The Women's March on Versailles in October 1789 was a turning point in the French Revolution. Thousands of hungry, angry women marched to Versailles to demand that the King address the severe bread shortages plaguing the common people. Upon arriving, the women killed two royal bodyguards. King Louis XVI, fearing for his safety, agreed to the women's demands to distribute bread from Versailles to Paris. The march demonstrated the power of the common people and contributed to the decline of the King's authority.

1. Research PaperThe Woman’s March on Versailles was a huge turning point in the French Revolution, it was also known as The Bread March of Women. At the time, bread was the peasants’ main food, these people could not live without their “French Bread.” But in August 1789, after the French National Assembly taken their oath, the price of bread increased dramatically and there was constant shortages of bread. The average price of bread being purchased was doubled, then tripled in amount (up to 18 sous!), the price has increased greatly and made it very costly for the people to buy food; working people would spend more than half of their salaries just for bread. This naturally became the problem for women, who just wanted to feed their families and themselves. These women felt that the price for Bread was too high, and were willing to fight for more less expensive bread. Mobs began to form, and one time the streets murdered a baker for rising his price of bread. The people were forced to fight, for what they needed.While the third estate was starving in the streets, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived a very luxurious life; eating lavish foods, that will more than enough feed their needs. Versailles was known as a royal paradise, where many parties were held with royal guests. King Louis XVI did nothing but eat and hunt, while Marie Antoinette would primp herself, in the most outrageous fashions. None of them realized what was happening behind the palace’s walls. A rumor started to go around in the village that most of the grain is stored in the King and Queen’s palace. Early in the morning of October 5, 1789, a large group of French women came together in the central marketplace of Paris. A hungry group of 7,000 working woman gathered some discontented partisans, and the men started to scream to woman to march and they did march to the Palace of Versailles. As they marched through the streets, more women came out of their houses and off the street to join them. The women were armed with pitch forks, muskets, pikes, swords, bludgeons, crowbars, and scythes as they marched through the rain. They all marched, and arrived soaking wet and demanded to see the “the Baker”, the “Baker’s Boy” and the “Baker’s Wife.” The woman stormed the gates, destroyed everything in their path, the angry crowd even killed two Royal Bodyguards, decapitating them and sticking their heads on pikes as trophies for the King and Queen to fear. Marie Antoinette suffered the majority of hatred from angry woman, the woman all accused her for the shortages of the gains and bread. They happily sang songs about killing her and raping her.The King was scared and was very overwhelmed by all of the angry hungry woman that stood in front of him. King Louis XVI quickly gave into their demand told the woman he will order all of his bread in Versailles ordered out to them, and soon all the bread in Paris. The King then decided to move his court to Paris. The Women’s March on Versailles proved that women can accomplish the impossible, and become driving forces in history. The Woman’s March on Versailles became a huge turning-point in the French Revolution and in history. It gave all of the woman a role, and it became one of the causes of King Louis XVI downfall. Which tells us, that the third estate IS a force to be reckon with.