Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Versailles Webquest

As this painting shows, Louis XIV liked to live in style. 

We know that absolute monarchs of 17th century Europe were somewhat power-hungry. They dominated politics, economics, religion, and culture in their countries. But did you know that absolute rulers such as Louis XIV of France also built huge palaces designed to intimidate ordinary citizens? Let’s take a look.

The best example of an over-the-top palace built by an absolute ruler is the Palace of Versailles, built by Louis XIV. Versailles is about a day’s trip outside of Paris (by horse and buggy) so when Louis moved his court there, it was the ultimate power play. Now, nobles had to make a long journey to visit the king.



Louis XIII’s “chateau” at Versailles wasn’t quite grand enough for his son. When Louis XIV became king, he decided to do some renovating. Above is the “before” shot of Versailles … 


… And here’s the “after” shot. Maybe Louis XIV watched a little too much “Extreme Home Makeover.”

Versailles is magnificent on the outside and the inside. Using Google Maps, you can take a virtual tour of the outside of Versailles here. Versailles is famous for its acres of gardens and multiple fountains. 210,000 flowers are planted at Versailles every year. 50 fountains use up to 3,600 cubic meters of water an hour!

Of course, Louis XIV wanted a magnificent interior, too. The palace is a huge art museum. Its 700 rooms boast 6,000 paintings, 1,500 drawings, 15,000 engravings, and 2,100 sculptures. You can take an in-depth tour of the interior of Versailles and learn about the artwork here.

Your assignment is to complete the following webquest using the Palace of Versailles official website.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Versailles Webquest

You’ll be writing or typing the answers to all of these questions in complete sentences. 

On the left hand side of your page, under the word “Explore” click on “The Palace.”

1.    Which French king originally built the palace?    
2.    Which French king expanded the palace? What year was it expanded?          

In the upper right corner, click on “Discover the Palace.” Click on the picture in the upper left of the Hall of Mirrors.

3.    Why might someone build something so grand?

Close the picture of the Hall of Mirrors.

4.    According to the website, what was the hall used for?

Under “Explore the Estate: The Palace” click on “The Queen’s Grand Apartment.” To the Left, click on the picture of “The Queen’s Chamber.”

5.    Why do you think there was a railing and chairs surrounding the bed?  Who might be using the chairs?

Under “Explore the Estate: The Palace” click on “The Royal Chapel”

6.    In French monarchy, what was the relationship between God and the monarch?

At the top of the page, click on “History.”  Then, in the upper right, click on “A Day in the Life of Louis XIV.”

7.    What types of people do you think would have wanted to attend the King’s awakening?
8.    Describe the First Levee.
9.    What was the king’s favorite sport?

At the top of the page, under “Versailles Through The Centuries” click on “Royal Tables.”

10.    How long did dinner take? How many “meal services” were prepared for the King?

The Columbian Exchange: Positive or Negative?

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the West Indies late in the 15th century, he brought more than ships. His arrival heralded a historic exchange between the cultures of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, which until then had had essentially no contact for millions of years. Each hemisphere had developed unique peoples, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures. In introducing each hemisphere to the other, the Columbian Exchange transformed the lives of people at both ends of the journey, then and forever after.

The agricultural exchange between Europe and the Americas introduced both sides to plants and foods they had never seen before. Many of those foods, like tomatoes in Italy, now form cornerstones of cultural cuisine. Other foods or plant products to travel east from the Americas included cacao (chocolate), potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, squash, strawberries, quinine (for treating malaria), and various flowers. Such foods as sugar, tea, and coffee made the trip west toward the Americas. Grains like wheat and rice, various fruits including oranges and grapes, and such vegetables as lettuce and radishes also broadened the American diet. In time, Europeans also brought vegetation to America—flowers and grasses as well as more destructive weeds. In addition to expanding diets, the edible exchange led to trading and economic patterns, including the growth of slavery, which supported sugar and tobacco production.



Most of the animal transfers in the Columbian Exchange traveled westward toward the Americas. Horses, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, and rats had dramatic effects on the Native American populations. In particular, horses brought hunting and movement opportunities to Native Americans, while pigs provided a regular source of meat. On the negative side, pigs destroyed a lot of local vegetation and animal life. Rats, of course, were also less useful and largely spread diseases. Europeans also encountered some animals they hadn’t seen before, for example, the buffalo and rattlesnake. Again, beyond the actual exchange of animals, the interaction brought cultural change to the Americas. Hunting on horseback helped to spread Native American populations westward, for example.

Europeans also brought their religion (primarily Catholicism in the Columbian period), their weapons, and their iron tools. Those all changed the lives of Native Americans dramatically: religion affected cultural practices and belief systems, guns subdued populations and later advanced hunting techniques, and tools transformed agricultural practices. Unlike the plant and animal exchanges, the cultural exchange clearly favored Europe and left the Americas tremendously vulnerable to the exploitation that followed.

Columbus and those who followed him brought people to the Americas—Europeans of all kinds and later African slaves to fill the plantation system’s labor needs. With the early arrivals came diseases unheard of in the Western Hemisphere. Smallpox alone killed an estimated 50-90% of existing populations. In the other direction, at least one disease—syphilis—traveled to Europe and did tremendous damage in the years to follow.  However, the French historian Fernand Braudel argues that, despite the Columbian Exchange’s tragic consequences, over the long term the exchange of edible plants increased rather than decreased the human population on Earth by contributing calories to the human diet.


Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. Why was the introduction of corn and potatoes to Europe and Asia so significant?

2. How did the introduction of European livestock change the lives of Native Americans?

3. What foods or plants brought to America by the Columbian exchange do you think play the biggest role today in the U.S. diet and economy?

4. Do you agree with Braudel’s theory (the bold statement above)? Why or why not? What other factors can you name that might increase or decrease the amount of food available to people worldwide?