A Country in Crisis
| France was in the midst of social, political, and financial crisis, and almost nobody was happy with the way the ruling monarch (King Louis XVI) was handling things. (If old Louis were around today, we'd say his approval ratings were "way low.") As it happened though, it was his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, who became the focus of the people's anger. While some of their anger at her was surely justified, it's also true that Marie was their easiest and most visible target. Though she could not possibly have caused or been responsible for all of the country's woes, she quickly became everybody's favorite scapegoat. Try to imagine it: This was a time when common, taxpaying citizens were standing in line for hours just to buy a loaf of bread to feed their families. Meanwhile, Marie had become infamous for her many excesses. While people were starving in the streets, stories of Marie's monster appetite for clothing, jewels, and other luxuries were piling up like one big bad French insult. << Previous Page | Next Page >> |