Louis XVI Family Return to Paris, 1789
Entitled: "Triomphe de l'ArmeÌ© Parisienne rÌ©unis au Peuple a son retour de Versailles ÌÁ Paris le 6 Octobre 1789." The march on Versailles on October 5, 1789, began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries, who were seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France. A mob of thousands, encouraged by revolutionary agitators, ransacked the city armory for weapons and marched to the Palace of Versailles. The crowd besieged the palace and, in a dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon King Louis XVI. The next day, the crowd compelled the king, his family, and most of the French Assembly to return with them to Paris. The vast throng escorted the royal family and a complement of one hundred deputies back to the capital, this time with the armed National Guards leading the way. By now the mass of people had grown to over sixty thousand, and the return trip took about nine hours. 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. Celebratory gunshots flew over the royal carriage and some marchers even carried pikes bearing the heads of the slaughtered Versailles guards. No artist credited, undated.
Size: 5100px × 2737px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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