ThE FrEnCh ReVoLuTiOn


Many émigrés had been leaders in the French army and were now assisting the invading armies. As the Austrians and the Prussians got closer to Paris, fear began to spread among the sans-culottes. This fear soon resulted in the most violent and bloody period of the revolution.


On 10 August 1792 the Parisian sans-culottes began to riot in Paris and demanded the right to vote and the dethronement of King Louis. The mob attacked the Tuileries Palace where the royal family was staying and there was a very bloody battle. They eventually found and imprisoned Louis and Marie- Antoinette. The members of the Assembly agreed to the mob’s demands to create a republic. A new assembly was set up called the National Convention and, on 21 September, France was declared a republic. However, the mob did not stop at that. During the month of September anyone suspected of not supporting the revolution was executed. Over 1,000 people died in these September Massacres.


France becomes a republic


As the revolution took this more violent turn, it wasn’t long before there were calls for Louis and Marie-Antoinette to be tried as enemies of the revolution. In December 1792, Louis stood trial and on 14 January 1793 he was found guilty of treason by 387 votes to 334 and was sentenced to be executed. King Louis XVI of France was executed seven days later. This event caused great shock throughout Europe. Many monarchies feared that the revolution would spread to their countries. In February 1793 England and the Netherlands joined Austria in the war against France. During this difficult time for the revolution, a group of very determined French men and women came to the fore.


Source E u


Paris, 23 January 1793, Wednesday morning. My dearest mother, I commend to you the spirit of the late lamented Louis XVI. To the very last he maintained the greatest possible courage. He wished to speak to the people from the scaffold, but was interrupted by a drum-roll and was seized by the executioners, who were following their orders, and who pushed him straight under the fatal blade. He was able to speak only these words, in a very strong voice: “I forgive my enemies; I trust that my death will be for the happiness of my people, but I grieve for France and I fear that she may suffer the anger of the Lord.”


From The French Revolution;


voices from a momentous epoch, 1789–1795, edited by Richard Cobb, Colin Jones


Looking at the evidence


1. What happened when Louis XVI tried to speak to the people?


2. Why did Louis ‘grieve for France’? 3. Do you think that Louis met his death bravely? Give one piece of evidence from the letter to support your answer.


4. What was the attitude of the writer to the execution of the king? Give one example of evidence from the text that supports your answer.


5. Explain briefly why Louis XVI was executed during the French Revolution.


6. As a class, discuss the question: Did King Louis XVI deserve to be executed?


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