 30^th 1791                       The National Assembly declared its work finished.                             

5.      Louis behaved badly in the years 1789-1791 because he went on supporting the nobles although they had left him alone. He agreed with his wife’s actions which were a bad influence on him. He committed a lot of mistakes when trying to escape from France and that is why he and his family were discovered and brought back to Paris where they were humiliated.

6.      Louis demonstrated that people could not trust him because he did not come out with solutions to reform the country and he hid from the public. He also tried to escape to another country leaving people ungoverned and unprotected.

7.      The cartoonist of source E tried to exaggerate the fact that the King and his family were not well received in France. After their failed escape, they were brought back to Paris and people laughed at them and they were forced to obey the new constitution established by the Assembly.