Louis XVI |
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What happened during the French Revolution?
The French Revolution: battles, deaths, injuries, ruins and constitutional government.
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Louis XVI |
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What happened during the French Revolution?
The French Revolution: battles, deaths, injuries, ruins and constitutional government.
In 1789, the French government was deeply in debt from gross over spending and bad management. The French government had run up a high debt due to fighting in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). They were also pouring money into supporting the American colonists in their fight for independence against the British during the American Revolution. The nobility was also living a lifestyle of excess and waste. Poor harvests in 1788 led to food shortages, rising food prices, unemployment and starvation. But still the government continued to collect taxes from the poor, while French nobles paid almost no taxes.
The anger of the French people grew. In 1789, King Louis XVI, needing money to pay off his debts, decided to raise taxes. He called a meeting of the Estates General. The Estates General was made up of representatives from three groups of people, or estates. The First Estate was made up of clergy, the Second Estate was the nobility, and the Third Estate included everyone else. Members of the Third Estate had virtually no power in the government but paid almost all the taxes.
On June 17, 1789, the representatives of the Third Estate broke away from the Estates General and formed a new group called the National Assembly. They swore to meet separately until France became a constitutional government. Some members of the First and Second Estates joined them. In need of a unified group to have new taxes passed, Louis gave into the Assembly's demands. He then urged the rest of the nobles and clergy to join the Assembly. In July 1789, Louis gathered troops near Paris. The people of Paris feared that he was going to seize power from the Assembly and go back to his old methods of absolute power.
During that period of time, France was governed by their king, under an absolute monarchy and by divine right, where the right to rule was thought to have come from God. In the 18th century, French writers and foreign philosophers began questioning this right and raising radical ideas about freedom and human rights. One particular idea that inspired the French Revolution was the suggestion that the right to govern the country came from the people. Soldiers returning from America introduced the idea of fighting for freedom and citizen rights.
The result of all these difficulties was the Storming of the Bastille to free political prisoners, and there was much rioting in the streets. The people overthrew the king. The people then used the guillotine to annihilate the noble class and even King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. The victims of this hatred also included the leaders and priests of the Catholic Church, who had always sided with the nobles. (The religious were often the sons and daughters of the nobility.)
Picture of a gulliotine from The Age of Revolution by J.M. Roberts
How did this affect Madeleine Sophie?
The storming of the Bastille, in 1789, marked the start of the bloody French Revolution. At the time, Madeleine Sophie was 10. Madeleine Sophie experienced the hardships of a country in revolt.
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"St. Thibault's had been used regularly from 1790 for town meetings and was closed to Christian worship for a year, from 1794-1795. There was great unrest generally in the Yonne region, expressed in food riots stemming from the danger of famine following the severe winter of 1788-89 and the consequent rise in food prices. In September 1790 and in the spring of 1793 there was famine in Joigny which inflamed revolutionary spirit and anger. In February 1792, vineyard workers rioted in Joigny." Phil Kilroy |
There was little food and it was not safe to play outside. She surely noticed the feelings of suspicion and tension among her neighbors. People were being unjustly turned over to the mobs. There was fear and violence in the small towns in France as well as in big cities. The window from her room had a clear view of the action down Rue Davier. (see movie). It was noisy and difficult to sleep calmly. Her brother, who was waiting to be ordained as a priest had to go into hiding to avoid being taken by the mobs.
Her mother had this painting of Jesus that showed His heart, a future symbol of the Sacred Heart community. If the picture was found in her home, the family would be thrown in jail . This is because the Sacred Heart was a symbol that was also used by the "counter-revolutionary" groups in France. Surviving and growing up in these frightening times probably gave Madeleine Sophie the courage to carry on with her faith as she faced problems later in her life.
 HOME |
 TEACHER |
PARENT |
 MOVIE |
 CHILDHOOD |
JOIGNY |
NEIGHBORS |
REVOLUTION |
 VOCATION |
FASHION |
PLACES |
 DEATH |