King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s Failed Escape
Both King Louis and Marie Antoinette loved living in luxury. Because of this, they increased the taxes the people in the third estate had to pay and used it for themselves. This angered many French citizens. It led to their storming into the palace and imprisoning them. With the other members of the Royal family, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette tried to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution. But their escape failed because they went to Austria in June 1791, and this led them to a small town named Varennes. They were immediately recognized and arrested by a post-master. They were brought back to Tuileries Palace which is in Paris, and was placed under house arrest. This was the turning point after which popular hostility towards the French monarchy became much more pronounced. The attempted escape provoked charges of treason which lead to the King's execution in 1793. People say that the plan failed because of the king's indecision. He kept on postponing the schedule, making the small problems bigger. Another mistake he made was that he thought that he was loved by the people and that only a small portion of his people were promoting a revolution. He was killed on January 21, 1793.
Sources:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2435590/King-Louis-XVI-and-the-French-Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/marieantoinette/faces/louis_xvi.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_to_Varennes
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/French%20Revolution/album/slides/royal%20family%20of%20pigs%20returned%20to%20barn.jpg
Bethina Lu #17
Mikaela Mendoza #18
Sources:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2435590/King-Louis-XVI-and-the-French-Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/marieantoinette/faces/louis_xvi.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_to_Varennes
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/French%20Revolution/album/slides/royal%20family%20of%20pigs%20returned%20to%20barn.jpg
Bethina Lu #17
Mikaela Mendoza #18