Western Civilization II / Unit 7 WC2 0618 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Varennes, June 1791: The King's Prestige Destroyed
Captions available
The idea
In June seventeen ninety-one the royal family fled toward the border and was caught at Varennes, the witness's name, recognized, the anchor says supposedly, from a coin. Correspondence with foreign monarchs surfaced, and the king's prestige was destroyed.
In practice
Constitutional monarchy with a king who had tried to leave it.
Where people slip
The flight, not the execution, ended the monarchy's credibility.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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