[2] Stoking their anger even further, the king even stated on 4 October that he had reservations about the Declaration of the Rights of Man. A participant in the October march on Versailles (1789) In October 1789, a committee of the National Constituent Assembly carried out an inquiry into the events of October 5th and 6th, when a Parisian mob marched on Versailles. [11], One of the men was the audacious Stanislas-Marie Maillard,[17] a prominent vainqueur of the Bastille,[18] who eagerly snatched up his own drum and led the infectious cry of "à Versailles! Are you certain this article is inappropriate? On October 6th Louis XVI appeared before the crowd and agreed to return to Paris. It is to my good and faithful subjects that I confide all that is most precious to me”. A historian’s view: Most marchers, it seems, were desperately hungry and hoped to petition the king to alleviate bread shortages in Paris. David Andress, historian. Marseillese sing their wild To Ar... ...atres, Boulevards, Streets; and the heart burns in every bosom: Aux Armes! Behind them, at a distance, Lafayette followed with the National Guard.          Political / Social. More women from other nearby marketplaces joined in, many bearing kitchen blades and other makeshift weapons, as the tocsins rang from church towers throughout several districts. Monarchists and conservatives of all degrees had thus far been unable to resist the surging strength of the reformers, but by September their positions were beginning, however slightly, to improve. [61] Still, the pall of suspicion helped convince him to take on Louis XVI's offer of a diplomatic mission conveniently outside the country. [24], United Kingdom, European Union, Italy, Canada, Spain, French Revolution, New York City, World Bank, Food, Sweden, France, Haiti, Rum, French Revolution, French Guiana. This site is created and maintained by Alpha History. Long live King Orléans! They milled around the palace grounds with rumors abounding that the women's deputation had been duped – the queen would inevitably force the king to break any promises that had been made. Many Parisians queued for hours, only to go home empty-handed. "[47] The relieved king briefly conveyed his willingness to return to Paris, acceding "to the love of my good and faithful subjects". The king heard their case and promised to take action to alleviate the food shortages in Paris. In October 1789, thousands of Parisians, many of them women, embarked on a 12-mile march to Versailles, the residence of the French king Louis XVI and the National Constituent Assembly. On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women demanding bread for their families gathered other discontented Parisians, including some men, and marched toward Versailles, arriving soaking wet from the rain.They demanded to see "the Baker," "the Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy". French Revolution memory quiz – events 1789-91, French Revolution memory quiz – events 1792-95, French Revolution memory quiz – events to 1788, French Revolution memory quiz – terms (I), French Revolution memory quiz – terms (II), French Revolution memory quiz – terms (III), Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, A participant in the October March on Versailles (1789), A French nobleman describes the October Days (1789), Three eyewitness accounts of the October Days (1789). At about six o'clock in the evening, the king made a belated effort to quell the rising tide of insurrection: he announced that he would accept the August decrees and the Declaration of the Rights of Man without qualification. At the end of the Ancien Régi… For revolutionaries, the preservation of their recent legislation and the creation of a constitution were paramount, and a lockdown of the king within reformist Paris would provide the best possible environment for the Revolution to succeed. During the October Days, as many as 30,000 people laid siege to Versailles and petitioned the king and the National Constituent Assembly. The deregulation of the grain market implemented by Turgot, Louis XVI's Controller-General of Finances, in 1774, was the main cause of the famine which led to the Flour War in 1775. [8] Although his efforts were foiled, revolutionaries continued to hold onto the idea of a march on Versailles to compel the king to accept the Assembly's laws. The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. The October Days refers to the journée of October 5th and 6th 1789, when a crowd of several thousand Parisians, many of them women, marched on Versailles to pressure the royal government. Rumors of a plot aiming to destroy wheat crops in order to starve the population provoked the Great Fear in the summer of 1789. AUSTRIA quarrels with France. Eventually, the popula… Armed with various weapons including pikes, pitchforks, and muskets, the women began to march. The Paris women were driven by famine; they and their children were hungry. [49] The procession could seem merry at times, as guardsmen hoisted up loaves of bread stuck on the tips of their bayonets, and some of the market women rode gleefully astride the captured cannon. URL: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/october-march-on-versailles/ [32], With few other options available to him, the President of the Assembly, Jean Joseph Mounier, accompanied a deputation of market-women into the palace to see the king. Just as the ordinary ... ...nce the Faubourg Saint- Germain existed at all—which is to say, ever since Versailles 27 Balzac ceased to be the royal residence—the Faubourg, with s... ...shifted under his feet at every step; and when, at the end of a long day’s march, he lay down to sleep 43 Balzac on the ground, he had never been so ... ...ge and gave him new strength. Driven to desperation by food shortages, they hoped the king would intervene – but some had more sinister ambitions. These reports, along with rumours of more debauchery at Versailles, caused outrage among the working people of Paris. Have faith, justice we prevail March! By October 4th, Parisians were taking to the streets in protest, not just about the conduct of soldiers at Versailles but also a chronic shortage of bread and other foods. google_ad_width = 160; Then bloody hell will break loose. The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. Viscount Mirabeau (the brother of the famous Mirabeau) grabbed the bosoms of the prettiest women, and the most indecent behaviour occurred in the sacred place of representative government.”. The women's march began three months after the storming of the Bastille, in the markets of Paris amid anger at the price of and scarcity of bread. Some had more violent intentions, seeking retribution against the king’s soldiers or his wife, the much-despised Marie Antoinette. March to Versailles On October 5th 1789, a violent dispute broke out in Paris at the Hotel de Ville regarding the lack of bread throughout the country. Feeding children seemed like an impossible task. But it was the crudely decisive invasion of the palace itself that was most momentous; the attack removed for… The shortages of bread in early October were unexpected and gave rise to conspiracy theories. The Women's March on Versailles in October 1789 is often credited with forcing the royal court and family to move from the traditional seat of government in Versailles to Paris, a major and early turning point in the French Revolution. google_ad_height = 600; The soldiers were given no orders to fire on civilians and many soldiers openly mingled with them. For its inheritors, the march would stand as an inspirational example, emblematic of the power of popular movements. Like many of the revolution’s fateful journées, the October Days were triggered by the circulation of provocative rumours. It gave the revolutionaries confidence in the power of the people over the king. Late in the evening, drunk soldiers were reportedly seen standing on tables, shouting and singing bawdy songs. The king was indeed considering this, and when on 18 September he issued a formal statement giving his approval to only a portion of the decrees, the deputies were incensed. Famine was a real and ever-present dread for the lower strata of the Third Estate, and rumors of an "aristocrats' plot" to starve the poor were rampant and readily believed. On October 5, 1789, women had suffered enough injustice as a result of the economic crisis in France. The units had a history of cooperation and a military sense of mutual respect, and Lafayette, who had been snatching a few hours of sleep in his exhaustion, awoke to make the most of it. The mood of the people was joyous and optimistic, yet also triumphant and intimidating. [6] Worse, many feared that the king, emboldened by the growing presence of royal troops, might simply dissolve the Assembly, or at least renege on the August decrees. Context. 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