Marie Anne de Bourbon

1666–1739

Born: 2 Oct 1666, Château de Vincennes
Country of birth: France
Died: 3 May 1739, Paris

facts: 9
sources: 3
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Facts and their sources

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Birth2 Oct 1666, Château de VincennesProbable1 source
Death3 May 1739, ParisProbable1 source
ParentLouis XIV of FranceConfirmed1 source
ParentLouise de La VallièreConfirmed1 source
UnionLouis Armand I, Prince de ContiConfirmed1 source

A life in time

2 Oct 1666
Born · Château de Vincennes
Birth, Château de Vincennes
3 May 1739
Died · Paris
Death, Paris

Family

Parents

Spouses

Louis Armand I, Prince de Conti1661–1685Confirmed

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.

What was it like?

The world around Château de Vincennes, 1666: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

During this period, the rhingrave was a popular, extremely wide men's garment resembling a skirt or split-culottes, which could require up to 1.77 meters of fabric per leg.

Known for

Marie Anne de Bourbon, Légitimée de France, born Marie Anne de La Blaume Le Blanc, by her marriage Princess of Conti then Princess Dowager of Conti, suo jure Duchess of La Vallière and of Vaujours was a French noblewoman as the eldest legitimised daughter of Louis XIV, King of France, born from his mistress Louise de La Vallière, and the king's favourite daughter.

Fashion

Extremely wide rhingrave breeches

During this period, the rhingrave was a popular, extremely wide men's garment resembling a skirt or split-culottes, which could require up to 1.77 meters of fabric per leg.

Rural women's colors and aprons

Women in rural areas typically wore clothing in shades of black, gray, and red, often completing their attire with a protective apron known as a devantier.

Music

Everyday musical tools and maintenance

Portable violins called pochettes were used by dance masters to teach dance lessons in homes. Harpsichords in palaces required regular maintenance, where staff spent one-third of their time just removing wax drippings from candles.

Street music and peasant dances

Street singers adapted popular court and opera melodies for public performance, while rural peasants often danced to the pipe and tabor during Sunday rest. Officials sometimes defended these peasant dances as innocent amusement after a week of hard labor.

Getting around

First organized public transport in Paris

In 1662, King Louis XIV authorized the first organized public transport in Paris using carriages called carrosses à cinq sols, which cost five sols per ride.

Traveling on foot was common for many

Ordinary people, such as peddlers and pilgrims, typically traveled on foot, covering 20 to 30 kilometers a day and wearing out a pair of shoes every 15 days.

Daily life

Children were sent to school

Household rules expected servants to wake and feed children and ensure they went off to school.

Homes had one dim room

Many households had little space and light, with a single main room heated by a fireplace/cheminée that also provided much of the light.

Food

Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals

Bread was the staple of the ordinary diet, often eaten as "soup" by soaking slices in a liquid like water, broth, or vegetable potage. These large, dense loaves were baked to last for one or two weeks at a time.

Meat and Drink Habits of Families

Ordinary families rarely ate fresh meat and instead relied on salted pork to flavor their vegetable soups. Drinking water was often considered unsafe, so people frequently consumed piquette, a thin beverage made from the remnants of grapes or fruit, or local cider.

Prices and wages

Laborer daily wages dropped in mid-17th century

During the period from 1651 to 1675, the daily wage of a common laborer in France fell to 1.60 livres, significantly lower than the levels seen earlier in the century.

Cost of pigs and wood in 17th century

In the 17th century, a single pig could cost approximately 24 livres, while a cart of wood was valued at 11 livres.

Work

A Typical Working Day

The workday was long and dictated by daylight, often lasting 11 to 15 hours and starting as early as 5 a.m. Workers in cities relied on church bells for time, as watches were expensive, while night travel and work were limited by darkness and the high cost of candles.

Common Jobs in the 17th Century

Workers in cities were often artisans like bakers, masons, and tailors, while domestic servants, porters, and boatmen were also common, often relying on household ties and daily labor. In the countryside, most people were peasants who worked in fields or as day laborers performing heavy tasks like harvesting and woodcutting.

News and letters

News traveled slowly to the provinces

While the official Gazette was printed in Paris on Saturdays, provincial readers sometimes received it two weeks later, unless they purchased illicit local copies that arrived a week early.

Around 1671–1674

Mail took weeks to reach the provinces

Letters sent from Paris to the Provence region typically took at least twelve days to arrive, with some journeys in more difficult conditions lasting nearly three weeks.

During their lifetime

1685
Revocation of Edict of Nantes (1685)
The 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes forced 200,000 Huguenots to flee, damaging textile and luxury craft industries and seizing Protestant assets.
1693
Paris Famine (1693–1694)
During the famine of 1693–1694, bread was sold at two sous a loaf to poor Parisians as up to 1,500 people died daily from hunger and disease.
1709
The Great Winter of 1709
The Great Winter of 1709 brought extreme cold and severe famine to France, marking one of the century's worst economic crises.
1716
Foundation of Law's Bank in 1716
John Law established the Banque Générale in 1716, which later issued paper bank notes guaranteed by the king to stimulate the economy.
1720
The Great Plague of Marseilles
The Great Plague of Marseilles, the last major plague epidemic in France, devastated the region between 1720 and 1721.
1738
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.