Ask a Teacher

Search



WHY WAS LOUIS 16 EXECUTED ?
The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution ("Revolution Square", formerly Place Louis XV, and renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795) in Paris. It was a major event of the French Revolution. After events on the 10 August 1792, which saw the fall of the monarchy after the attack on the Tuileries by insurgents, Louis was arrested, interned in the Temple prison with his family, tried for high treason before the National Convention, found guilty by almost all (and 'not guilty' by none), and condemned to death by a slight majority. His execution made him the first victim of the Reign of Terror. His wife Marie Antoinette was guillotined on 16 October, the same year.

Louis' hostility towards the National Assembly had aroused discontent with his rule. Louis had previously attempted to escape from France in June 1791 to garner support for the re-establishment of the old regime, an event named "Flight to Varennes" where he was caught before he and his family could reach the fortress of Montmédy, a royalist stronghold, across the border of Austrian Netherlands. Public opinion began to sway against him after he was returned under guard to Paris.

The radical republicans decided that a dead Monarch was less dangerous to the French Revolution then a living one. His value as a hostage was considered to not stand up against his risk as a symbol of the living Monarchy.


comments powered by Disqus