Versailles

Today our class spent the day at Versailles. We were all impressed with the massive size of this palace and the over-the-top gold guiding which adorns most of the uppermost facade. This palace was commissioned by Louis XIV in order to showcase the wealth and power of the French government. The  land around Versailles was originally used as a hunting ground for royalty and was later turned into the commanding city of France. While the royalty was building this palace they heavily taxed the general population on certain commodities such as salt. The 1790's saw a great famine in Paris, many people starved as the wheat production slowed due to disease. The people wanted to revolt against the government which they had felt led them into this mess. Once viewing the splendor in which royalty lived, the people of France were outraged with the inequality which was present between royalty and the common working people.

© Zachary Seib