CBSE Class 9 Answered

The Women marched to Versailles in October 1789 because of the following reasons:

• The poor harvests in 1788 and 1789 and the supplies of grain fell well short of their usual level, which resulted in the dramatic price rise of bread in 1789.
• During the early stages of the French Revolution, the high cost and limited supply of bread and other foodstuffs in 1789 proved an additional factor for the mobilization of the working poor in Paris and other cities.
• The food shortages in the popular markets of Paris fostered discontent and fear, forcing the women consumers to show their concern by marching to Versailles and calling upon the king, Louis XVI, to exercise his paternal role by securing more food for the people of Paris.
• The belief that the king was “the father of his people” was a traditional notion that the monarchy cultivated also cultivate to strengthen popular loyalty to the king.