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Marie Adélaïde of France

Versailles, 23 Mar 1732 – Trieste, 27 Feb 1800

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 23 Mar 1732

    Born in Versailles

  2. 27 Feb 1800

    Dies in Trieste, aged 67

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Versailles.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1730s · Marie is born in Versailles

In the news1738

Introduction of road labor corvee

In 1738, the crown introduced the corvee, a system of forced labor requiring peasants to build and maintain the royal roads.

Getting around

Travel by mule

A trip between San Remo and Genoa over 90 miles could take three days on muleback due to narrow, rugged mountain paths.

In the news1734

French forces re-occupy Modena in 1734

In July 1734, French and Piedmontese troops occupied Modena, causing Duke Rinaldo to retreat to Bologna for three years until 1736.

Daily life

Daily struggles for light and water

Domestic lighting relied on oil lamps, tallow candles, or wax candles, which were expensive and labor-intensive to manage. Families often had to fetch water manually from communal fountains, as running water in homes was not available.

What people wore

Carefully Patched Clothing

Respectable poor individuals often wore carefully patched cast-off clothing, where the patches were chosen to match the original faded fabric.

Music

Public concert series started in Paris

Starting in 1725, Parisians could attend public concerts organized by the Concert Spirituel society, which performed in the Tuileries Gardens when the Opéra was closed for religious festivals.

At the table

Wine and Cider Over Water

Water was often considered unsafe to drink, leading people to favor wine or cider. Cider was a popular, less-taxed alternative, though it had to be consumed quickly before it spoiled in the spring.