(Trip Falcon Blog)

Our first stop in our tour in history is before the French Revolution at the Palace of Versailles. The palace was built from a small hunting lodge to a grand palace while Louis XIV was in Reign. To understand what the palace represents you would need to understand what Absolutism is.

Absolutism

Absolutism is a term invented by historians when they looked back at the type of government Louis XIV ran. An Absolute Monarchy means the following.

The King or Queen has absolute power over their country.
The King or Queen answered to no one.
The King or Queen is responsible for the life and welfare of his or her subjects.

King Louis XIV

King Louis XIV (Chateau De Versailles)

It was obvious that King Louis XIV thought very highly of himself. A sign of this was he insisted that his administration refer to him as the sun-king. If anything, this showed that he thought of himself above everyone else just like the sun. A sure sign of Absolutism.

The Palace of Versailles and King Louis XIV

A King's Walk at Versailles (Jerome)

Louis loved the outdoors and fell in love with the area his father's hunting lodge was located in. Starting in 1661, The king oversaw a constant stream of construction projects. (Chateau De Versailles)

The forecourt - 1662
The “Le Vau Envelope” - 1668-1670
The Pavilions of the Secretaries of State - 1670-1671
The South Wing - 1679-1681
The Grand Commun - 1681-1684
The North Wing - 1685-1689
The Royal Chapel - 1699-1710

King Louis XIV worked hard on building out the Palace. He felt this was a representation of his power and authority. (Chateau De Versailles) Unfortunately he could not complete everything by the time of his death in 1715.

Life in The Palace of Versailles

Over 10,000 people lived and worked in the Palace and it was open to all walks of life. From the Royal Family to the nobles and to the peasants. Even though it was open to all types of people, life was different for every one of them.

Nobleman - The Kings and Queens apartments were in the middle of the palace and the Nobleman's apartments surrounded both sides of the monarchy. The Nobleman were basically King Louis XIV Court, France's Government also known as the First Estate.

As a nobleman, your typical day will be to wait on King Louis and fulfill his every need. Starting at the crack of dawn to when the King retires that evening. You do this so you can win favor with the King and in doing so are able to expand or improve your territory in which you govern. On top of all of this, you will have to pay to stay in the Palace.

The King's consorts - The King loved women. In King Louis' memoirs he noted when he traveled, his coach was always filled with his mistresses. (Saint-Simon) If you happen to be one of the King's love interests, you will get an apartment next to his. Your apartment would be bigger than the Queen's apartment and you would be treated like royalty.

Servants - If you are lucky, you can get hired as one of the royal family servants. Jobs range from being a stable boy to working in the kitchen. Housing will be provided. You will get to live in the Grand Common with France's military. This is where most of the 10,000 employees live. The military will be housed in the spacious lower rooms while the servants get to share in the small rooms hosted in the attic.

The French Revolution

After Louis XIV death in 1715, The palace was abandoned until 1722. King Louis XIV heir, Louis XV, would expand the palace by adding a Royal Opera House in 1770. Both Louis XV and Louis XVI tried to continue to run the Absolutism Government Louis XIV had setup. Unfortunately, France was on the verge of becoming bankrupt and her people were starving. During the reign of Louis XVI, the people started to revolt.

Revolutionary Poster (Chateau De Versailles)

As you can imagine, this was a very chaotic time in France's history. There were many small gatherings that started revolting against France's government. King Louis XVI tried to end the revolts but failed. So, he was forced to summon the Estates General.

On May 4, 1789, King Louis XVI arranged one of the last celebrations held in the Palace. This was to celebrate the gathering of the Estates General. The Estates General included over 1,200 representatives from France's three estates. The Estates are, The Clergy, The Nobility and The Common People. The purpose of the Estates General was to advise the King with their recommendations. This gathering of the Estates General decided to assert their authority and to demand a constitution. This only added fuel to the rebellion.

Five months later a group of women stormed the palace and chased the royal family back to Paris.

Our next stop is going to be at Cleopatra's Needle in Paris. This is the site of the French Guillotine. - The Cleopatra’s Needle

Works Cited

Chateau De Versailles. Chateau De Versailles. n.d. 6 April 2023. <https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history#the-reign-of-louisxiv1638-1715>.

Les Collections. 1792 - 1793. 10 April 2023. <http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/?permid=permobj_bd46a545-d761-42f9-9cab-0ea524c882e5#a4907a83-1745-40e8-a663-4e92daef6840>.

Chateau De Versaillies. Chateau De Versailles. n.d. 10 April 2023. <https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history#the-reign-of-louisxiv1638-1715>.

Jerome, J. L. The Kigns walk at Versailles. Memoirs of Louis XIV. Paris, 1819. 07 April 2023. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3875/3875-h/3875-h.htm#image-0004>.

Saint-Simon, The Duke of. Memoirs of Louis XIV., by The Duke of Saint-Simon. 23 August 2016. 10 April 2023. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3875/3875-h/3875-h.htm>.

Trip Falcon Blog. 9 June 2020. 6 April 2023. <https://www.tripfalcon.com/blog/news/the-stunning-palace-of-versailles-has-reopened-to-visitors>.

Traveling During the French Revolution

Absolutism, the Palace of Versailles and the Start of the French Revolution