QUEBEC-RESEARCH-L Archives
Archiver > QUEBEC-RESEARCH > 2005-01 > 1106355378
From:
Subject: Excerpt Of History
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 19:56:19 EST
January 21, 2005 on this day:
In 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was publicly
executed. Louis' execution was the result of a transformation in
the Revolution from a movement by moderates seeking reasonable
reform to that of an attempt to dramatically overhaul the French
society by radical extremists. This transformation took place over
a three-year period, during which time Louis had many opportunities
to save himself. Louis had become king in 1774, and in the years
leading up to the Revolution he remained oblivious to the difficult
plight of the common people, and he showed little concern for the
worsening French fiscal crisis. Even after the Revolution began in
1789 he largely ignored attempts by moderate revolutionary leaders
to enact reforms that would have kept him in power. By 1792, after
committing a series of blunders that clearly demonstrated his
opposition to the revolutionary movement, he was convicted as an
enemy of the state and sent to the guillotine.
This thread: