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Hello, dear readers, and welcome to another TFOP (Two Friends, One Pen) post! This is Charity. Today, I'm not interviewing anyone, though.
"But Charity," you might complain, "why not?"
Well, I'll let you guess. What's commonly associated with the words "EXTRA EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!"
Need another hint? This gif (yes, I love my gifs) should help.
If you guessed a newspaper article, you are correct! Today, I'm coming to you from late-18th century France to report on the Women's March on Versailles.
THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, FRANCE. OCTOBER 6TH, 1789
Protestors made up of mostly women have caused the royal family and the National Constituent Assembly to move to Paris.
The march began the morning of October 5th, when a young poissarde began beating a drum in the marketplace of Eastern Paris. Gradually, she was joined by other women from other districts. Some women carried makeshift weapons such as cudgels and knives.
"We are hungry for bread," one woman explained when asked the reason behind the march. "The prices are too expensive, and we cannot feed our families."
While making their way to the Hôtel de Ville, the poissardes seized the Church of St. Marguerite. There, they began ringing bells to summon their fellow Parisians to action. Once they arrived, the group numbered seven thousand. They began to chant, "When will we have bread?"
Stanislas-Marie Maillard, a former member of the National Guard, fortunately dissuaded them from burning down the Hôtel or wreaking even more havoc than they already had.
"I fully support their cause, but I cannot let them tarnish its reputation," he said. "I told them I would lead them to the king, and that seemed to satisfy them."
When they reached the palace of Versailles, they demanded to see the king. Surprisingly, he agreed. A small group of women met with him. Their spokesperson was Pierette Chabry, a girl of a mere seventeen years of age.
"I was so nervous," she later recounted. "I fainted at his feet."
The king called for smelling salts to revive the girl and helped her up himself. Then he promised that he would order food delivered to Paris. This appeased some of the marchers.
However, many remained discontent. Early on the morning of the sixth, some of the crowd was able to enter the palace. Unfortunately, fighting broke out, and some guards were killed. The Marquis de Lafayette prevented any more necessary deaths from occurring, thankfully. The protestors demanded that the king and his family move to Paris, and they agreed to those demands.
The royal family is expected to promptly move into the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
That's it! *collapses 'cuz I stayed up way too late to make this post* If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe, like this post, and leave a comment below. #FiestyFemalesinHistory
Bibliography
“French Revolution for Kids: The Women's March on Versailles.” Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc. , https://www.ducksters.com/history/french_revolution/womens_march_on_versailles.php.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Women's March on Versailles: Turning Point in the French Revolution.” ThoughtCo, 6 Aug. 2020, https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-march-on-versailles-3529107.
Mark, Harrison W. “Women's March on Versailles.” World History Encyclopedia, 8 June 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/Women's_March_on_Versailles/.
Nalle, Julia, and Rob Nalle. “Chapter 25: The French Revolution.” The BiblioPlan Companion Year Three, vol. 2, BiblioPlan for Families, Palmyra, Virginia, 2014, pp. 612–613.
Great job, Charity!!