French Revolution And The Trial Of Marie Antoinette Background Guide Table of Contents Letter from the Chair Letter from the Crisis Director Committee Logistics Introduction to the Committee Introduction to Topic One History of the Problem Past Actions Taken Current Events Questions to Consider Resources to Use Introduction to Topic Two History of the Problem Past Actions Taken Current Events Questions to Consider Resources to Use Bibliography Staff of the Committee Chair: Peyton Coel Vice Chair: Owen McNamara Crisis Director: Hans Walker Assistant Crisis Director: Sydney Steger Coordinating Crisis Director: Julia Mullert Under Secretary General Elena Bernstein Taylor Cowser, Secretary General Neha Iyer, Director General Letter from the Chair Hello Delegates! I am so thrilled to welcome you all to BosMUN XIX. For our returning delegates, welcome back! For our new delegates, we are so excited to have you here and hope you have an amazing time at the conference. My name is Peyton Coel and I am so honored to be serving as your Chair for this incredible French Revolution committee. I’m a freshman at Boston University double majoring in History and International Relations. I’m from the frigid Champlain Valley in Vermont, so the winters here in Boston are no trouble at all for me. When I’m not rambling on about fascinating events in history or scouring the news for important updates, you can find me playing club water polo or swimming laps in the lovely FitRec pool, exploring the streets of Boston (Copley is my favorite place to go), and painting beautiful landscapes with the help of Bob Ross. I also really love to travel, and my favorite places I’ve been to are Spain and Costa Rica. Another fun fact about me: I only participated in one Model UN conference in high school, but I had such a great experience that I knew I wanted to do it in college and be involved in International Affairs for the rest of my life. I had the privilege of serving as a crisis staffer for the Pax Britannica committee at BarMUN XII, but because I am a freshman, this is my first time participating in BosMUN. It’s been such an awesome experience putting this committee together, and I can’t wait to see it come to life. The French Revolution has always been one of my favorite periods of history, and Marie Antoinette is a very interesting and complex person. I trust that you all will make the best decision for France’s future. Vive la France! Best, Peyton Coel Letter from the Cris Director Greetings Delegates, To start off I would personally like to welcome you to BOSMUN XIX and I look forward to being you Crisis Director for French Revolution and the Trial of Marie Antoinette. My name is Hans Walker and I am a Junior at Boston University majoring in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Physics and Computer Engineering. I started my MUN career Junior year of high school at SMUNC, and have enjoyed the activity ever since. In addition to attending conferences, I have also staffed 5 conferences here at BU, 3 at the high school level, and two at the collegiate level. I am also involved in Civic Teachers and Students for the UN, BUIAA’s two service oriented branches. For a little more about myself I grew up in Silicon Valley and graduated from Woodside Priory school. In addition to my MUN related activities, I also am involved in Wandering Minds, a theatre organization, and SHPE, BUs Hispanic Engineering society. Of course despite my best attempts to avoid it you will generally find me studying in one of BUs many study halls, for whatever project or midterm I have the next day. Currently in committee France stands at a crossroads with no precedence for what happens. For the first time in history a European monarchy stretching back a millennium is no longer in power, and this has left a vacuum that nobody knows how to deal with. As delegates it will be your job to decide what to do with the royal family, and the fate of France. Will you decide to institute moderate reforms to slowly correct the inequality in France, or will you instead to go down an increasing spiral of radicalization and anarchy? On a final note I would like to thank the BOSMUN secretariat immensely for the huge amount of work they have put in getting the conference running. The amount of dedication they’ve had over the past year has been amazing, and I hope that you all enjoy this conference immensely. Thank you, Hans Walker Crisis Director Committee Logistics Documents Our committee will be using Directives for this conference. Directives, unlike resolutions made in regular, General Assembly MUN committees, are shorter, passed more often, and require the committee to take a specific action. A Directive will need signatures from one-third of the committee, and half +1 delegates in favor of it to pass. In addition, we will be using Press Releases, Communiques, and Crisis Notes. Press Releases are used to inform the committee of an occurrence that one or more of the delegates believe to be important. Press Releases may be addressed to the Legislative Assembly, Committee of Public Safety, any period-appropriate news source, the Dais, or it can just be a general Press Release directed towards the committee. Communiques are used to contact organizations and/or institutions outside the realm of the committee with the intention of somehow getting them involved. Communiques can be written by one or multiple delegates. The crisis room will be in charge of handling these documents. Lastly, Crisis Notes, will be used to take individual action within the committee and further one’s character’s arc. The crisis room will also be in charge of handling these documents. In order to write an effective Personal Directive, the author must stay true to their character and their resources, and be very specific about wants and needs. Debate and Expectations This committee will be operating in a moderated caucus. The topic, procedures, and alternative caucuses will be determined by the delegates. Voting for such things will be determined by a simple majority, while more significant matters will be determined by a calculated majority. The voting process is equal for everyone; each delegate gets one vote. The chair will determine all dilatory matters, and is free to use their judgement if they feel debate has come to a standstill. In this committee, respect is a very important matter. We ask that you respect the other delegates, staff, and facility. We are all here to work hard and have a great time! Committee Logistics Crisis Room In a specialized committee, the Crisis Room plays a very important role. They are in charge of handling and responding to all documents written in committee, as well as delivering crisis updates throughout the conference. When writing a document that is to be reviewed in the Crisis Room, it is important to stay in character, address the note creatively, and specify whom it is coming from. The Crisis Room is a very stressful environment, as they are reading and responding to documents written by all delegates in the committee. We ask that delegates withhold any notes that could be unproductive and unnecessary. Please respect that the Crisis Staff has a lot on their plate, and they may not be able to respond right away. They are an extremely important part of this conference and we could not do this without them! Trial Part of this committee will run in a trial format in which Marie Antoinette is the accused. First, delegates must determine the charges against Antoinette and the format of the rest of the trial through submitting directives. Next, delegates will determine the witnesses in the trial. There will be ten witnesses allowed in the trial, with a maximum of three from outside the committee. Witnesses will be determined by submitting directives, with a maximum of three pre-written questions for the outside witnesses. When witnesses are called up, they must give an opening statement and are allowed to answer three questions asked by delegates. Witnesses inside the committee will be called up first, followed by outside witnesses. The committee will then move into determining if Antoinette is guilty using regular parliamentary procedure and eventually moving into voting procedure. Finally, Antoinette’s punishment will be determined by directives. Committee Logistics Awards In this committee, delegates are encouraged to share their ideas, stimulate debate, and create solutions to the issues that are being explored. Those who show participation and promise in doing so may qualify for awards. Contenders for awards typically excel in speaking, writing, and participating in debate, and also use the Crisis Room appropriately and to their advantage. Awards are ultimately determined by the Chair, though the opinions of the Vice Chair, Crisis Director, Assistant Crisis Director, and Crisis Staffers are heavily considered. Delegates are required to show up to all committee sessions and write position papers to qualify. As stated before, respect is very important in our committee, and will also play a role in determining awards. Introduction to the Committee Welcome to Paris, France! The royal family- Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the royal children, and a few royal staff were spotted attempting to flee to Varennes, near the Austrian Netherlands, where Louis believed they still had sympathizers who would protect them. Dressed as a governess, her children, and a valet, the royal family got as far as Sainte-Menehould before being recognized by a postmaster, who rode on to Varennes to alert the town authorities.