Marie Antoinette was the wife of King Louis XVI. She was an Austrian and two got married in 1770, before Louis XVI became King of France Queen Marie Antoinette contributed to the outbreak of the 1789 French revolution in the following ways;
The French people hated her to the extent of organizing a revolution against the government because of her Austrian origin. As a foreigner in France, she was always referred to as the “Austrian Woman” which was a sign of lack of popularity and respect among the Frenchmen. This therefore influenced the Frenchmen to organize a revolution in 1789.
The queen lacked the necessary wisdom and a sense of judgment. She got married at avery age age of 16 (sixteen) years. This affected her status and responsibility as a Queen in France which made her unpopular among the Frenchmen. This eventually caused the French revolution of 1789.
The queen of France distanced herself from the unprivileged class of the peasants who were the majority. This was because she belonged to the royal family in Austria as she was a daughter to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. She was therefore a great supporter of the privileges enjoyed by the Clergy and nobles at the expense of the peasants because of her royal background. This also made her unpopular in France.
The queen was insensitive or unsympathetic to the suffering of the French masses which angered them. They thought that it was because of her foreign status that she was inconsiderate to their suffering. This therefore increased their discontent or hatred with her which eventually led to the outbreak of the French revolution of 1789.
The queen interfered with the political affairs in France. This was so because she was the major adviser of her husband and the two made a terrible combination for France. For example, she advised the king to dismiss people with good ideas from government like the two financial controllers namely; Turgot and Necker. The two had suggested abolition of the social classes and their associated privileges so as to solve the problem of bankruptcy. However, the queen advised her husband to dismiss them which he did and this worsened the financial status of France which eventually contributed to the outbreak of the French revolution by 1789.
The queen of France was at the centre and always surrounded by greedy or selfish persons especially the Clergy and the Nobles who had left their provinces and came to live at the Royal court. These supporters of the Ancient regime used the queen to protect their privileges and this caused a conflict between the French masses and their queen that eventually led to the outbreak of the 1789 French revolution.
The queen of France contributed to the bankruptcy of the French treasury which became a major cause of the revolution by 1789. This is because she was very extravagant and fond of pleasure or luxury to the extent that half of the national income of France was spent on her. Her husband committed a lot of money from the state treasury for her expenditure for example on her horses, clothing and entertainment. This caused discontent among the French masses which led to the outbreak of the 1789 revolution in France.The queen of France was a living symbol of the French humiliation in the Seven Years War. Between 1756 and 1763, a hopeless alliance of Austria and France was decisively defeated by Britain. Consequently, France lost her colonies of India and Canada to Britain. This defeat annoyed the Frenchmen and it increased their hatred towards Austria and the Austrian woman which contributed to the outbreak of the French revolution of 1789.
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