Friday, February 24, 2017

The Fake News of the French Revolution ¯\_(O.O)_/¯



Marie Antoinette - EXPOSED
"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" means let them eat cake in French. This was the famous quote spoken by the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, who helped provoke a revolution upon learning peasants were suffering from widespread bread shortages. Because brioche was a luxury bread, enriched with with butter and eggs, the quote was said to reflect the princess's disregard for the peasants. With that callous remark, the peasants banded together to form an army, invaded the palace, and beheaded the monarchs and palace officials using guillotines.
Who knew cake could contribute to the start of a revolution? Nobody, and that is because it didn't. Marie Antoinette was actually very sensitive to the poor population of France, and she never said “let them eat cake.” The quote would have been highly uncharacteristic of her, as she was an intelligent woman who donated to many charities, despite her lavish lifestyle.
So, if she never said "let them eat cake," where did this rumor originate? It was first told by a spanish princess named Marie Therese. She allegedly suggested to the French, "La croûte de pâté,” let them eat cake. Later on, about eighteen others were blamed for the irritable remark, most famously, the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. Whoever uttered those unforgettable words, it was certainly not Marie Antoinette
Now that we know Marie Antoinette was not responsible for the distasteful quote, why did the revolution even start? Marie Antoinette was only a small part of the revolution, as the actual revolution started because her husband, King Louis XVI, as he was found conspiring with foreign powers, later being charged with treason, and beheaded as well. Even if she hadn't said “let them eat cake,” the people wanted to contribute to the uprising around them, and they needed a reason to do so. An easy target like Marie Antoinette would destroy the monarchy. All in all, the entire let them eat cake shenanigan was merely the fake news of the French Revolution!
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28 comments:

  1. Anonymous24 February, 2017 08:47

    Who knew that fake news has been around for so long! But as a Rousseau admirer. I am not at all surprised the "let them eat cake" was once attributed to him :)

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    1. Anonymous03 March, 2017 18:46

      Grace,

      I know, right! The fake news has been around for a while, and it took us so long to notice it wasn't real! I wasn't surprised Rousseau was blamed for saying "let them eat cake," either. :)

      I appreciate your comment,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  2. Anonymous04 March, 2017 19:56

    Dear Flexi_Ally_Kat,
    I once heard that "Let them eat cake" was fictitious, but I never knew where the rumor started! I always thought Marie Antoinette didn't care for charity or her starving citizens. It is very interesting how people mistook Marie Therese for Marie Antoinette!
    Did Marie Antoinette actually like cake, or was that too, bogus gossip?

    - aquaSongbird

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    1. Anonymous04 March, 2017 20:47

      AquaSongbird,

      I know right! I found it so interesting the whole "let them eat cake" fiasco was a bogus rumor! Im sure like any normal person, Marie Antoinette was fond of cake. I mean, it's cake! Right?

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  3. Anonymous04 March, 2017 23:10

    Flexi_Ally_kat,

    Thanks for sharing this article! I would of never knew about this fake news!
    Why would she say the quote "Let's eat cake" opposed to some other food?

    Great writing

    -Lion

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    1. Anonymous05 March, 2017 13:01

      Lion,

      My pleasure! I believe it was said she would say "let them eat cake" opposed to some other food because brioche was a very expensive, lavish food only royalty could ever afford.

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  4. Anonymous05 March, 2017 11:03

    I love how your writing is very interesting to read because of how you wrote it. Would you say that Marie Antionette is a good person overall?
    Great job,
    Tennis MS CGS

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    1. Anonymous05 March, 2017 13:03

      Tennis MS CGS,

      Thank you for the compliment! I would say Marie Antoinette was a good person overall, as I mentioned above, she donated to many charities and was very sensitive towards the more poor side of France. Just because she spent her money lavishly did not mean she wasn't a good person!

      Thank you for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  5. Anonymous05 March, 2017 12:23

    Flexi_Ally_Kat,

    I love this topic because it has so much to do with what is going on today! Fake news is not a new phenomenon. I had heard the phrase "let them eat cake" but hadn't known where it was from. Now I know who didn't say it! How do you think misinformation like this in history, because I'm sure it's not the only case, affects people later on?

    -Echoer

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    1. Anonymous05 March, 2017 13:11

      Echoer,

      Thats an amazing question! I think it is important for people to know the truth about situations in history like the "let them eat cake" one, because we teach the bogus gossip to our descendants, and pretty soon, the whole world has the story wrong. Marie Antoinette was supposedly a soul contributor to the uprising of the revolution, when she was completely innocent. As I mentioned above, her husband, King Louis XVI, was convicted of conspiring with foreign powers, leading to the revolution. I feel it is important for us to hear and spread the truth, or we might alter history forever.

      Hope this answered your question, thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  6. Anonymous06 March, 2017 10:30

    Dear Flexi_Ally_Kat,

    I like this post so much! I love how you expose Marie Antoinette and how she never said "Let them eat cake". Why did the french invade and kill with guillotines? why not something simpler?

    -ILoveBasketball

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    1. Anonymous06 March, 2017 15:46

      ILoveBasketball,

      Thank you for the wonderful compliments! I believe the French killed with guillotines because it was seen as a more human way of killing, as it was quick at painless, for the most part. Why they would want their monarchs whom they despised so greatly to be killed in a humane fashion, I don't know!

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  7. Anonymous06 March, 2017 13:01

    Dear Flexi,
    Woah! I'd always heard about Marie Antoinette's unsavory quote, and I had easily seen why the peasants were taken aback. Realizing that she never said that, it makes me wonder about what would have happened if people knew that.. Anyway, great blog post! It's so interesting to know that fake news has been around for this long!

    -palace43

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    1. Anonymous06 March, 2017 15:48

      Palace43,

      Thanks for all the amazing compliments! It means a lot! I think the people did know she never said the quote, but just wanted a way to both kill Louis and Marie, demolishing the monarchy.

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  8. Anonymous06 March, 2017 13:01

    Dear Flexi Ally Kat,
    This is such a fun blog post! I especially like the use of images and humor in this post.
    Thanks!
    -Slughater

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    1. Anonymous06 March, 2017 15:49

      Slughater,

      Thank you for the compliments! I am quite fond of the images and humor as well! Thank you for recognizing them!

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  9. Anonymous06 March, 2017 13:06

    Flexi_Ally_Kat,

    This post was awesome! I never knew that Mary Antoinette never said "let them eat cake". If you hadn't written this post, I would've not known that this was fake. Why do you suppose this rumor was still spread over the years?

    Great post!

    Moonbean842

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    1. Anonymous06 March, 2017 15:52

      Moonbean842,

      Thanks for all the wonderful compliments! I'm glad to hear you have learned something! As for your question, I have no idea how we haven't seen through this rumor earlier in time. The evidence proving Marie was innocent was right in front of us, I have no idea why we hadn't grasped it!

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  10. Anonymous06 March, 2017 21:11

    Dear Flexi_Ally_Kat,
    I really love how you told the story from someone else's perspective. Did Marie Antoinette get beheaded as well?
    Snazzy Dolphins

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    1. Anonymous10 March, 2017 22:16

      Snazzy Dolphins,

      Thanks for the wonderful compliments! Yes, I do believe Marie was beheaded as well, despite her innocence.

      I appreciate your comment,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  11. Anonymous08 March, 2017 12:44

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Anonymous08 March, 2017 16:24

    Flexi Ally Kat,

    I had heard the quote "let them eat cake before," but I had never known the history behind it, or what it mean. I thought your blog post was so interesting, and I really enjoyed reading it! Why do you think this fake news was spread?
    -PolarBear23

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    1. Anonymous10 March, 2017 22:15

      Polarbear23,

      I know right! It was an interesting topic to research! Thank you so much for the compliments! I honestly have no proof of how the fake news was spread, but I have a theory! Maybe the people who thought of Marie as an easy target, blaming her for the distasteful quote, didn't want people to find out the truth so the monarchy would stay abolished. I don't know, it's just a theory!

      I appreciate your comment,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10 March, 2017 12:49

    Dear Flexi Ally Kat,

    I loved the post. I never knew about the history to the quote. I always thought it was Marie Antoinette who said it. why did everyone think it was her?

    -Sushi is the best

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    1. Anonymous10 March, 2017 22:19

      Sushi is the best,

      Thank you! I too found the history of the quote very interesting! I believe the people who started the rumor purely desired a reason to kill both Louis AND Marie in order to abolish the monarchy, rather killing Louis only, who was guilty of treason. The lie spread from there, told to descendants and their descendants etc., until we finally uncovered the truth. At least that is my understanding of the situation.

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10 March, 2017 16:09

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous13 March, 2017 22:16

    Hey, Flexi_Ally_Kat!

    This post was super interesting. I had no idea the quote was surrounded by this much backstory and confusion. Why were so many people blamed for the quote? Also, how was this information passed around (how did people begin thinking Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake")?

    Thanks for the lovely post! :~)
    - Fri

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    1. Anonymous14 March, 2017 21:32

      Fri,

      Thank you for all the lovely compliments! To answer your question, I have absolutely no idea why so many different people were blamed with the callous remark! I have no proof, but my prediction is the lie was told to descendants and their descendants, creating a chain of rumors being spread, until we finally found out the truth!

      Thanks for commenting,

      -Flexi :)

      Delete

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