Final Paper - DeAnna Sadlier p 3 The Last Queen of France...

DeAnna Sadlier
p. 3
5/3/15
The Last Queen of France
Marie Antoinette was one of the most infamous queens in the history of France. Marie’s
mother, Maria Theresa the Empress of Austria, arranged the marriage of Marie to Louis XVI to
create an alliance between Austria and France (Lever, pg 12). Marie Antoinette was only 15
years of age when she was wed to Louis (source 5). To the people of France, she was one of the
main causes of the Revolution. “Every evil is attributed to her and she is given no credit for
anything good…The King is weak and suspicious; the only person he trusts is the Queen, and
they say she does everything” (Lever, pg 142). The last queen of France was hated among the
people, and her actions as queen caused her to be most renounced symbol of the French
Revolution.
Marie Antoinette was born on November 2
nd
, 1755 in Vienna, Austria. She was the
fifteenth child of Maria Theresa. Marie grew up with the education of any aristocratic girl in the
18 th century. After the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, the main priority of the Empress was
an alliance between Austria and France. Eventually the Empress was able to arrange a marriage
between Louis-Aguste and her daughter, Marie Antoinette, in 1765. They were wed on the 16 th of
May, 1770. (All facts stated above are from source 4.)