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Marie Antoinette is born.
Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1756 to the royal family of Austria, her mother being the monarch Maria Teresa. Marie would grow up to be one of the key people in the French Revolution (Plain 10). -
Freedom to worship granted in Russia.
Czarina Catherine the Great granted the freedom to worship in Russia (Grun 532). Before this there was great prejudice against Jewish people and their right to practice their own religion was hardly acknowledged. -
Marries King Louis XVI
Arranged by their royal parents, 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis. Due to the fact Louis was next in line for the throne this allowed Marie to become a royal in the country of France. This inevitably would set Marie up to be consantly judged while in the public eye (Beck 575). -
Hatred towards Marie from the noble court.
Four years before Louis even took power, the other court nobles expressed distaste towards Marie due to her Austrian birth (Byers 258). Austria and France, at that time, could be considered enemies. This is the cause of Marie's early unpopularity that could do nothing but grow over the years of rule. -
Nitrogen is discovered.
Daniel Ruthersford and Joseph Priestley are able to indeptendently discover the element of nitrogen (Grun 533). Nitrogen is not only included on the Periodic Table of Elements, but also is an essential piece in science today. -
Lottery system introduced in United States.
America's congress institued the lottery system in oder to increase revenue (Grun 534). Still today the lottery system draws in millions of dollars each year to every state and its introduction helped add a new element to American's lifestyle. -
First political cartoon introduced.
Thomas Rowlandson is the first person to draw a political cartoon (Grun 536). Still today these cartoons or setches of political figures or parties are still featured in all different sources. They can even convince inconclusive voters to vote for one option or another. -
"Diamond necklace affair"
Marie had, for many years, been a rather extravagant shopper who wasn't very aware of spendings. Now queen, Marie was accused of buying a necklace containing 647 diamonds (Beck 570). The public was outraged thus increasing the queen's unpopularity. And considering France's economy was not in the best shape, Marie was given the nickname "Madame Deficit" (575). -
Dollar currency introduced in United States.
Before this, usually bartering and trading is how one would obtain something. Thankfully dollar currency, or paper money, was introduced to make buying and selling things easier (Grun 536). This is a vital part of everyday life still today in America and across the world. -
Marie says, "let them eat cake."
France had a growing populatrion of starving people at this point in time. When Marie was told of this she said to the messenger, "let them cake" (Did Marie Antoinette Really Say, "let them eat cake"?). This showed Marie was out of touch with society; she should have known that her subjects could not afford to buy such an expensive item. Most people could not even get their hands on bread, let alone cake. This angered the people of France even more. -
Marie is blamed for nation wide debt.
With even more debt and an extravagant queen, Marie was used as a scapegoat and was blamed for the piling debt of the nation (Plain 27). Not only that, but when a parade of delegates paraded through French streets, including the king and queen, only silence could be heard for the two monarchs as opposed to the once exsisting cheers. This was the first time that the public made their negative opinions known in such a strong way (27). -
Death threats yelled to queen.
Starvation was spreding through the nation, with citizens looking through garbage for bread to eat. Thus a mob of angry, hungry women came pounding on the palace doors (Plain 71). They were not allowed entry, but death threats towards the queen could still be heard. It was then that Marie realized that her life was now in danger due to her political status. -
Mozart dies.
Wolgang Amadeus Mozart died after being bedridden for a month due to excessive vomiting and swelling (Grun 537). Mozart was a musical prodigy who was responsible for writing 600 pieces of work. His death was a great loss to the musical world; they lost one of the most influential composers of the Classical Era. -
Royal family tries escaping Paris.
The monarchy was slowly losing control and power over the country. So a plan was put into action: Marie and her family attempted to sneak to the city of Tuileries in the middle of the night. (Jones 186) They thought in a new city, with less hatred towards them, Louis and Marie could try regaining rule. However they were stopped and sent back; on the return trip to Paris they were spit and sworn at. (187) This shows that even the king and queen knew that they were starting to lose authority. -
France decalres war on Austria.
Having been in debt since aiding America in the American Revolution citizens were becoming more concerned about their lives and well being. Therefore Louis and fellow consultants declared war with Austria in order to distract French subjects from problems at home (Plain 33). This, however, was a wrong move because it inevitably led to move French debt and unpoplarity for the queen. -
Louis sentenced to death.
The once ruling monarchy was eventually overthrown by the National Convention. After going through a trial Louis XVI was sentenced to death for "conspiring with liberty" (Plain 34). This was important because the king was executed, the queen was imprisoned, and the reign of monarchies was over in France. -
Marie Antoinette is executed.
After first being imprisoned in August, Marie was also sentenced to death by the National Convention (Byers 258). She was charged with aiding the enemy and inciting civil war in France by Maximillian Robespierre (258). She was said to have, "kept her courage and dignity until the end (Plain 37). This was the death of the queen who was part of one of the most unlikely monarchy. This was also the final step to the uprising of the French Revolution.
