WH Writing Assignment VI
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Writing Assignment VI: The French Revolution
Topic: Discuss the March on Versailles (the March of the Fishwives). Be sure to include such
ideas as the context and time frame (i.e., stage of the Revolution, estate structure), women's
motivations and demands, details of the march, the outcome, the significance, and so on.
(Sources: lecture notes, primary source documents, textbook)
The French Revolution occurred in the years 1789 to 1799 which consisted of three phases. The
first phase, which will be our focus, is called the Constitutional Monarchy Phase which took
place from 1789 to 1791. The reason for this being our focus is because of the March on
Versailles took place during this period, October of 1789 more specifically. Each phase of the
revolution was violent, but this one was considerably less violent than the other two. The second,
most violent phase, is called the Reign of Terror Phase and this occurs in the years 1792 to 1794.
The final phase is referred to as the Directory Phase and this transpires from the years 1794-
1799.
To understand the March on Versailles we should consider what sprung the revolution during this
time period. As mentioned in the lectures, social unrest coupled with economic stress ultimately
led to the beginning of the revolution. It is clear to see this economic strain of France in the
“CAHIER OF THE THIRD ESTATE OF THE CITY OF PARIS”. This cahier was written by the
Third Estate, which consists of everyone in France who was not clergy or nobility, that is
everyone from peasant farmers to the bourgeoisie. In this document under the “Finances”
section, you can see the discriminatory “special taxes” being levied against the French citizens
along with a list of other grievances being presented by the Third Estate. Unfortunately, women
were prohibited from writing cahiers, so they turned to writing their grievances in the form of
petitions or pamphlets.
One of these petitions written is called “Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King”
which was seen as a more radical thing at the time, regardless of if they were considered a
radical or moderate group. In this specific petition, I would consider the composers of the
document to be moderate, as the radical bit will come a later. This petition to King Louis XVI
details the immense hardship women were going through during the time. The petition elaborates
on topics such as education, work, marriage, etc. The document serves as a plea to the king to
allow women a semblance of individuality as well as reserving equal rights for women, the same
rights given to men. Not unexpectedly these pleas went unheeded.
So, in October of 1789, a group of 5,000-10,000 women amassed and began their march on
Versailles. This event is aptly titled the March on Versailles, also known as the March of the
Fishwives. To get more context on the happenings of this event, I will provide an interpretation
of two primary source documents, “Stanislas Maillard describes the Women’s March to
Versailles (5 October 1789)” and “The March on Versailles, the March of the Fishwives”. The
goal of this march was to bring their grievances directly to the king, the main one being that their
families were living in poverty and starving. Firstly, it is important to note that according to the
source document, it is stated that Maillard exaggerates his involvement in the march, so this
examination will not include his role. According to Maillard’s story, it begins with the women
occupying city hall whist not allowing any men to enter the building. Not only did they intend to
occupy city hall, but it is Maillard’s contention that their goal was to destroy it. The women,
along with men joining the march, proceeded to Versailles with pitchforks, broomsticks, lances,
swords, and firearms where they arrived at the National Assembly. Throughout this document
Maillard refers to the behavior of some at the march as unfavorable. This is supported by the
other document provided in which the testimony of Madelaine Glain is given. In this testimony,
she recounts a woman insulting a guardsman while threating him with a rusty sword. In fact, the
Royal Guardsmen tasked to protect the king would all end up being executed for their role. When
the women made it inside the king’s quarters, they demanded change and ultimately coaxed the
king, and the queen, Marie Antoinette, into returning to Paris with them.
The result of this march is that this group of women had successfully taken the king and queen
hostage back to Paris. They wanted them to see the large-scale poverty happening in their
country in which they had been far removed from. The group of women and revolutionaries were
successful in demanding their rights and persuaded the king to accept the Declaration of the
Rights of Man as well as the development of a new constitution for France.
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